Duration 29:15

Tumblr aesthetics from the 2010s

by ModernGurlz

745 801 watched

35.4 K

Published 22 Jun 2021

back at it again with another video about 2010s fashion. today we're taking a look at different aesthetics that were popular on tumblr during the 2010s from kawaii to soft grunge to hipster. we examine everything about these styles from their origins to their distinguishing features (and unsurprisingly, there's a lot of overlap). did you wear any of these tumblr aesthetics? intro 0:00 must-have items 2:40 the aesthetics 9:42 blogger style 9:50 kawaii style 12:47 hipster fashion 14:22 twee fashion 16:04 swag girl 17:55 festival fashion 19:22 soft grunge 21:05 pastel goth 23:38 california girl 25:15 art hoe 26:58 get in touch 💌 contact@moderngurlz.com follow us! 🌸 https://www.instagram.com/moderngurlz https://www.twitter.com/moderngurlzz research assistant olivia broussard https://www.twitter.com/LivB06 music! 🎶 https://soundcloud.com/yueunseo/future-james-pure-imagination Music by Ryan Little - Lovesick. (Nomad's Heart) - https://thmatc.co/?l=C29DC207 intro/outro by nicole w.b https://www.instagram.com/nicole_collete_leon/ Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. All the videos, songs, images, and graphics used in the video belong to their respective owners and this channel does not claim any right over them.

Category Education

Comments - 3845

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@teadrinker12603 years ago Does anyone remember the "Keep calm and__". Like that was the worst. 16914
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@papkinn3 years ago 2010's - everyone wanted to be unique but nobody wanted to stick out 8768
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@sarahm88293 years ago Remember how literally all clothes had British flags on them for some reason??? 4280
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@AAAAAA-tj8xf3 years ago Unpopular opinion: you gotta wait around 20 years to be able to judge a period in fashion somewhat objectively. Back in 2010-2015 we all despised early 2000s fashion, then in mid 2010s late 2000s/early 2010s fashion became uncool. Now look at us wearing late 90s and early 2000s trends and watching films from that era for inspiraton.
In other words:
2000-2015 fashion is not better or worse than any other decade. It WILL COME BACK. Beware! (yes I'm terrified too)
And 2 years later, I'm actually starting to see early 2010s inspo and influences pop up in online communities and smaller runways. When it actually hits the stores I'll just choose to stay comfortably boomer in my tastes, thank you ... 1509
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@emmayoung3303 years ago People also seem to forget that cottagecore and dark academia had their beginnings on tumblr. Kind of wild how much influence tumblr still has even after almost a decade 5261
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@lauraelena82123 years ago I will never forgive the 2010s for making preteen me dress like a middle aged teacher complete with the sock bun and infinity scarf 3712
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@melissatokidoki3 years ago no matter what you guys think, the girl with the "obey" cap on the thumbnail has to be the most early 2010s thing i ever saw. 1023
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@lucia42173 years ago Red/1989 era Taylor Swift was the definition of “twee” tumblr aesthetic 838
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@teadrinker12603 years ago Let's be honest we all had no idea what style we followed on 2010. We just wore everything and anything, regardless if that suited us or not. 5124
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@peachybabe85403 years ago I don’t care what anyone says, tennis skirts are ✨timeless✨ 5021
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@linneaconnery38283 years ago Of all the trends that may come back, Im worried that the “thigh gap” will. Wanting a gap was on every tumblr fashion post and it was so toxic. I remember scrolling through “pro-ana” blogs and being morbidly drawn to it. 1429
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@echomae18143 years ago maybe its just my experience but back then it seemed like every girl was on tumblr looking at these styles but no one ever dressed that way in person, or even attempted to. no teenage girl could afford a whole wardrobe like this, or think of a photo-worthy outfit to go to school in every day. but despite the seemingly clear demand for this type of style, for a while it seemed like you couldnt find clothes in any colours besides black/white/grey or muted earth tones like beige, olive green, maroon, navy blue. maybe it was just in my area or my budget but the general attitude was: “only buy safe, staple pieces in basic colours so you can make as many outfits as possible with them”. so when this brief wave of holographic/neon/galaxy print stuff popped up in actual stores i was like… well at least people are having fun ... 779
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@juliac.42003 years ago okay, but remember when everyone was randomly obsessed with MUSTACHES??? like, mustache prints on everything for no reason lmfao 9824
