It’s unquestionable that 2023 has been for the girls (this idea was well summarized by this HC article). The Barbie movie had us all thinking pink. People jumped to get their hands on the Eras Tour and Renaissance Tour Tickets. Girl groups like NewJeans and Fifty Fifty found their way onto playlists around the world.
As a fashion enthusiast, I’ve seen a concurrent shift in styles. A phenomenon that I’ll call “hyper feminine fashion” has claimed its spot in stores and social media feeds. I can’t deny, I eat up this aesthetic, with all its hair bows, shades of pink and dainty floral prints.
It’s hard to pinpoint where this trend originated, but I believe designer Sandy Liang has been a major driving force within it. According to Wikipedia, the New York designer’s works are inspired by “nostalgia, girlhood and grandmothers in Chinatown.” Her looks are never complete without frilly hems and bow adornments, which I feel has had so much influence on everyday styles even outside her designs. I could go on and on about Liang and I’m still wishing I could’ve snagged a handbag from her collaboration with Baggu (if you know, you know).
Such styles have trickled down from the high-end designer world to our everyday stores. Though I have personal beef with Brandy Melville (cough cough), I can’t deny that they’ve nailed the basics of this style: simple sweaters, lacy edged tank tops and cute flower prints. I see a ton of reflections of hyper feminine fashion at Urban Outfitters, especially with the newly carried line Kimchi Blue.
I also have a great admiration for the simplicity of channeling these styles. My everyday go-to outfits (ie. a baby tee and skirt) can be snazzed up with just ankle socks and craft store ribbon tied in my hair.
On the surface, this may seem like a passing trend but for me, it’s so much more. This trend is for all the girls who felt like they needed to deny their feminine interests to be taken seriously. It’s for everyone who thought they couldn’t like cute things while also being seen as smart, hardworking and capable. There’s this strange notion that stereotypical “girly” aesthetics are contradictory to modern feminism, and this has never sat right with me.
This aesthetic may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I personally love it for both its visual and symbolic aspects. Sometimes, all it takes is something as silly as wearing ribbon-tied pigtails to heal your inner child.