Clean girl, old money, tradwife — what do all of these terms have in common? I’ll give you a hint: it has less to do with innocuous TikTok trends and more to do with a sinister nostalgia for “better” (read: whiter) times.
The fashion corner of the internet has been in an uproar recently after fast fashion brand Pretty Little Thing — known for its bold nightclub wear — announced a rebrand that has left shoppers confused and disappointed.
Formerly the place to go for barely-there mini dresses that cinch your waist and hug your curves, the brand has ditched its skin-tight pink pleather boob tubes in favour of “luxury beige” blazers, pant suits, cardigans and gowns. From micro-trend to timeless elegance (or so it may seem), the change in aesthetic isn’t as baffling as you’d think. In reality, it’s a strategic evolution amidst rising conservatism online.
The Pretty Little Thing rebrand is the latest of a series of fashion moments pushing right wing values onto consumers.
It’s no surprise that it comes after a wave of “tradwife” content, where (mostly Christian) women ditch paid work in favour of unpaid domestic labour, performed for their husbands and children as an embracement of divine femininity. Videos of women cooking food from their organic homesteads from scratch all while glistening in beef tallow moisturiser and “no makeup makeup” that leaves them looking beautiful in an earthy, girl-next-door sort of way have permeated every corner of the internet. Oh, and these women are always fit, skinny and conventionally beautiful, too.
I’ve written before about the dangers of the tradwife aesthetic, namely its links to racism and white supremacy, but the point bears repeating when we discuss just how much these conservative ideas are uncritically peddled. When tradwives basically emulate the white flight via escaping to rural homesteads, what and who do you think they are escaping from? Sometimes it’s a fear of unnatural chemicals, sometimes it’s a fear of unnatural brown people, and sometimes it’s both.
In fact, this emphasis on being “natural” and “clean” is racially loaded, too. We saw this with the “clean girl” aesthetic (arguably the predecessor of tradwives) which was characterised by subtle makeup and glowing skin to give the appearance of “natural” beauty.
Coconut oil massaged into scalps before a slicked-back bun, thick and well-groomed eyebrows, edges brushed and styled, lips lined with brown instead of red — it wasn’t lost on writers at the time that the clean girl aesthetic co-opted makeup and hairstyles commonly associated with Black, South Asian and South American women, all of whom have been shamed and made to feel “dirty” for the same beauty practices. It’s interesting that these looks were only deemed “clean” once white women started wearing them — and the same can even be said about “clean beauty”, which often repackages traditional herbal remedies as organic and safe cosmetics (ayurvedic practices like oil pulling for whiter teeth, for example).
Terms like “clean” in beauty looks often have connotations of “white” or “not imported”, which brings us back to the Pretty Little Thing rebrand. In an attempt to embody the “old money” aesthetic (already a term with colonial implications of money obtained through exploitation), the brand chose to display its new styles on thin, white models with straight hair either tied back in a severe bun or left to softly drape on shoulders.
It’s no coincidence that it is these forms of beauty that the brand associates with luxury and class — but it is certainly interesting given that back when it sold gaudy, revealing outfits, the brand hired curvier models with more diverse racial backgrounds and curlier hair. In fact, fast fashion brands like Pretty Little Thing, ASOS and Boohoo often get around criticisms of their ethics regarding exploitation and plastic waste because ‘look at how diverse and size inclusive they are!’
@maggie_zhou pretty ugly little thing imo #prettylittlething #fastfashion #boohoo #prettylittlethinghaul #sustainablefashion ♬ original sound – Maggie Zhou
Now Pretty Little Thing’s front page models are white and skinny, the clothes appear more conservative and luxe (these terms are now being used synonymously) and the prices are higher — what does that tell you about who exactly the old money aesthetic is for, and even who can be considered classy?
This little fast fashion microcosm might seem innocuous, but it’s yet another symptom of a decay in our politics.
In the 2010s, there was a peculiar optimism in the air — America elected its first Black president for a second term, the Paris agreement was signed, the body positivity movement was in full swing, the term “feminist” was reclaimed and Black women were having a moment in fashion, music and art.
@asinderellastory okay i’m done now
♬ original sound – sinderella ✮ ✰ ✭
Fast forward to the 2020s, and the pendulum has swung back. Being skinny and white are both back in (not that they were ever truly out), Trump has just begun his second term as president, climate destruction is inevitable, women are under attack, we watched a genocide live through our screens, now we’re being bombarded with aesthetics associated with white people who gained wealth through exploitation and intergenerational wealth as though this is aspirational.
It’s times like these where we have to be extra mindful of our consumption of trends, and ask ourselves why certain looks are “in” — most of the time, they contain a message about our political climate. Or in this case, a warning.