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@adelia_khalid3 years ago The galaxy print is nothing compared to the owl obsession. WHY was there an OWL obsession? 5683
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@chrisjeee2 years ago I can't believe my youth is already an aesthetic 😂 I'm only 23 but feel so old 192
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@nutkja3 years ago Honestly of all the aesthetics, Pastel Goth felt the most fresh to me. I remember when I first started coming across it around 2015 and thinking “finally something different and actually interesting”. The way it married elements of goth with japanese harajuku styles is a fascinating example of the coming together of two counter culture aesthetics from two very different parts of the world. ... 804
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@musicislifefershur3 years ago I think an honorable mention should be Disney Bounding. While not necessarily a collected style of certain clothes, it was definitely its own “aesthetic”, was insanely popular on Tumblr, instantly recognizable, and definitely entered mainstream fashion. ... 3797
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@afreepotatochip87653 years ago i love that we go "back in the 2010s" as if it wasn't 2 years ago 3011
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@emmadenton18263 years ago I feel like I need a content warning before seeing Hipster Ariel. She truly encapsulates the early 2010s 173
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@kaylajh3 years ago taylor swifts 2012 album RED's aesthetic is literally the epitome of the tumblr aesthetic 183
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@favoritequill90843 years ago Mock this fashion era all you want, but I will be forever grateful for it for popularizing high rise jeans. As an insecure fat kid, those pants made me feel stylish and cute. Some (many) of the other trends haven’t aged nearly as well but I’ll always prefer high rise pants over other styles ... 3113
3 years ago 2010 Tumblr just feels like a bunch of basic fashion styles with florals, dresses, and scarves. 2012
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@natsinnett97513 years ago Gonna be honest, the “blogger style” activates my fight or flight response. 334
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@Emblafant3 years ago I really appreciate you trying to pronounce Fjällräven. But when you said it you pronounced it like Fjällröven which translates to “the mountain ass” instead of “the mountain fox” and I could not help but laugh 😂💛 255
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@jaxcas21323 years ago if you’re a teenager now enjoy your aesthetics and trends with no shame because you deserve to have fun! but don’t stress yourself trying to adhere to the trends. you just end up like all of us making fun of them 10 years later no matter what ... 3459
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@kai69633 years ago I will never forget being an edgy 13 years old hijabi girl at the peak of the soft grunge aesthetic tumblr era and seeing blue haired halsey EVERYWHERE and wanting to have blue ombre hair but obviously couldn't so i just bought soooo many blue hijabs instead 😔 ... 3569
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@lena-yp4fd3 years ago i feel the modern equivalent to this is the whole “alt”/indie thing on tik tok !! teenagers r gonna look back on it and be like omg the good old days when we wore bunny hats & leg warmers over our platforms & decorated our rooms with monster cans LOL ... 503
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@nutkja3 years ago I will say that I remember the “twee” aesthetic being much more size-inclusive than others. I think part of this had to do with Modcloth’s larger range of sizes. When I think of this style I often picture a plus-size model. 107
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@AmaniEats3 years ago This video should be called "clothes that you can still find at TJ Maxx". 2873
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@saragp82913 years ago I think that many people don't hate 2010's fashion by itself, but the correlation of being what they wore when they were teenagers, a phase where we feel insecure and don't have a developed sense of style, so we end up cringing at it no matter what trend it is. ... 1656
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@nettie.973 years ago the shorts + tights combo had me in such a chokehold in 2014-15 💀💀 that was mainly what I wore to high school combined with a basic sweater/long sleeve shirt. I remember getting compliments from other girls who I saw as "popular" or "basic", which made me feel soooo cool despite how simple the look was in hindsight lmao ... 42
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@iyannahall75623 years ago i would love to see a video about the vaporwave aesthetic of 2012ish-2015!! although it was mainly about music the subculture definitely influenced how people dressed as well. windbreakers, hologram platforms, see-through skater skirts + biker shorts, 90s fashion ... 97
