geek chic is back!? 🤓📚📸 (a study of style)

is Geek Chic back welcome back to a study of style the series on this channel where we take a look at a specific fashion aesthetic and do our best to break it down what it is how it came to be and its identifying features in today's video we're going to be focusing on the contradiction that is Geek Chic a style that's currently Making Waves on the runways and social media with Tik Tok being filled with videos alluding to the look the trend is by no means a new Phenomenon with its root stretching back as far as the 1950s but its modern Revival is fascinating nonetheless if Past online trends like Cottage core or Whimsy goth are to be believed then stores will soon be filling up with pleated midi skirts Khat Kei shorts and sweater sets but if you're tempted to join in on the fun why not do your wallet and the planet a few favors by shopping secondhand instead which brings me to today's sponsor thread up thread up is an online consignment store that helps make secondhand shopping easy and affordable today I decided to style a few few outfits Loosely inspired by The Geek Chic Trend with some items I got off of thread up I got this gray tank top for $9 off of its original price of $38 and this Casual Corner cardigan for $723 off of $64 this gray leco Pon skirt was $44.25 compared to its estimated retail price of $284 which I paired with this classic Charter Club sweater vest for only $540 compared to its estimated retail price of $64 to make all of these outfits a little more Autumn appropriate I also got two trench coats which are a cold weather staple that will never go out of style this black Vince Cudo trench coat was $59.99 off of its estimated retail price of $159 while this brown trench coat from Top Shop was $52.99 off of its estimated retail price of $161 that's more than half off and they're in perfect condition I've worked with thread up a couple of other times before and it's quickly become one of my favorite secondhand websites because the options are practically endless which yes can be kind of intimidating if you're just starting out but with thread Up's latest feature that lets people share their favorite items it's gotten a lot easier if you click on the link in the description you can shop my favorites which are items I personally selected just for you guys that reminded me of The Geek Chic look there's bags skirts shoes Blazers coats you name it I got it and if anything winds up striking your fancy you can also use my code modern girls for an extra 40% off your first order now let's get back to the video to understand the Geek Chic style one must first get a firm grasp of the geek specifically how they've been depicted in popular culture over the years and the Public's perception of them believed to stem from the low German word geek meaning fool freak or simpleton the term geek saw widespread use in North America during the 19th century to refer to a very specific type of Carnival performer one who was considered so unskilled that their only Talent was biting the heads off of animals these graphic performances were considered unseemly yet continued to be a form of entertainment but the Geeks in question wound up being so despised by the public that at the time it was even a point of Pride to work for a carnival that didn't have a geek show the popularity of these acts slowly dwindled over the course of the 20th century and by the 1940s had all but died out and as such the word geek didn't pop up half as often in ordinary conversation as it once had it was occasionally used as slang in the 1940s and 50s to refer to a person who was extremely interested in computers electronics and Technology subjects that were still relatively unfamiliar to the general public making engineers and scientists of the time Geeks it was around this time that the US began to turn their attention towards space exploration with the jet propulsion laboratory project getting its start but it was the astronauts not the people behind the desks who became celebrities while men were the face of these projects there were dozens of women working behind the scenes on the calculation that made these early space missions possible because of their knowledge in physics and Mathematics they were technically considered Geeks but they were also nicknamed human computers and a more playful moniker has sprung up in recent years the rocket girls the JPL was eventually transferred over to NASA in 1958 and with it the rocket girls although there was no strictly enforced dress code all of NASA's employees were expected to wear appropriate office attire unlike the 1940s which saw women dressing in utilitarian Styles when joining the workforce during the postwar era there was a distinct shift away from masculine Styles in favor of more feminine ones this meant that by the 1950s modest attire like blouses suit sets Cardigans and midaf skirts had become the norm for women's office wear meanwhile male engineers at Nasa typically wore a dress shirt a tie and trousers and with many other Tech driven companies at the time period opting for a similar look it would serve as the foundation for the geek uniform in later years in the 1970s the nerd became a mainstream Phenomenon with the term being used on the popular 1974 sitcom happy days to describe people who