The Poet, the Physician, the Farmer The Scientist, the Magician And the other so-called Gods of our legends Though Gods they were

A couple of months ago, I wrote a little mirco-essay about the radical roots of "twee," and how the "twee" we knew from the mid-aughts to mid-2010s stands at a stark antithesis of the inclusive, queer, body positive, and anti-Thatcher, anti-consumerism roots of what was an important cultural movement. This article written for The Tribune is one of the most excellent pieces to speak on this, as "twee" is once again making a come back due to nostalgia and TikTok. An inclusive movement rooted in  the survival of Thatcherism and necessity brought on by poverty in the 80's and early 90's became about thinness and fast fashion consumption, and figureheads of the 2010's "twee" were none other than wealthy nepo babies.

This video essay goes over this very well. (I love this whole channel)

Because of TikTok, "twee" (although I am loath to call it such) is back. Thankfully, this time around, the body inclusivity aspect is back, but they're still not  fully getting the point: so much of  what we think of as this "aesthetic" is rooted in a look and consumerism--and not a lifestyle built out of necessity.

I am not the first person to talk about this, or to speak on this, but  mass consumerism, "aesthetics," "-core," and other flash in the pan purchases based on our complete lack of impulse control are not only destroying our planet, but our ability to shape our own identities. We no longer know who we are, and we cannot buy our way into knowing it.

THIS essay, by the absolutely brilliant Chisom, succinctly nails it: it is not normal or healthy to spend $200 on SHEIN and get a completely new identity overnight.

Of COURSE, there has always been the issue of fashion trends and seasons, and seeing clothes as being "outdated," and being pressured to buy new clothes or to stay trendy--but it's never been to the extreme that we have been seeing in the last 2-3 years alone.

Here are some other folks who are brilliantly nailing articulating this:

Not to sound like "that person," but social media, especially dopamine-hit centric platforms like TikTok, really promote overconsumption, a need to "keep up," or "catch up," and a feeling as though you will never be able to stay on top of the constant barrage.

It's very interesting to look back on the world from the pre-internet era. I came of age with the internet, so, unlike those who were born into a world where the internet always existed, the internet has not informed my entire identity. Because I grew up in poverty, I also had a more analog childhood than most, and so, whilst like most of us, I am chronically online and love the internet, I know how to form an identity without it. Clothing has always been a form of self-expression, display of wealth and status, or to indicate community, across all cultures and eras. Clothing used to be a cornerstone of your identity, that indicated who your friends were, what kind of music you listened to. Your personal style was shaped not by people constantly telling you to buy mass produced items that were made in horrifying working conditions (although, let's be real, this has always been a component), but you curated your style based on what you could afford and what made you comfortable.

Your style was about being you, not what you were from a $200 SHEIN hall from the night before.

It's not dissimilar to the way our friendships have deteriorated, and have become almost entirely transactional.

The YouTuber "aestheticsexplained" always does a sensational job breaking down the fashion trends, to their most fundamental roots. I greatly enjoy watching these videos over and over again because I feel like I have a different take away each time. In the recent breakdown of the history of emo, something just clicked: we as a society have no personal style because  previously all of our styles and fashion movements were informed by what was going on around us historically. We aren't responding to Thatcherism or the 2008 recession with our clothing choices, we aren't responding to the cultural climate of the 1960s, we are just buying  poorly-made shit some TikTok user is telling us to buy because they got a commission on it. The way we dressed was always less about wanting to explore microtrends, and  much more about finding out who we were as people.

We also seem to forget that much of the way we dressed in previous generations was also directly tied to what music you listened to, and that was also your sense of community.

I saw a really cute reel on Instagram recently, from a Deftones fan account saying "normalize not dressing like your music taste," and I felt really reassured by this. I've been watching a lot of videos lately breakdown the cringy, and downright creepy "Goth Girlfriend" obsession (part of the reason why I still listen to Goth music and always consider myself a Goth at heart, even if I don't want to dress like this anymore for.... these reasons, lol). Everything has become so astoundingly shallow, so utterly devoid of its meaning because now all we have is consumption that isn't informed by anything other than a want of the day.

I may no longer be defined by a single style aesthetic (because that's boring anyway, if I am being honest), but I still have a strong sense of identity, both in terms of my personal sense of self and my personal style. I have the benefit of strong convictions, and  knowing who I am, because I had the long, arduous journey of discovering who I am organically. I put time and effort into shaping myself through a considerable amount of struggle, trial and error, both as someone who struggled deeply with poorly managed mental illness in my teens and as someone who wasn't constantly being bombarded with TikTok videos being from a pre-internet era.

Because sometimes, you find out who you are because you have to, not being you're being sold to.