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@sophia57743 years ago Can't believe you went this whole video without mentioning alien Ts. 1398
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@slasurkit60323 years ago when i was kid this tumblr style was everything for me 2134
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@idapalo30263 years ago FUN FACT: Kpop girl group f(x) is actually popularly known as the one responsible for the pleated skirt trend in South Korea. They wore it a lot during their album promotions for Rum Pum in 2013 that it became popularly known as the "Krystal skirt" after the group's center, Krystal Jung! ... 82
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@Amsayy3 years ago The largest community revolved around fashion? Damn I really would have guessed it was superwholock lmao 198
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@MarthiiEs3 years ago I'm getting crucified for this: skater skirt looked good on anyone and needs to make a come back 3805
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@sopianae.3 years ago Funny how you call these fashion trends "childish" when it is was mostly worn by literal teenagers. Like, thank god it looked "childish" and I wore peter pan collars and circle skirts as a 14 year old and didn't look like a 20something as many instagrammer/ tiktokker teens do now. 😭 ... 2516
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@kyrasjolund81633 years ago I've definitely seen the "soft grunge" "1975/ arctic monkeys fan" style come back a little on tiktok but in a nostalgic way. Instead of using the 90s inspiration, the tumblr style itself is the inspiration. ... 95
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@taraannbigeault13223 years ago I feel like it’s super important to remember that the majority of these trends were inaccessible to anyone without a thigh gap 399
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@Ella-zf7ur3 years ago hipsters piss me off the most because they hated so much on "basic people" and still dressed pretty similar to them, only on a darker color palette and switching the floral print for plaid... and they acted like liking coffee and wearing glasses was a personality trait even though half of the world population does that ... 636
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@kora20023 years ago I'm so scared of the fashion trends of the 2010s coming back in like 15 years. If i see one person in mustache leggins i will evaporate💀 615
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@null634623 years ago idc what anyone says i think the 2010's soft grunge style is so cute and i'll still be wearing a black choker while trying dress like sky ferreira 37
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@user-wq8sd2qc4u2 years ago believe me, as someone who has been a near daily user of tumblr since 2008... I truly KNOW just how much influence tumblr has and how much of movements on the internet began there, which are becoming increasingly relevant in today's politics ... 26
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@animefan4623 years ago I think a fashion style that overlaps with a lot of styles here was “dork” style, which was influenced by tumblr fandoms as the 2010s when being a nerd was cool now, and things like comic-con becoming less stigmatized. This fashion included a lot of fandom shirts , buttons, coats, suspenders, cardigans, big glasses, died hair, etc. Its basically hot topic when they transitioned from emo to fandom-y ... 1784
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@MrsDaedalus_3 years ago As an Asian, more specifically Chinese, the so called Kawaii style is still a style that is fairly popular in China, South Korea and Japan. It's a little modified of course as now the aesthetic leans to princess or fairy aesthetic. So, it's not true that it didn't had an impact in the fashion world. Please, don't make the western world or the US be the centre of the world, bc it's not. The fashion world is not specifically western fashion. ... 518
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@pixelpudding39143 years ago Lolita and kawaii fashion isn’t trying to be childish it’s just supposed to be cute 😫😫😫 243
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@thepandoricaoffandomsbacku73493 years ago The 2010 is unforgettable, you can hate it but can’t deny how iconic it is🤣 78
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@kannibalwherm19753 years ago this really just showed me how cyclical things are, no trend ever really dies, it rebrands and evolves and that's it 2242
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@xohyoshidae433 years ago I’m surprised you didn’t mention the absolute monstrosity that was the ‘moustache’ trend. It will forever be an iconic, but cringeworthy trend. I hope it never sees the light of day again. 1229
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@janelm76453 years ago i was in middle school from 2010-2014, i truly dipped my foot in EVERY SINGLE ONE of these aesthetics bc i literally didn’t know who i was or where i belonged 24