were considered uncool by others SNL had a recurring sketch called the nerds nerd days were hosted in schools Across the Nation and the word was added to Webster's Dictionary in 1979 where it was then defined as quote a person regarded as contemptibly dull unsophisticated Etc in an article from the time period they were described as quote nerds were instantly recognizable almost as though they had a big X branded on their foreheads they always slouched wore cracked horn Rim glasses held together by tape wiped their noses without a handkerchief never combed their hair and were Afflicted with dandruff body odor and complexion problems there was also the matter of their attire nerds were known most for the way they dressed it was almost as though they put their clothes on in the dark nothing ever matched not even their socks a self-proclaimed nerd Watcher shared similar sentiments in another article quote they were cuff pants with a thin belt white socks penny loafers and unbuttoned cardigan and chem laab glasses has short hair and is uniformly ugly of course that's only a physical description true nerdy is a lifestyle that's hard to define a real definition would be one who aspires to perfection in every aspect of life and cares little for non-academic happenings although I find these descriptions to be rather harsh they did reflect the public's opinion about nerds apart from their behavior intelligence or supposed unra r activeness one of the biggest factors in whether or not someone was a nerd were their interests nerds of the 1970s were stereotyped as being too passionate about outer space technology math fantasy and science which is a pretty ridiculous thing to single someone out for liking considering pop culture at the time was basically catered towards those interests the role playing game Dungeons and Dragons hit shelves in 1974 Star Wars was released in 1977 to immense critical and Commercial Acclaim Star Trek which had started off as a TV series in the 1960s began its own movie franchise in 1979 the Atari 2600 popularized home video consoles while the arcade industry was bringing in billions of dollars and several home computers were on the market while this should have made the 1970s the best time to be a nerd it turned out to be the opposite with Nerds being so widely reviled and ridiculed that many wound up hiding their interest out of fear of being bullied but one day the pendulum swung the other direction with Nerds being so out they were suddenly in and in the 1980s there was effectively a nerd Revolution films like 1982 Zapped 1984's Revenge of the Nerds 1985's Weird Science and 1987's Can't Buy Me Love showed that nerds were just like normal guys which in 1980s speak meant that they liked a party and were incredibly misogynistic 1983's War Games 1984's Ghostbusters and 1985's Real Genius made the Nerds intelligence a superpower instead of of a hindrance allowing them to accomplish things no ordinary person could there were also coming of age stories like 1985's at breakfast club 1986 is Lucas and 1985 is Back to the Future which showed the nerd in a more positive light with actual character growth notably there were very few female nerds because obviously a woman would never be interested in science or computers fashion trends of the 1980s took a good deal of influence from the 1950s in general especially the popular ivy league look that eventually evolved into the preppy style but the nerdy outfits that appeared on screen specifically referenced workware of the 1950s which made nerds resemble their parents more than their peers tying into the idea that they looked as out of touch as they acted because the stereotyped appearances and interests of the Nerds of the 1970s and 80s shared so much overlap with geeks of the 1950s the two terms eventually became synonymous with one another with geek re-entering the common vernacular although I would like to point out that they technically are different with Intelligence being a requirement for nerd d by the 1990s nerds geeks had become a permanent fixture in the entertainment industry with both realistic and comedic versions of the archetype appearing on screen taking notes from over-the-top Geeks from the past like Professor Julius or Eugene felik sitcom characters like Steve Urkel from Family Matters Screech from Save By the Bell and steuart Minkus from Boy Meets World continue to push the prevailing geek stereotype of being science obsessed socially awkward squeaky voiced Outsiders who wore thick glasses and ridiculous clothing while these characters were varying degrees of likable and sympathetic being a geek wasn't exactly a good thing in other projects the geek was made empathetic and relatable by highlighting how their Oddities were by no means a justification for their mistreatment and that everyone was a bit of a geek in their own way in film this included 1991's my girl 1993's Adam's Family Values 1995 5's welcome to the dollhouse and 1998's Rushmore while on TV you could spot them on Freaks and Geeks and my so-called life while Velma dley had long been the only animated geek in the 9s there was an explosion of the character type in cartoons with Gus and Gretchen from Recess Eliza from The Wild Thornberries Dexter and mandar from Dexter's Laboratory Milhouse and Lisa from The Simpsons and