Tik Tok’s Clean Girl Aesthetic Is Reimagined Classism
The clean girl aesthetic is a slicked-back bun, minimal makeup and hoop earrings. A trend that’s been prevalent in black and brown communities for centuries. A “style” that young brown girls have been wearing to church and school for their entire lives
Fashion is cyclical. Everything that’s popular now was popular 20 years ago. High fashion and luxury are also largely racist and classist.
In practice “luxury” is exclusionary. The less accessible something is, the easier it falls into the realm of high fashion. Thus, when things are primarily only done by rich people, or white people, or both — they become a trend or made chic.
So, how and why, did it suddenly become high fashion? Well, the rich and the white started doing it.
A Brief History of Maximalist Makeup
In ancient Egypt: In ancient Egypt heavy makeup was used as a way of showing opulence, and proximity to the gods. It was positive. The ability to wear lots of makeup and jewelry was linked to wealth. The fashion and makeup of this time could be compared to the maximalist fashion of the early 2000s, which was also heavily linked to class.