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@rachealwashington56623 years ago A lot of these 2010s aesthetics are actually just sub fashion categories that we still use today. E girl is just Pastel goth without the pastel. Soft girl is just Kwai style without the Japanese influence. Not much has changed except for clothes are more revealing now. The 2010s was more inventive and memorable while now the styles are all over the place and literally throwback from the early 2000s or the same styles but different names from the 2010s. ... 22
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@eggs40733 years ago I feel like the one thing I remember the most about the early 2010s was how there was a hot minute where EVERYTHING was this same shade of pastel sea foam green. Like, you could not walk into a store at the mall and not have that color thrown right in your face the moment you walked in. ... 732
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@semnome60593 years ago Idk why but these clothes fits in any nickelodeon sitcom character 535
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@Tina_Bo_Binaaa3 years ago All I know is I’m keeping these clothes for my kids cause for sure they will come back in 20 years. Weird how I was and still am a huge tumblr user. So this was definitely the evolution of trends I went through. I am a still huge fan of pastel goth and the more grunge looks. I’m a huge art hoe now. Great video. ... 62
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@wummyworm3 years ago i dressed in the really cheap "kawaii" and "pastel goth" inspired clothes i could get my mom to buy as a teenager-- now, i'm an adult, and dress in "jirai kei"! i think it's a perfect blend of the two, and it looks more 'grown up'. ... 21
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@averyjeanne3 years ago I still love the “twee” look. You can see remnants of it in dark academia and cottage core, which are two aesthetics I draw on heavily. I take pride in my librarian style and you have to pry my Peter Pan collar from my cold dead hands. ... 1115
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@adarcus40533 years ago I feel like Twee just got converted to Dark Academia. 856
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@redscare58210 months ago The weird yellow filter is also a staple of 2010's 5
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@lexiesawyer15833 years ago I’m having such second hand embarrassment right now. During that time I wanted to be a tumblr girl so bad. I actually thought I didn’t have any of those clothes but I literally had all of it. It was just more age appropriate for me. I was starting high school. No wonder my mom was so sick of my shit. I had this aesthetic down to a T ... 44
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@wafflesyummy31413 years ago i wish you cited iisuperwomenii because she was the EPITOME of “swag girl” 1260
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@slimebadger3 years ago the tumblr style feels so nostalgic in a horrible way. it looked so cheap and i wish instead it looked more stylish while still being the low price those clothes were 501
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@netiii3 years ago Honestly can’t wait to see what 2020’s fashion trends would look like. 100
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@katina86183 years ago As someone who lives in Iran there was not much variety in fashion aesthetics ( or you can say there was not any aesthetic) but with the rise of internet we got so many inspiration from outside world and in the past ten years you can see some similarities in generally iranian fashion to soft grunge , goth ,art hoe and also basic fashion . ... 25
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@anitaracheva3503 years ago As an ex-tumblr kid who spent a lot of time looking at fashion pics, I'd like to make a note about the "kawaii" segment of the video. While I was too young at the time to remember the intricacies of how or why this style gained popularity, I will say that I don't think that the style originated from sweet lolita. Rather, it was a combination between various j-fashion styles and the mainstream western trends at the time. If memory serves right, the style here dubbed as "kawaii" actually encompassed different j-fashion styles that had active communities on tumblr: himekaji, otome, fairy kei, and yes, lolita. The photos shown throughout this segment of the video mostly belong to the himekaji ("princess casual") style, as far as I can tell. There was also a significant overlap (as there always has been, at least in the West) between these j-fashion communities on tumblr and the broader tumblr fandom culture, especially when it comes to anime. Anime (at least in my personal experience) is the most common way that people get exposed to j-fashion, so that was incredibly influential to the aesthetic as a whole. This is why items like pleated skirts (a nod to school uniforms) and t-shirts and crop tops with anime-style graphics were so ubiquitous to the style on tumblr.