Chucky from Rugrats with many of them wearing giant glasses and dated clothing it was clear that the geek look had been solidified in pop culture while technology and Geeks had been associated with one another since the 1950s it was during the 1990s that it became official with the term computer geek gaining mainstream popularity this was likely as a direct result of it departments becoming more common within individual companies because of the increasing popularity of computers and the internet and while they were a valuable part of the company they were often kept separate from other employees fostering a sense of otherness that had plagued the geek since the the 1800s however on a larger scale computer geeks were thriving with the doom boom turning people into multi-millionaires overnight making Geeks just as inspirational as they were mockable in response to the tech industry's success there were an assortment of films released over the course of the 9s that positioned computer geeks as the hero effectively subverting expectations of the Trope depicted by both men and women they were video game designers computer hackers and system analysts and while they were sometimes still bit socially awkward they could still kick ass save the world and fall in love making them cool these films included 1992 sneakers hackers Johnny nemonic and the net which were all released in 1995 1997's Nirvana and existence the 13th floor and the Matrix in 1999 it really was hip to be square Hollywood wasn't the only place showing Geeks love with high fashioned runways featuring Styles inspired by the nerdy looks of the past and present the 1990 was a huge time for youth counterculture movements which resulted in the mainstream popularity of alternative fashion subcultures like grunge goth and punk considering Geeks had spent decades as societal outcasts known for having bad taste popularizing their clothing was just the type of ironic contradiction that the era thrived on coined Geek Chic the style first began to Trend in the mid90s with many citing designer muta Prada as The Mastermind Behind The Craze with her spring summer 1996 collection being titled Bol eccentricity the look could be interpreted as a combination of the clean cut workware of the 1950s the academic styles of the 1980s and the rebelliousness of the 1990s resulting in a style that was slightly disheveled but simultaneously formal The Geek Chic style involved mixing patterns that seemingly didn't go together sporting colorful sweaters in an homage to the uniforms of Star Trek nylon jackets midi skirts and cardigans for retro feel and neck ties and button-down shirts to appear as though one was on the job Brands like Marc Jacobs Anne kleene Raph Simmons bbery Alexander McQueen and Ralph Lauren continued showcasing the trend into the 2000s where it eventually split into two distinctly different styles one prioritized the Chic part of Geek Chic sticking to tailored Silhouettes that highlighted the figure creating a look that was secretary meets scientist while it was reminisent of typical smart casual attire from the decade a handful of details made its geeky inspirations like Cardigans Blazers and pencil skirts that read as a contemporary take on the 1950s this sort of sexy librarian look was sported by jaelle bunin in 2006's the devil we Prada Lucy Lou in 2003's Charlie's Angels Ava Mendes in 2005's hitch Maggie Gyllenhaal in 2002's Secretary Uma Thurman in 2006's My Super Ex-Girlfriend Jessica Alba in 2005's Fantastic 4 Joan cusac in 2003 School of Rock and Jessica Beal in 2007's I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry although they sported this style the characters in question often weren't Geeks with their only nerdy Factor usually being their glasses speaking of which glasses in this rectangular style were generally popular at the time with several celebrities sporting them out and about the second style was much more geek than Chic taking notes from the exaggerated depictions of nerds from the 1980s to tie into The geek's Eccentric nature these outfits featured wacky patterns and kitchy motifs with the eclectic style making them look appealing to the average person 2001's Ghost World was an early example of the style type but it continued to appear throughout the decade on TV for younger audiences this included Harper in Wizards of Waverly Place Quinn and Zoe 101 and Penelope in The Amanda Show while older audiences got Betty and Ugly Betty Penelope and Criminal Minds and bernardet in The Big Bang Theory unlike the first 200000 style we discussed these women were undeniably Geeks and I just love that we're finally seeing more than one of them in a decade hobbies that had once been indicators of someone's geekiness like video games comic books computers and fantasy fiction were effectively normalized by the end of the 2000s with film series like X-men Spider-Man the Lord of the Rings and The Star Wars prequels being massively successful as a result the behavior of Geeks in film and TV reverted back to socially awkward caricatures in order for them to remain easily identifiable outcasts not Peter Parker esque bookworms 20 's Napoleon Dynamite and 2007 Super Bad essentially revolved around a group of cringey losers while movies like 2004 sleepover 2006 is accepted 2007's Sydney White and 2008's The