What is an aesthetic? The word aesthetic refers to the nature of physical beauty and the expressions of judgment through taste. The term was popularized by platforms such as Tumblr, Instagram, and Pinterest, and described anything that was “pleasing to look at”.

Think beach sunsets, pale pantone colors, and cityscapes. Now aesthetic has come to mean a collection of images, colors, objects, or music that evoke a certain emotion or create community. You’ve probably heard the expression “aesthetic core”. This refers to personal aesthetic categories like angelcore, softcore, light academia, grunge, fairycore, grandmacore, VSCO girl, and twee. While there are many aesthetic categories, the most popular are cottagecore, dark academia, Y2K, and e-girl. Let’s dig into them!

Cottagecore - Cottagecore is inspired by a romanticization of western agricultural life. It’s a nature-based aesthetic, and it is rooted in visuals of domestic life. Popular activities are hanging up laundry, foraging, baking, and sewing. Colors representative of cottagecore are brown, olive, baby pink, light yellow, and sky blue. The clothing one wears is loose, long and flowy. The style is dominated by linen, denim overalls, puffy sleeves, gingham, and stripes.

Dark Academia - Dark academia revolves around academics, classical literature, and self-discovery. It represents a high class and vintage style full of sweater vests, blazers, trousers, pleated skirts, and loafers. Letter writing, reading, making tea, dreary weather, and indulging in classical or instrumental music is popular within this aesthetic. Dark academia images are rich with gold, burgundy, forest green, dark orange, cream, and black.

Y2K - This aesthetic category is nostalgic of the early 2000s. Complete with low rise jeans, bright colors, and matching coordinating sets, Y2K encapsulates the futuristic and innovative feeling of its callback year. Images of Y2K contain chrome, icy blue, glossy white, and black linework. The fashion has chunky, colorful rings, skinny sunglasses, mini-skirts, and platform heels. Fun activities within this aesthetic are playing with Tamagotchis, creating graphic flyers, and going to the mall.

E-Girl - E-girl, or “electronic girl”, is an aesthetic category used to describe young women who participate heavily in online culture such as anime, gaming, Kpop, or Discord. The fashion style is alternative, and heavily influenced by the grunge, goth, or emo look. For example, it includes heavy eyeliner and dyed streaks of hair. Visuals within this category are checkered patterns, neon lights, and desaturated images. Activities within this category include streaming on Twitch or Youtube, making TikToks, and experimenting with makeup.