TLDR: I don't think it's entirely accurate to say that the tumblr kawaii aesthetic originated from sweet lolita. It instead combined several different j-fashion styles with mainstream fashion trends. It was also heavily influenced by anime, both in terms of the literal clothes worn by anime characters (school uniforms), and in terms of the overall emphasis on bright colors and 2D graphics. ... 907
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@liv74703 years ago as a psychology major I love your content and the professional editing, presentation and word use. Not to mention the informative content with emphasis on psychology or sociology. Thank you! This was a great video. 21
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@gabbyvelasquez37673 years ago this was such a dose of nostalgia i think i participated in almost every trend here 29
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@xColdNostalgia3 years ago "Twee fashion" was actually more commonly called Granny Chic on tumblr back in the day.... and I don't think I've ever abandoned it lol 539
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@catttyun3 years ago Listen, soft grunge is simply the superior aesthetic 1416
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@coreno963 years ago omg the pictures you used, i havent seen some of those bloggers in so long! i remember reblogging their pictures on tumblr lol 3
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@ansvangasse76443 years ago It's hilarious how we all used to pose with our toes pointing inward 39
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@lovefromshirley3 years ago Forever 21 etc thrived on these. Each section in that store suited a different one of these aesthetics and as much as I hate the store, they did a great job confusing all of us on which "type of girl" we wanted to be. ... 336
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@Pinkladyisv3 years ago I know a lot of people seem to hate this decade’s clothes but I really had a blast dressing myself during that time! I was in my late teens/early 20’s and I loved tumbler. I was so excited when I finally got my American Apparel skirt! I definitely was a big fan of soft grunge, hipster, Twee and Kawaii influenced fashion. You’re absolutely right when you pointed out how a big part of fashion then was to use your items in various different ways. Thanks for the trip down memory lane! ... 1068
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@chewie221b3 years ago For me, it was the Fandom side of tumblr that ruled my taste in fashion which were subtle cosplay looks from your favorite characters that other fangirls could recognize, but not everyone. Funny how that wasn't mentioned... ... 20
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@Satanna.avemaria3 years ago I remember seeing the kawaii aesthetic on Koti Rose and Taylor R along with other girls. I always wanted to do it but never had the confidence but now I do 🥰💕🌸 12
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@itspricila3 years ago ah tumblr in the 2010’s, you just had to be there 628
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@yubyub3353 years ago Give me any 2010s outfits, i'l wear them. Idc what people say, fashion is fashion, it always comes back, it never goes away, nevermind what critics say. 22
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@creepygal8003 years ago While I still think a lot of these trends look great, god, the 2010s were so fucking gross and cynical in terms of how we commodified the SHIT out of the concept of being unique and quirky. I wish we'd stop labeling stuff as alt when celebrities are walking around in it and receiving nothing but praise for how great they look. ... 80
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@goldenheartedliar-1963 years ago This completely reminds me of the “Supernatural” fashion trend in fandom. Ripped blue jeans, a black tee or tank, and then a layer of flannel with brown leather boots or combat boots was the basic staple. I remember this one girl who switched from glasses to contacts because she said “it was more practical to hunt in” (referring to the show). We all felt like badasses with our salt and iron packets in our bags lol ... 722
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@buttybuterson30063 years ago No but we need to talk about the hold that electra heart had on tumblr too😭😭 213
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@MoreGoneNahhh3 years ago Another thing that was incredible trendy on tumblr was the specific trend of certain body parts. Having a thigh gap was trendy (and beautiful), having your ribcage show was trendy (and beautiful),having hip or collar bones be more prominent/exposed was trendy (and beautiful). It was 2010s equivalent to the "heroin chic" trend in the early 90s. I can't tell you just how many girls in my elementary school had ED just because of that trend. It also didn't help that those "trends" were going around while we were 12,13,14,15 years old and going through puberty and teenage years made it much more harmful. ... 4
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@jojocircus98182 years ago i love the early 2010s fashion and i know my kind doesn’t exist anymore but i can’t ignore my love for it. it’s when i was in middle/early high school so i’m so nostalgic 5
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@pheobebuffay86933 years ago like we are making fun of 2010s fashion our kids will make fun of 2020s fashion too this keeps me up at night :/ 341
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@AN-hl3xn3 years ago I feel like in the 2010s, you could only look stylish if you already looked like a tumblr-girl model. I'm really happy for todays teenagers that there's almost every type of jeans in style. I think i would've hated myself a lot less if there weren't only skinny jeans in the stores.
