👗🦉👓 was 2010s twee a fever dream? 📺👜🦊

[Music] the best is a quirky girl I'm like [Music] an aesthetic for the sweet and Whimsical Twee evokes a childlike sense of wonder and a universal sense of fun coming out of the late 2000s and Lasting until the mid-2010s it perfectly encapsulates post-recession Millennial Aesthetics that center around prolonged adolescence and a dorkable quirky interests this video is going to be a really deep dive of 2000s and 2010's tweet like all my videos it's going to cover the key fashion trends visual identifiers and its decline I hope you enjoy background the toy archetype is one of innocent's quirkiness and Whimsy according to journalist Mark Spitz in his book Twee the gentle Revolution to be Twee is to root for the underdog to have a steadfast focus on essential goodness and Beauty the cultivation of an offbeat passion that's usually creative in nature and the utter dispensing of cool as it's conventionally known often for a kind of fetishization of the nerd the geek the Dork the Virgin however this wasn't always the case the term Twee was originally the baby talk mispronunciation of sweet and came into the Lexicon as early as 1905 to mean dainty or cute and then it really didn't become a subculture until its rise as an indie pop genre in the mid 80s and early 90s 20 bands like Tallulah gosh the field mice the orchids Saint Christopher and even some songs of the Smiths often focused on childlike Melodies Whimsical lyrics and kitchen performers people derogatorily labeled them Twee rather than disruptive Matt Hayes founder of Independent label Sarah records which put tweet pop on the map notes that toy bands Embrace gentleness in their music to rebel against the 80s and early 90s rock music industry that was dominated by Macho ax and it wasn't just softness for the sake of it but a collective Joy over pessimism and an inclusive space outside of aggressive rock music for example there were clear links between Twee and queer culture with many 90s toy bands playing alongside queer core bands and contributing to soundtracks for queer films eventually the genre soon became to embrace the term Twee and reclaim it 20 or so years later in 2007 the world was in the midst of the Great Recession this saw a pushed back to the wealth-faunting subcultures that had defined a lot of the 2000s like mcbling in replacement for more minimal Thrifty and socially conscious subcultures like the hipster within this time frame many subcultures of hipster began to re-emerge especially hipsters more optimistic and innocent little sister called Tui with its vintage Focus that was comforting in times of struggle and perfect for thrift shopping in an economically tough situation as well as its emphasis on individuality and creativity that complemented hipster Trends Tui was perfect for this moment in history naturally a range of tweet girls began to pop up that helped popularize the look Alexa Chung Taylor Swift who adopted the toy aesthetic as a hugely successful 2012 album Red was released and Zoe Deschanel who's quirky and playful on-screen and off-screen personas crowned her the queen of Twee these girls flooded the pages of early 2010's tumble blocks the popularity of these blogs meant Tumblr was one of the main sources of fashion information for youth culture during this time and influenced almost all aesthetic trends of the early to mid-2010s Tui in particular was massive on this platform largely because of how aesthetically pleasing it was in photographs and Tui eventually became so popular that it extended Beyond fashion to film music and even food Trends Spitz argues that the aesthetic was a Revolution and the most powerful cultural movement since Punk and Hip-Hop and while this was a gentle Revolution to be sure it's true that many of us Millennials found ourselves in the Kingdom of Tui clothes before we get into specific items I always like to contextualize the fashion influences of an aesthetic in order to understand it more deeply fundamental to late 2000s to mid-2010's Twee a clear vintage signifiers these vintage Styles instantly connect the aesthetic to Notions of quirkiness and Whimsy the two periods of style tweet focused on the most were the 50s housewife look and the 60s little girl and mod look the 50s housewife look was a direct response to the optimism of post-war America during the war many women took on Workforce roles while Memoir away fighting when the soldiers returned it was expected that women would resume their previous roles as wives and mothers and many did this was largely seen as comforting and something to be celebrated a symbol of a triumphant war that allowed a return to normalcy then post-war fashion began to experiment with new Fabrics stars and Silhouettes that contributed to the look making it one of the most recognizable of modern history 60s Fashion on the other hand was largely influenced by the baby boomers born in post-war Mania who were now grown up the largest young population in history now existed and youth began defining all areas of culture starting what was called a youthquake before World War II youth aimed to dress like their parents as soon as possible but now teenagers were establishing their own Styles particularly the mods who believed they were changing