Coquette. Clean girl. Coconut girl. Y2K. Grunge. Downtown girl. Mob wife. Turn on your phone and you’ll be bombarded with a flashing screen of these “aesthetics,” a word that has quickly turned into a synonym for identities. Throughout history there’s always been a desire for a certain look, certain products to have and a certain image to present. 

Still, in recent times the internet has commodified every aspect of our lives. And all these traits, from bows to black eyeliner, have one thing in common: the rapid, hungry consumption required to achieve an unattainable standard. 

The word “aesthetic,” defined as being “concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty,” has, in recent years, taken on a new meaning as referring to the general style of a person, place or thing. 

“Used broadly, your fashion aesthetic refers to an all-inclusive, quick categorization of your personal style and principle of taste,” fashion designer Daniel Patrick wrote.

The word “aesthetic” has become a term to describe overall styles. It captures not only the clothing pieces and material goods that form its appearance, but also the lifestyle, hobbies and interests that derive from it. Therefore, an aesthetic could also be defined as the gross glamourization of a lifestyle. 

The various aesthetics advertised to us are not just styles, but personas for us to adopt. Often, they are not expressions of personal taste but costumes, identities we present to the world in the hopes of being perceived a certain way – edgy, expensive, feminine intelligent. 

In attempting to achieve these highly desired appearances, we often fall into the trap of associating them with specific material goods. The belief that possessing certain material goods will earn you a coveted lifestyle is one heralded by the influencers, celebrities and brands that profit off of this impression. 

However, your bank account will be the first one to suffer. As new aesthetic trends appear every month, we find ourselves trying to purchase all the items we need to fit the new standard. To afford this financially unsustainable lifestyle, however, many turn to fast fashion. 

As people crave the newest trendy item, retailers such as Zara or SHEIN swoop in to make it cheaply available for them in a matter of days. These short production times and low prices have a serious environmental toll, with 85% of textiles going to landfills each year.

“Fashion production makes up 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions, dries up water sources and pollutes rivers and streams,” Morgan McFall Johnson from Business Insider said. “And washing some types of clothes sends thousands of bits of plastic into the ocean.”

As the constant need to achieve a new style increases, the purchase of higher-quality, more expensive products to be used for a prolonged period decreases. We find ourselves turning to six-dollar shoes on Shein that disintegrate in a month instead of $200 leather boots which would last us ten years to match the ever-changing current styles

The only solution to this issue is sustainable fashion, buying fewer yet higher-quality, long-lasting goods as opposed to vast amounts of cheap clothing. Thrifting and shopping secondhand is another alternative.

As tempting as it may be to fall victim to the rapid “buy and discard” culture in our society today, our environment, personal style and financial stability are the victims of this mentality. Copying and pasting a trending style seems like the perfect “get-cool-quick” tactic, but by jumping on the bandwagon, you discard one of the most important aspects of individuality- your self-expression. 

It is time for us to take a step back and view our closets from a distance, reevaluating our stylistic choices. Ask yourself if the clothes you dress in are what you really wish to wear, or what you think others will like best. Instead of relying on material goods to adopt the persona you want, work on actually achieving that lifestyle, all whilst wearing clothing you actually want to wear, not what TikTok told you looks good.