By Madeleine Stiffler
Lets travel back to 2014: the beacon of the Tumblr era aesthetic. Indie pop, wannabe grunge, vaporwave graphic design—the Tumblr age had millennials and Gen-Z’ers of all backgrounds joining together to bond over edited desaturated social media feeds, coming of age movies, pastel goth fashion, fishnet stockings, and choker necklaces. A truly remarkable period in time on the internet, the Tumblr aesthetic had a hold on all forms of social media and brands. This internet phenomenon influenced and created iconic fashion companies like Brandy Melville and the infamous American Apparel all the way to reviving Polaroid cameras. Undoubtedly at the heart of every teen that participated in the Tumblr era was an American Apparel skater skirt: the genuine epitome of the desired aesthetic. The Tumblr era was nothing less than an amalgamation of post-grunge, hipster, kawaii, and even VSCO trends grouped together to form multiple overarching aesthetics that individuals would showcase on Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and, of course, Tumblr feeds. For nostalgia’s sake, the 2014 trends were briefly revived on Tiktok as veterans from this era brought back their favorite clothing and accessory staples. Perhaps one of the few times people on the internet actually agreed, comment sections lit up in excitement as the aesthetic brought back joyous memories. Capturing moments like potted plants in window sills, combat boots against city scapes, excerpts from poetry books, this era allowed for everyone to express themselves freely, yet confined to an aesthetic standard. Whether or not this era marked the start of what would become a cutthroat internet society, it seemed like there was something for everyone during that time, and it was easy to “fit in” as long as you transformed aspects of your life to appear aesthetically pleasing and on brand. While the black turtleneck, dark eyeliner, and cracked iPhone screens painted shades of neon with sharpie renaissance is over, maybe the trend will make a consistent comeback one day… but I say we leave the trends in the past and move on from the consuming internet fads.