fashion forever they formulated new trends one being the little girl or the dolly look which essentially involved dressing like children it included things like Frills bows pigtails high socks and so on they were all exemplified and popularized by 60s it girls such as Paddy Boyd and Twiggy this look was a sort of symbolic extension of adolescence which was a Defiance to previous generations expectations that they would go straight from adolescence to adults interestingly mods also took a lot of style inspiration from French New Wave Cinema who often included quirky leading characters that could be considered early Twee icons these films would later Inspire many Wes Anderson films which were extremely important to late 2000s and 2010's Twee subcultures taken together mod60 styles are extremely important to late 2000s to mid-2010's Twee with some iconic looks appearing to come straight from the era anyway we're going to see examples of all of this as we go along so let's get into specific items skirts and dresses the most visible dress and skirt style of tweeb was the A-line silhouette taking inspiration from an iconic 50s housewife look of waist-hugging Silhouettes and dramatic skirt lines the style owes itself to Christian dior's 1955 A-line collection and later Yves Saint laurent's trapeze dresses of 1958 that helped A-line hems take over High fashion dress silhouettes of the 50s and into the 60s additionally 50s and 60s inspired Circle skirts helped to create the Twitter A-line silhouette essentially a circle piece of fabric cut out for the waist they were absolutely everywhere in the 50s largely because they were much better for Rock and Roll dancing than the figure-hugging skirts of the 30s and 40s poodle skirt was a popular subcategory of the circle skirt with teenagers and interestingly is also often credited as the origins of the skater skirt also massive in the aesthetic were shift dresses a free-moving silhouette they originally gained popularity in the flapper movement of the 20s being perfect for dancing we took most of its inspiration from the late 50s and early 60s who loved the easy to move in style designers such as maraquan and Givenchy were key in helping the shift come to life during this decade piniforms evoking Whimsical youthfulness could also be seen in Twee the design began as a protective garment for clothes particularly for children in the late 19th century and remained highly associated with youth throughout the 20th century however adult women sometimes wore pinafore aprons particularly during the 50s housewife look and in the 60s as part of the little girl style this mix of childlike clothes and 50s and 60s fashion was perfect for the toy aesthetic other skirts included button-down-the-front skirts another broader staple of early to mid 2010s fashion and lastly they were tea dresses which are an iconically retro silhouette the dress was first seen in the late 19th century for women to wear around the home and during their tea parties they were largely inspired by the aesthetic movement a period of culture in the late 19th century that emphasized art and Beauty in the face of Victorian sensibility and a utilitarian Industrial Revolution the dress involved throughout the 20th century and tweeted most of its inspiration from 30s and 40s tea dresses resonating with the Styles owed to beauty and delicateness tops easily the most iconic tweet top is a blouse while various forms of this top are worn in very early history in Western fashion it's been largely regarded as a woman's working garment first in the late Victorian period their mass-produced for workers in the early 20th century and then later in the 20th century as an increasing number of women joined the workforce the most iconic blouse collar in Tui was the Peter Pan collar which was first seen in the first American Stage production of Peter Pan in 1905. the trend then took over fashion magazines but eventually became associated with child dresses in the 20s evoking innocence and Whimsy that remained even as it spread to adult Styles throughout the 20th century with the New York Times reporting in 1983 the Peter Pan colawaris resemble refugees from a cake green away or Beatrix Potter tail therefore this clearly retro but also childlike collar was perfect for the 2000s tour extending Beyond blouses to other stars as well especially dresses or worn over a sweater another popular color trend of Twee blouses were bows originally named after the bow tied on the neck of a cat the star was seen throughout the early 20th century but we of course took inspiration from the bows of the 60s made extremely Popular by Coco Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent style is sort of reminiscent of a tie and so was also seen as the perfect mix of feminine and masculine which moved it into a form of power dressing in the 70s and 80s but its roots and early delicate vintage Styles made it super popular with Tui again moving to many other styles outside of tops as well shorts and pants high-waisted shorts were an iconic component of the aesthetic as a nod to early 20th century inspired fashion it wasn't until the 30s that it was seen as socially acceptable for women to wear shorts and right through the 50s they were largely high-waisted