House Bunny featured a handful of cringey Geeks as supporting characters we also saw some Geeks reclaim the terminology during this era with companies like Geek Squad leaning into the association with their branding Weird Al Yankovic releasing the popular parody song white and nerdy and fans of the TV show Glee being called gleeks I'm a GLE you're a geek by the time the 2010s rolled around aspects of geek style and culture had been co-opted by the growing hipster subculture which prided itself on rejecting the mainstream while ironically participating in many things that were in fact mainstream while the Hipster look consisting of flannels skinny jeans mustaches beanies and thick glasses were widely joked about other styles surfaced with the same I'm Different intent this included we a sweet retro inspired aesthetic that was huge in the Indie music scene and on Tumblr the style was sported by celebrities like Alexa Chung zo de Chanel and Taylor Swift and you'll notice that aspects of it are reminiscent of the geek look of the 1950s with collared blouses Cardigans high-rise trousers and long skirts all of which were reflected on the runways of various Brands like Michael Kors Philip Lim Marney Margaret Howell and Paul Smith if Mumu and Prada were the poster children for the geek she clook in the 9s Gucci was their mid 2010 successor when alesandro Michelle took over as creative director in 2015 he set out to make a new Gucci that had a quote sophisticated intellectual and androgynous feel and the Bold style that hit the runways was an Ode To The maximalist Geek look of Prior eras for the remainder of the decade Gucci was a loyal purveyor of the geek Chik style and in the 2020s the aesthetic had become synonymous with the Brand's identity this past year we've seen the style pop up more and more frequently on the runways with Gucci Mumu and Prada being joined by the likes of sadom mar gong and Ora Lee in this format the look is often presented as the geek on the go carrying coffee with their hair of skew tying into the sort of trumpess that had long been associated with geeks the ju toos of geekiness and trendiness is a common theme in the 2020s reinterpretation of the style aiming for an ironic look that is simultaneously ugly and cool a nerdy super model if you will the style has been adopted by fashion trend setters like Bella Hadid gabriette the Carlson sisters and Emma Chamberlain highlighting its inevitable acceptance into the mainstream Staples of the trend like glasses loafers midi skirts Cardigans socks ties and button-downs have returned in full force which causes some overlap between the preppy Academia aesthetic but with exaggerated Silhouettes that create a more unique SL dorky look compared to past versions of geek Chik style I also find that there's more Sports Wear incorporation with sneakers sweatshirts and baseball caps adding a sense of casualness to what might otherwise be seen as a stuffy outfit like many trends of the 2020s there have been attempts to Rebrand the aesthetic with a more hashtag name with librarian core corporate girly Mumu style office core and Casual Bayonetta being tested out while the look has been gaining traction online for those confused by the final option it's a reference to a video game series from 2009 which features a glasses wearing female protagonist of the same name before before anyone complains about this I want to point out that giving a style a nickname is by no means unique to this generation just look at this article from 1996 quote in the past few years the look has been called Geek Chic Punk preppy revenge and now golf Punk my take on the style is gizer Chic history really does repeat itself huh considering the history of the style I'm partial to The Geek Chic moniker but if I had to come up with a new name for the look I think I'd go for Neo nerd just because I'm tired of slapping core and girl onto everything but let me know if you can think of a better one the evolution of the geek as a whole is fascinating from someone who is completely reviled by Society to being the butt of the joke to someone that others find inspirational while it's inevitable that some people will dress in the style just because it's trendy I hope that the acceptance of a look that isn't so perfect makes it easier for everyone to not have to worry about being fashionable all the time what do you think about the Geek Chic style thanks again to thread up for sponsoring this video if you're interested in refreshing your wardrobe click the link in the description and get 40% off your first purchase with the code modern girls I hope you enjoyed this video don't forget to like And subscribe and I'll see you soon bye

Channel: ModernGurlz

Views: 176,206

Keywords: style, modern gurlz, 90s fashion, fashion, movie review, movie commentary, moderngurlz, review, movies, Film analysis, movie analysis, analysis, video essay, movie reviews, television, entertainment, tv answers, disney, costume design, fashion analysis, style analysis, modern girls, film theory, bayonetta, miu miu, 90s style, 2023, 2023 fashion trends, tiktok fashion, geek chic, geek chic trend, librarian core, ugly betty, the devil wears prada, plaid skirt, 2000s fashion

Id: xgLjT51o1D4

Length: 20min 39sec (1239 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 14 2023