Unless you’ve been living under a rock with no WiFi, you’ve heard about the “new” VSCO girl trend. In reality, college students have been wearing baggy shirts and running shorts with a scrunchy (because they don’t crease your ponytail!) for years. But, now highschoolers have discovered that Norts (a.k.a Nike shorts) are comfy and have taken over the Gen-Z Instagram scene with ~aesthetic~ pictures edited in a different photo editing/sharing app. This isn’t a slam on VSCO girls; I support them living their best life! This VSCO trend just isn’t new… which means that the go-to college girl outfit is now considered “basic.” To take on this war against our sacred unofficial uniform, I put together a few VSCO inspired outfits that definitely won’t be labeled as basic.
Oversized VSCO, but make it classy!
Pictures via Summer Harvey
Clothes:
As we know, VSCO girls and college girls alike love baggy shirts. I love a good potato-sack-sized Comfort Colors, but it’s not super flattering on my wide-shouldered, larger busted frame. If you want the comfy feeling of the big shirt but a sweet girl-next-door aesthetic, try an oversized dress. This one is from Old Navy and I wear it all the time. It’s loose but also has a bit of elastic around the waist to slightly sinch the waist, and is just all around really comfortable.
Accessories:
Right off the bat, I grabbed a scrunchy. Obviously, I didn’t use it to hold up my hair but wore it on my wrist. Some VSCO girls love to add some edge to their looks, so I also added a black choker I bought from Walmart (Big Bargain Babe Energy). I wore my black Birks because apparently that’s important (I’d just like to say that I’ve been wearing Birks since 8th grade and a mean girl told me they gave me cankles, but now they’re an imperative fashion statement™). I don’t have a Hydroflask, the signature hydration vessel of VSCO, but I do have a Starbucks cup that I was given for buying a meal plan, which works equally as well. Also, it’s reusable so like… save the turtles!
Simply VSCO
Pictures via Summer Harvey
Clothes:
VSCO girls keep it simple. It’s all about looking like you just rolled out of bed, but I personally don’t like looking like I just rolled out of bed. To keep the simply cute vibe, I went with a classic black shirt and blue jeans, both of which are from Old Navy (like I said, Big Bargain Babe Energy). The fact that the shirt is a little big is an added plus for the VSCO look.
Accessories:
If there’s one thing to take away from this article, it’s to buy some scrunchies. For this outfit, I wore one in my hair and one on my wrist because I’m dedicated to the VSCO craft. I wore simple, basic makeup and kept on my glasses to emphasize how low-maintenance I am, and threw on my Birkenstocks again for continuity. I got a bunch of compliments on this outfit and I definitely felt like a cool girl when I edited the picture in the VSCO app.
Vintage VSCO
Pictures via Summer Harvey
Clothes:
Out of all of the outfits I tried, this was the one that felt most like my style. VSCO filters often give a vintage look to pictures and I thought I’d channel that into an outfit. The yellow dress is from Target and gives me total 50’s waitress vibes and the high ponytail (with a scrunchy, of course) further adds to the illusion that I could be an extra in Grease.
Accessories:
VSCO girls are apparently obsessed with the environment (or at least that’s what they say as they sip on a metal straw), so I wore my Betsy bumblebee earings as a way to channel some nature. The aforementioned scrunchies are on full display and I finish off the outfit with my pride and joy: Crocs. Similarly to Birks, I’ve always been a fan of Crocs and was bullied for wearing them through middle and high school. Now they’ve become an “ironic” fashion statement and I’m riding the wave. I’ve also decided that I’m the self-appointed president of the Croc movement #CrocWave2020. Don’t believe my obsession with Crocs? Read my article from last year where I styled Crocs every day for a week and you’ll understand.
Hopefully this will aid you in your non-basic VSCO journey. Most importantly, wear what you want, even if it’s “basic.” You’ll definitely be seeing me in a big shirt and Norts on Sunday mornings.