alongside this trend was the Capri pan they were first designed in 1948 by Sonia de Leonard and named after the Italian island of Capri where they then Rose to popularity in the late 50s and early 60s after being largely endorsed by Emilio Pucci Audrey Hepburn Bridget Bardot Marilyn Monroe and Mary Tyler Moore were some of the famous women to bring the pant to popularity in America and since then the style has been iconized as a 50s and 60s retro silhouette [Music] outerwear one of the most popular outerwear items for the twi aesthetic were Cardigans the item is named after James brudenelle who was the seventh Earl of Cardigan as he supposedly wore a knitted wool waistcoat during the Crimean War in the 1850s the cardigan was largely considered a male garment until 1908 where Vogue adopted it for sportswear and in the 20s by Coco Chanel made cardigans for women while taking many forms ever since 2000s and 2010's Twee adopted 40s and 50s dainty in tight Cardigans that were extremely popular with teenage girls especially after the rise of the sweater girl and large slouchy button-up Cardigans that were popular in the 50s ivy league Styles another really common 2000s and 2010's twilok was a large duffel coat it's named after a Belgian town where the coarse and thick Woolen fabric comes from but originated and designed from the Polish military frock coat that uniquely had hoods and toggles in 1890 it was supplied to the British royal Navy who found it perfect for cold wet weather after World War II the UK government had many left over and supplied them to companies like loveral who adopted them to the fashion Market they then became extremely popular and especially with mods and activists in the 60s which is largely where the Twee aesthetic takes its style notes from and lastly there were peacoats and trenches two items whose history are covered in the preppy video and whose classic Styles suited the Vintage aspect of Twee very well accessories [Music] hosiery knee socks worn with skirts were super super popular for tweet taking direct influence from the little girl look of the 60s additionally Tides were fundamental to the aesthetic in Black multi-color and pattern styles this is owed mainly to the rise of the mini skirt in the 60s Mary Quant told the Times Tribune in 1976 when I was seven I went to dancing class and the most beautiful girl there wore black tights and a pleated miniskirt it was the way I wished I looked Quant reimagined childlike tights for women in Crayola colors playful prints and girly embellishments and all of these were adopted by the toy aesthetic Tui also wore sheer brown pattern tights which were especially vintage looking being reminiscent of early 20th century Stars especially in the 20s to go with shorter skirt hems hats fedoras and bowler hats whose history are covered in the Hipster aesthetic were also big and Twee however perhaps more iconic to Twee were Berets they originate throughout Europe with poor classes but were mass produced during the Industrial Revolution in France and Spain becoming associated with these countries ever since while also being adopted by multiple military uniforms and revolutionary groups after the 20s it became associated with artists poets and writers and this remained into the 50s and 60s especially with beatnik and mod Styles who were also inspired by A Renewed interest in New Wave French Cinema therefore it makes perfect sense for Twee bags a bag whose history are covered in the hipster video were canvas tote bags and they were particularly loved by Twee because of their artistic and hipster feel and then a super popular Twee bag with satchels who have been around since ancient Rome and the 17th century but are mostly known as a typical accessory of English school students thus making it perfect for the childlike toy aesthetic shoes first there were ballet flats whose history I covered in the preppy video and whose dainty style and origins in 50s and 60s fashion perfectly suited the aesthetic another shoe whose history I covered in the hipster video but were extremely popular tree where the Oxford broke classic vintage style that also had a major moment in the 60s and alongside all of these were Mary Janes they first became popular in the early 1900s as a children's shoe when Missouri shoe manufacturer the brown shoe company began marketing them after a popular cartoon character Mary Jane from a comic strip while it remains a children's shoe to this day it didn't take long to become a favorite of women as well particularly in the flapper fashion of the 20s and then later in the 60s dollar girl look where it was super super popular it therefore makes sense it made its way to childlike 2000s and 2010's Twee especially as they were the go-to shoe for tweet icon Alexa Chung [Music] glasses a number of glasses I covered in the hipster video such as horn rimmed and Ray-Bans could be seen in the aesthetic as an Ode to nerd culture and vintage design however a stronger visual identifier of the Twee aesthetic will Windsor glasses emerging as early as the 13th century in the 19th century the Industrial Revolution started to mass produce them and by the 20s they exploded in popularity with movie stars athletes and celebrities 40 years later the countercultural hippie