“You know, they have the scrunchies and they say ‘and I oop’ a lot.”
Like a hardboiled detective in a 1940s film noir, I pushed my friends to delve deeper into the complexities of the VSCO girl.
“You’ve seen that meme,” they said, “they have the little pants and the big top!” What kind of parallel universe have I entered? Is this some sort of Shania Twain, ‘man shirt, short skirt’ secret society? There’s another group of Internet teenagers I didn’t know about? I have really got to get a TikTok.Īs an investigative journalist, I took it upon myself to press my friends for more details. “What about VSCO girls?!” cried most of my friends. VSCO girl “transformation videos” – another trope of the trend – also tend to feature girls putting their hair in messy buns and eating avocado toast, before admitting that, actually, perhaps they were a little bit VSCO to begin with.In my last Inside Column, I took it upon myself to uncover the great secrets behind those mysterious girls of the Internet known formally as “e-girls.” Naturally, all my friends and family were impressed by my dedication to uncovering the truth. Commonly used phrases such as “ and I – oop” – a reference to the drag queen Jasmine Masters – as well as “sksksk” (a phrase often attributed to black/stan Twitter, which represents a sort of typed shock) are often amplified within parodies. Like all the best subcultures, VSCO girls have their own language. YouTuber Emma Chamberlain, off-duty Ariana Grande and even Princess Diana have all been said to subscribe to the trend. Buzzfeed likened VSCO girl style to that of The OC’s Marissa Cooper, “except the girls wearing the look are too young to have heard of The OC”. VSCO girls look as if they are always on holiday, but their aesthetic is the opposite of the Fashion Nova-heavy, super-contoured look associated with Instagram influencers. Brands such as Brandy Melville, Urban Outfitters and the backpack favourite Fjällräven also get a mention.
Parodies and “starter pack” memes tend to reference oversized T-shirts, pukka shell chokers, Hydro Flasks, scrunchies (usually several), “ugly” shoes and Carmex lip balm. VSCO girls certainly have “a look”: laid-back, beach-ready, youthful. Add the teen popularity of shortform video-sharing app TikTok, where VSCO girl impersonations are rife, and you have a meme. Being a VSCO girl is often embraced and mocked by those who subscribe to the trend. In the last year, it has become shorthand for a particular type of teen: typically white, wealthy and eco-conscious – the Cut succinctly described it as “manic pixie ecowarrior”. The name is derived from the photo-editing app VSCO (say “visco”), a kind of Instagram 2.0 in which everyday images are given added poignancy with filters. Until then, here is what you need to know: What is a “VSCO girl”? T his week, the New York Times published an article advising on what to do when your tween wants to be part of the “VSCO girl” trend – a sure sign that parents have cottoned on, and the trend will be “ovah” by Christmas.
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