I also feel like (maybe with the rise of tik tok) everyones more used to see more extravagant, colourful, fashionable looks and so it's more accepted. I grew up in germany, so maybe this is a german thing, but if someone would've walked in class with a skater skirt (or anything else besides skinny jeans and a basic or flannel shirt), everyone would've been weirded out ... 426
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@julialidia31803 years ago I was part of the soft grunge area of tumblr and honestly been getting the strongest urges to revisit my teenage fashion vibes lately lmao 7
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@flamingomingo98103 years ago I feel like I went through phases of literally all of these at one point 23
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@esperanzanoemiescobarherna21603 years ago Can we take a moment to appreciate converse shoes being worn in every style? Like it works for everything even now. You should make a video talking about Converse 131
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@gateetafeliz44833 years ago The Yoga aesthetic was missed. The athleisure. The Harem Pants. Basically the rich Hippy Trustafarian aesthetic was needed here. 267
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@96PLAID3 years ago I don't think "kawaii style" was based off of sweet lolita fashion. The "kawaii" style at the time was just what was trendy in Asia at the time. One could say that there was a kawaii influence within the trends but it wasn't what made the fashion it self. The right term to call this would be k-fashion or j-fashion at the time. ... 16
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@Miyahidekolast year I feel like Hipster fashion is reallllllly hard to describe. It was just one of those things you would know when you saw it. I remember it flavoring a lot of other styles. Like you said it could blend right into every one of these aesthetics. ... 6
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@youknow78563 years ago the kawaii aesthetic has nothing to do w lolita/egl fashion. it takes more aspects from hime gyaru or other kinds of fashion from japan but not lolita 239
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@02alleyboo3 years ago I think the 2010’s fashion was the best era for flattering shapes and styles. I still wear skater skirts, a line dresses, skinny jeans and many of the 2010 staples because it looks best on my body shape. The 2000’s was all about using your body as the main accessory whereas in the 2010s we kind of went balls to the wall with everything.
I think some honourable mentions would be moustache print, owl necklaces, galaxy print and the nerd aesthetic. ... 456
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@blackgirlmagicc3 years ago I actually wore ALL of these styles during my high school identity crisis 😬 including Lolita this really felt like both a trip down memory road and a personal call out 6
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@daisyelizabeth54623 years ago pastel goth and the kawaii aesthetic were the aesthetics that captured my heart in middle school and even now they have a special place in my heart. it’s helped me embrace my femininity and while i wouldn’t necessarily dress that way today, i will always appreciate how much it’s helped me learn how to love the feminine parts of myself ... 5
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@vysharra3 years ago Pencil skirts will never die. If you aren’t on trend, you’re vintage.
Right? Right?!? 508
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@aarikaagarwal47023 years ago Me realizing after watching this video that my fashion sense is stuck in 2010 192
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@catya3 years ago the 2014 soft grunge/tennis skirt/american apparel era will forever be my favorite 3
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@vlad-im44993 years ago Tumblr definitely was full of body shamming, I remember seeing a bunch of pro-ana posts and pages.
Now their search algorithm has improved and ask you if you are ok depending on what you search, which is nice.
(I discovered this because I struggle pretty bad with insomnia since I was 10 (I’m 22 right now) and when I started psychology treatment I investigate how people experience it in different social medias, it was nice when tumblr ask me that, maybe there’s people who need to be ask) ... 19