movement placed an emphasis on anti-consumerism which drove youth to Vintage 20s glasses it helped that they were also similar to the peace sign and a connection to the intellectuals of the 20s and 30s naturally we loved them for all these vintage and artistic references and lastly there were cat eyeglasses an instant signifier of 50s and 60s vintage they were first invented by altena scanassi Miranda in the late 20s he wanted to create a distinctly female silhouette in a largely unisex glasses market and thus took inspiration from Venetian Harlequin masks the star then took off and by the end of the 30s kanasi was hailed as transforming optical glasses to Fashion accessories later the cat eye went perfectly with dual's hourglass shape and so they of course exploded in popularity throughout the 50s and early 60s their playfulness and glamor made them attractive to the larger than lifestyles of Hollywood as well as a symbol of post-war optimism making this period the Golden Age of the cat eye glasses [Music] miscellaneous accessories tweeden place a lot of emphasis on jewelry however pearl necklaces bracelets and earrings could be seen throughout looks I covered their history once again in the preppy video but I'll point out that their instant signifiers of timer style and therefore really well suited for Twee additionally thin belts were a huge tweet Trend particularly with A-line hems mirroring a super popular style of the late 50s A-line Styles who often use belts to accentuate a small hip silhouette hair and beauty hair and beauty was minimal but effective mostly honoring 50s and 60s Styles loose tussled and undone hair was big but unquestionably the most iconic Twee hairstyle was hair bangs while a lot of this is owed to Zooey Deschanel it was also a major trend of mod 60 Stars too and thus makes sense more broadly for the aesthetic another look that was popular was the Dutch crown braid creating a folk-like style that suited the gentle and Whimsical elements I went over the history of Bose hair scars and headbands in the preppy video however for Twee they were mostly an honoring of vintage Styles especially from the 50s and 60s where tide headscarfs honored the model housewife aesthetic and neat had bands and Bows honored the childlike schoolgirl look in terms of makeup the main Twee Trend was the cat eye flick made particularly Popular by Alexa Chung I covered this trend in the hipster video and essentially its roots in 50s and 60s icons allow it to fit into the vintage toy aesthetic perfectly there was also a trend of red lipstick red lipstick is one of the most powerful and complex makeup symbols across the world constantly changing as are concepts of femininity change tweet takes most of its cues from early 20th century vintage glamor including the 40s red lip that women were encouraged to wear to boost soldiers morale or the 50s red lip during the golden Hollywood age foreign other visual cues fabrics and motifs patent fabrics and motifs are incredibly important to Twee some of these include the Revival of childlike and vintage fabrics that were popular in the first half of the 20th century such as Stripes inspired by preppy nautical trends of the 50s and polka dots inspired by early 20th century popular patterns but perhaps more representative of Tui was their love of cute and catch motifs things like flowers food and animals which were unquestionably the most popular in Twee think cats horses owls pugs foxes and many more even animal bags and Cat ballet flats were a staple for any devoted toy dresser old objects Twee visuals involve an amalgamation of different vintage and outdated objects similar to what I covered in the hipster video the explosion of digital technology throughout the 2000s and 2010s led many hipsters and tweet alike to avert back to Old technology to serve their anti-mainstream interests this included typewriters instead of laptops dial-up phones instead of cell phones vintage bicycles instead of cars vintage cameras instead of digital photos and vinyl records and record players instead of MP3 downloads however what separates tree from hipster here is how far they took this resorting to much more Niche retro items in their aesthetic things like ukuleles which were super popular as its dainty and soft sound went very well with gentle Twee but also things like Taxidermy or Nate vasa's vintage radios teacups doll houses and so much more brands there are a number of popular brands who are iconic visual references for late 2000s to mid-2010's tweet there was Luella who really went mainstream in the late 2000s after their designer Luella Bartley won multiple Awards and achieved Global recognition made him Kirchoff who went particularly mainstream after their collaboration with Topshop in 2013 Ryan Lowe in the later parts of the aesthetic ModCloth which began as an online platform to buy vintage clothes and specifically catered to the Twee aesthetic Mew Mew particularly in their 2010 collection Kate Spade Miss patina and many more [Music] interior Twee Interiors are influenced by mid-century modern designs and often go heavy on the Antiques and retro technology the color palette is usually cheerful bright primary colors saturated pastels and homey shades of tan Interiors can be color coordinated