Love it or hate it, TikTok is where modern pop culture churns and brews, every few weeks spitting out the hottest trends in music, viral challenges, dances, foods, and even styles. Except the popular styles aren’t just fashion choices — they’re known today as “aesthetics.”
What exactly is an aesthetic? It’s kind of like a lifestyle, but heavy on the vibes. You may not actually live in a cottage if you’re into cottagecore (don’t worry, we’ll get into what this is in a minute), but you may dress the part, listen to the right music, and bake a killer loaf of sourdough from your own starter.
There are many types of aesthetics out there in the world, and new ones are popping up almost constantly. To give you a primer, we’re going to go over some of the more popular recent ones that have a little bit of staying power. But first, let’s see how we got to TikTok aesthetics from just plain old fashion.
Our Generation Had Styles. Gen Z & Alpha Have Aesthetics.
For our generation, the hippest looks and styles could be found in the hallways of your local school. Apart from that, there were TV and movies — and of course the teen mags you’d read while waiting in line at the grocery store. Some kids would inherit the type of person their parents were, like being preppy or a jock, while others would discover subculture styles like goth.
Whatever you were — or weren’t — depended on just a few variables, which is wildly different from what kids today have access to. Now, a kid can research an aesthetic, spend a weekend learning all about it — gathering brand names, curating matching Spotify playlists — and show up to school on a random Monday dressed in perfectly coordinated Coastal Grandmother chic.
Popular TikTok Aesthetic Trends that Come and Go
Cottagecore
Have you ever wished you lived in a cozy farmhouse, listened to soothing folks music, baked your own bread, and bought fresh flowers every weekend at the farmers market? If so, you’ve dallied in a little cottagecore reverie! One of the more popular drivers of cottagecore has actually been Taylor Swift, especially with her Folklore album release in 2020. Kids who are into this aesthetic dig calm and soothing activities, prefer cloth over disposable napkins, and take time to appreciate the beauty of nature.
Dark academia
For kids who really love the Gothic architecture and intense scholarly vibes of Harry Potter, dark academia is a popular aesthetic. Imagine walking around the dark, towering buildings of Oxford University, sporting starched linen button-up shirts, and having books on every possible surface in your dorm room — that’s dark academia. Capes are also pretty common, adding to that mysterious flair of a campus genius who listens to old jazz on vinyl and lights candles every night.
Coastal grandmother
The most fascinating thing about the coastal grandmother aesthetic is that you don’t have to be a grandmother — or even a mother! — to get on board with it. It’s characterized by an effortless yet well-dressed style, one in which you’re still comfortable and relaxed. The coastal aspect refers to a more seaside style, leaning into flowing shirts, nautical designs, and neutral layers. Nancy Meyers, a filmmaker who’s directed many movies with women that epitomize the coastal grandmother aesthetic, even celebrated this trend on Instagram.
Y2K
This one’s a recent throwback that we all experienced, and it romanticizes life in the early 2000s. Think low-rise jeans, chunky hair highlights, inflatable neon furniture, metallic Razor phones, and slightly-askew trucker hats. Music that matches this period consists of Britney Spears, Usher, Outkast, and late-era boy bands like NYSNC and Backstreet Boys — and Y2K enthusiasts probably listen to it on old-generation iPods.
With this aesthetic, many parents may be able to relate. In the ‘90s, it was popular to raid your mom’s closet and find hippie clothes from the ‘70s. Today, kids are finding baby doll tees and bedazzled tops from the ‘00s, reaffirming the classic truism that fashion — ahem, aesthetics — can come in 20 year cycles.
Mob wife
This style is inspired by the spouses in mafia movies like The Godfather, Casino, and TV shows like The Sopranos. Mob wife style is all about bold looks, lots of leopard print, big hair, and even the occasional fur coat. Granted, the movies that inspire this style are definitely not kid friendly, but that doesn’t stop TikTok youngsters from throwing on red lipstick and teasing their hair.
Barbiecore
A love of pink and the iconic doll are key to getting into Barbiecore, and while it’s been around for a while, the recent Barbie movie in 2024 really brought it into the mainstream. The style is hyperfeminine and bubbly, and it leans into positivity and optimism. This one is maybe the easiest to understand, because most folks are familiar with Barbie and her bright, stylized world.
Need More Help Understanding Your Child’s Digital World?
At Bark, we keep tabs on emerging trends, aesthetics, and slang so you don’t have to. Our blog and slang guides are regularly updated with trending topics and the latest terms so you have a trusted resource whenever you have a question about what your child is currently into.
And if you want to pick the brains of other parents like you, we invite you to join Parenting in a Tech World, our Facebook group that has 600,000+ members. Families are regularly helping each other out and sharing what they’ve learned when it comes to the most popular trends, digital parenting issues, and so much more.
On top of our free resources, we offer devices and apps that have content monitoring that can flag potentially concerning issues in your child’s texts and social media — including language that could point to bullying, mental health struggles, or risky behavior. We offer a variety of products that help parents protect their kids online, including the Bark Phone, the Bark Watch, the Bark app, and the Bark Home. Check out our products page to find out which one is the best fit for your family.
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