Hi! I'm Farrah, and I like to think I have a pretty chill sense of style. Recently, it came to my attention that VSCO girls were a thing. (If you're curious, here's how Urban Dictionary defines VSCO girl.) So, I decided that I wanted to experiment with the specific aesthetic for a day!
When I first saw the VSCO trend (especially this checklist) I was like, THAT IS MY SISTER. So I told her, "LOL this is you. 100%." She didn't disagree. That's what I knew I HAD to recruit her help for this experiment, and she fortunately agreed.
HOWEVER, she pointed out this tweet and told me that this specific "VSCO" style wasn't exactly new to her.
vsco girls out here like they’re so quirky for wearing XL shirts and birks acting like affluent white girls from suburban texas haven’t been doing this for decades
We're both from Texas. There's an eight-year gap between us. It was starting to make sense. She's still a ~youth~ and I am old enough to recall using dial-up internet to talk to my friends on AIM while posting emo lyrics in my Buddy Profile. I was VERY OUT OF THE LOOP with this trend and what type of ~things~ were on brand for the VSCO aesthetic.
Anyway, I wanted to be COOL again, if only for a day. So I asked her what it took to embody a VSCO girl, and she was more than happy to come over and help me transform my aesthetic.
Here's what she brought over: a water bottle covered in stickers, homemade bracelets, scrunchies, an oversized sweatshirt, T-shirt, Lululemon hot pink shorts, a Kanken backpack, and distressed jean shorts. When she was helping me pull together my look, I asked her a few questions about this particular aesthetic, which you'll find below.
Without further ado, here's what I tried first. Luckily we wear the same shoe size, so her Birkenstocks fit me. I loved them. They were incredibly comfortable. The bracelets really took me back to high school when I used to wear rubber ones, but I was pretty into them — though I don't think I'd wear them on a daily basis.
Then my sister gave me this chapstick. "Do VSCO girls wear this brand of chapstick?" I asked. "Uh. I don't know. Just wear it. And only wear mascara," she told me. Basically, I was learning that the VSCO style was looking effortless by putting a bit of effort into your style. I also carried around this water bottle all day and thought it was cute that she customized it with stickers she liked.
TA-DA! Here's what I looked like when it all came together. I even put a pre-set VSCO filter on it to be on brand. It absolutely looks like I'm not wearing pants (my dog looks like he's wondering where my pants are) BUT I AM. The shirt was so oversized that it covered up my shorts. I also tried to wear the scrunchie in my hair only to be told by my sister that I had to wear it on my wrist. It's an accessory, guys.
Anyway, I had to run a few errands that day and was BESIDE MYSELF going out in public like this. "Who does this older lady think she is and where are her pants?" I imagined people thinking to themselves. I was comfortable in the outfit, but UNCOMFORTABLE with how I appeared to others, specifically because of the is-she-wearing-pants thing.
I spent the latter half of the day at home fixing/doing things around my new apartment. I decided to wear the scrunchie in a low ponytail because I was getting hot and wanted my hair out of the way. Wearing a scrunchie took me back to being in middle school where I wore uniforms, which was probably the last time I wore a scrunchie. It was a weird kind of nostalgic, but I wasn't mad. I actually thought it was cute that they came back in style. But also, here is proof I wore pants:
Toward the end of the evening, my sister put me in my final outfit. This time, I wore an oversized sweatshirt, distressed jean shorts, her Air Force sneakers, and posed with her Polaroid. And, yet again, I put a VSCO filter on it! I was SUPER into this look and had basically learned that this aesthetic is COMFORTABLE, yet put together. Like, cozy-cute. I was very into it.
Here's what I learned during my day as a VSCO girl:
* The entire aesthetic is extremely comfortable, but very intentional. You kind have to spent a lot of money to be stylishly comfortable.
* I'm not sure if I can get onboard with super oversized clothes, especially because I'm too old to look like I'm not wearin' pants. HOWEVER, I loved how breathable the oversized look is.
* I'm going to keep wearing scrunchies. I feel like they got to be better for your scalp than hair ties anyway, right?
* I love the VSCO preset filters and will probably use more in the future.
* I want a pair of Birkenstocks.
* It's a cute trend and I understand why so many people get behind it.