to an unnaturalistic extent creating a Fantastical one color room later in the aesthetic General 2010 trends that had a somewhat vintage feel were also included think fairy lights terrariums potted plants and Mason jars also many mason jars a good source of inspiration for Twee Interiors can be found in Wes Anderson movies film and television a key examples of the 2000s and 2010's toy aesthetic in film and television you should first take a look at the entire Wes Anderson filmography then 500 Days of Summer submarine A Series of Unfortunate Events me before you and God help the girl additionally 2000s and 2010's toy movies tend to be coming of age stories that demonstrate the tension between childhood and adulthood they typically include characters that are either a precocious child an adult who refuses to grow up or those that are good gentle Brave and artistic in the face of challenges think Nancy and Nancy Drew Roger and Greenberg Charlotte and Pushing Daisies Claire in Elizabethtown Samantha in Garden State Benjamin and gentlemen Broncos Charlie and The Perks of Being a Wallflower and definitely Jessica a new girl the decline the Twee aesthetic began to decline around the mid-2010s many countries are now recovered from the recession and the Pendulum was beginning to swing back to well-faunting styles there was a rise in Aesthetics like the hypebeast representing those who are confident ambitious and consumerist and a decline in minimal and vintage inspired Aesthetics especially dainty gentle and demure Twee by 2015 it was clear that quirky hipster archetypes were not so much inspiring as they were cringe-worthy and that the cultural revolution of Tui was on its way out so I always like to point out the flaws in an aesthetic to appreciate it in its entirety and to try and avoid romanticizing them in our Nostalgia and yes oh yes there is plenty to consider with Twee just a heads up I'm going to talk briefly about eating disorders here so if you'd rather not hear that skip ahead to this time spot 2000s and 2010's Twee was far removed from its more intersectional 80s Origins and instead became one dominated by thin white CIS female bodies this was especially troubling as Tumblr romanticized eating disorder culture so much that in 2012 they had to implement restrictive policies on pro-anorexia content tweet icons were often celebrated because of their thinness and this can be extremely damaging to the mental health of those engaging in or consuming the aesthetic Additionally the Tui was majority white is a big problem for representation and if you ask me speaks to an inequality that many scholars have noted that embodiments of Innocence are not as quickly associated with non-white bodies Margaery joles a women's and gender studies associate professor at Roosevelt University articulates that non-white girls and boys aren't granted the same kind of childhood that whites are a childhood that is largely coded in terms of Innocence Purity virtue what's more anesthetic that celebrates women being dainty and childlike is not only disturbing for obvious reasons but also because it speaks to misogynistic characterizations of women that we sometimes see that they are not autonomous adults and that they need to be controlled and while I'm on this throughout history women have been told that they are to remain youthful and innocent to please man and Twee is a prime example of this for example it took a lot of cues from the manic pixie dream girl archetype the young slightly naive Whimsical and quirky girl who arrives just at the right time in a man's life just when things aren't going well to remind him how beautiful life is and how great he is in the process she becomes nothing more than his fantasy and this Trope propels the idea that this is all women should be so I personally think the aesthetic has a bit of work to do last year it went through a clear Revival being seen under your Mumu and Coach runways characters like Lexi on Euphoria Taylor Swift's re-release of red and across Tech talk with this new generation comes new ideas and many of today's tweet dresses are advocating for more inclusivity and less essentialist views of gender and while we still have a long way to go why not try to make it better now more than ever we need sustainable Aesthetics that can be made easily by Secondhand garments and Twee is perfect for this and I think it's probably good to also have subcultures that focus on kindness and curiosity in the face of tough situations as much as we've learned what not to do late 2000s and mid-2010's tweet also gave us some ideas of what to do in this Arena it wasn't always just quirkiness for the sake of quirkiness but it was gentle and sentimental and creative when it was hard to be however you want to approach this aesthetic it's whimsical and vintage styles were a perfect time capsule for post-recession Millennial sensibilities so I hope you found the toy aesthetic as interesting as I did let me know what you think about it in the comments below and don't forget to like And subscribe thanks for watching

Channel: aestheticsexplained

Views: 82,327

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Id: ed-7puQ8Lpw

Length: 25min 52sec (1552 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 09 2023