"In the age of the internet, VSCO girls are just another bright-blazing aesthetic social media trend Gen-Z is embracing, and will probably burn through soon enough."
--Declan mcmahon, 7th grade
I’m sure you’ve heard of VSCO girls. If not, you might be living under a rock. Remember e-girls and boys? Tumblr girls? Norm core? VSCO girls are just another one of those “basic” aesthetics. In the age of the internet, VSCO girls are just another bright-blazing aesthetic social media trend Gen-Z is embracing, and will probably burn through soon enough.
So what are VSCO girls? Well, they started out on the photo editing app VSCO, popular before the aesthetic for showing no “like” counts on posts, aiming to lessen social media stress. VSCO girls came to be around July 2019. They’re mostly 12-19 year old girls, stereotypically white, and have blonde, beachy hair. They are Gen Z’s approximation of “basic millennials.”
So what are VSCO girls? Well, they started out on the photo editing app VSCO, popular before the aesthetic for showing no “like” counts on posts, aiming to lessen social media stress. VSCO girls came to be around July 2019. They’re mostly 12-19 year old girls, stereotypically white, and have blonde, beachy hair. They are Gen Z’s approximation of “basic millennials.”
VSCO girls embrace specific brands, and can usually be found sporting at least one of the following: Hydro Flasks, Vans, Apple Airpods, Fjallraven Kånken (a Swedish backpack company), Mario Badescu, especially their facial spray, and Glossier makeup to name just a few basics. They favor oversized T-shirts, short-shorts, tube tops, or crop tops. They also won’t be seen in public without a scrunchie on their wrist or holding their washed-white blonde hair up in a messy bun. Some of their favorite phrases are ‘sksksksks,’ a keyboard approximation of snickering, and ‘and I oop-’ a phrase popularized a few years back in a YouTube video featuring Rupaul’s Drag Race contestant Jasmine Masters.
VSCO girls also like to consider themselves very environmentally conscious people. They emphasize “saving the turtles” a popular internet slogan circulated as an eco-friendly mantra, created due to the rising number of sea turtles dying due to plastic in the oceans. This goes hand-in-hand with their pledge to never use plastic straws, having their own collection of metal ones. VSCO girls also highlight the sustainability of their chosen brands. According to Romney Jacobs, director of client services at trend forecaster The Doneger Group, “Pura Vida donates 10% of net sales per product to its charity partners. Hydro Flask has donated $838,000 and 17,447 bottles to nonprofits that support and provide better access to parks. And Fjallraven Kånken constantly reiterate the sustainability of its materials and production process.
The thing about VSCO girls, though, hand in hand with many past popular aesthetic trends, is that they are almost 100% an internet joke. There are many people who fit the aesthetic, or at least tick some of the boxes, but wouldn’t consider themselves actual VSCO girls. There are very few people who would. According to Anna Muchmore, a 7th grader at Oakland School for the Arts in the Visual Arts sub pathway, “[VSCO girl] is a pretty derogatory term, if you ask me, and I don’t think many people would readily admit [that they are a VSCO girl].”
Most VSCO-girl related activities are spread through short form video sharing app TikTok, formerly Musical.ly, whether users are branding themselves or others as VSCO girls, poking fun at them, or teaching you how to “spot them in the wild”, multitudes of videos are spreading, only increasing the VSCO girls popularity and widespread knowledge.
Most VSCO-girl related activities are spread through short form video sharing app TikTok, formerly Musical.ly, whether users are branding themselves or others as VSCO girls, poking fun at them, or teaching you how to “spot them in the wild”, multitudes of videos are spreading, only increasing the VSCO girls popularity and widespread knowledge.
The VSCO girl trend is blazing bright and shooting fast. It started recently, and probably still has a fair bit of time to go. When it burns out however, the question is, what will replace it. Chances are, just another embodiment of the “basic culture” that Gen Z embraces strongly today. Or, maybe not. What do you think?