The Truth Is That Twee Never Truly Went Away - The Evergreen 60s Inspired Style
2022 may have only just begun, but we’re already looking to the past in order to distract ourselves from the depressing nature of the present. Throughout history, fashion has worked in trend cycles (you can learn about why the trend cycle is disappearing here), meaning that inevitably styles of years gone by will always come back to haunt us. In the last handful of years, Y2K and 90s inspired clothing and interior design has dominated the fashion sphere from runways, magazines and the average consumer shopping rail. There is a beauty about the world we live in now allowing us to explore an endless array of differing fashion niches and genres, but some make it into the popular culture more than others.
TikTok has become a breeding ground for fashion trends, bringing cottagecore aesthetic to the mainstream as well as propelling Y2K back to stardom. Its most recent trend comeback? Twee.
Cast your mind back to the early 2010s. Tumblr is the social media platform of choice for many and everything is covered in fake moustaches. The ‘hipster’ was at the height of its popularity. Out of this hipster aesthetic came a new fashion niche known as ‘twee’, a word that came about during the early 20th-century meaning ‘sweet’. As with all fashion niches, nothing is original and the twee aesthetic drew upon popular staples from the 1960s and 70s. Oversized peter pan collars, colourful and patterned tights, cardigans and blouses became sought after and shows like ‘New Girl’ featuring twee superstar Zoey Deschanel aided in making twee one of the most recognisable styles of the decade. Wes Anderson is also credited for helping to keep twee afloat with his whimsical, romantic films with many (myself included honestly) taking fashion inspirations from characters Margot Tenenbaum and Suzy Bishop.
With everyone now discussing whether twee is making a comeback, it’s safe to say that twee never truly went away. Perhaps we should also mention that there was also a love for a twee-like aesthetic during the 80s, but that’s a whole other conversation! While we may associate twee with 2012 Tumblr obsessions, the inspiration for twee, that being 60s and 70s mod and light-punk is somewhat evergreen. While America had Zoey Deschanel as their twee queen, the UK had Alexa Chung who’s fashion tastes have remained popular on social media and Pinterest specifically. Chung took twee and toned it down, making the style more digestible for a less exuberant British audience. Her way of pairing typically ‘girly’ fabrics such as lace and bows with grungier tones and motifs like Doc Martens and leather jackets created something far more versatile.
As outlets and social media users discuss the resurgence of twee, many are panicking. After all, most of us look back at our early 2010s Tumblr years with a heavy dose of embarrassment. But, do not fear! That specific twee aesthetic will not come back, or at least, not in the exact same way. When trends come back around in the cycle they get modified as we learn from past fashion mistakes.
Instead, we are predicting twee to evolve into its purest form of inspiration - the 60s and 70s. Vintage-inspired has been steadily increasing in popularity in the last couple of years, and 2022 will see it become the mainstream. Twee will no longer mean ukuleles and alice bands, instead, it will mean pinafore dresses, tones of brown, mary janes and ‘french girl’ hairstyles.
The 1960s and 70s fashion aesthetics have been favoured on the internet as well as red carpets and runways for years, many just have never noticed. French girl aesthetic, usefully boosted in the last year by Netlifx’s ‘Emily In Paris’, has utilised these mid-century style ideals for decades. Parisian style is famously noted as classic and evergreen, partly because the individual ideas themselves are timeless. There are so many items that we automatically label as ‘classic’ from berets and mini skirts to trench coats and mary janes, all of which were greatly admired in the 60s and 70s.
During its most popular iteration, twee was largely associated with America and euro-centric beauty ideals. Online, many have opened up the discussion of how the original aesthetic, and that era of Tumblr, was not overly welcoming to marginalised groups. In 2022, conversations around how fashion includes BIPOC and plus-size people have developed greatly, and hopefully this new twee will reflect these positive changes in society.
All of these put together are noticeable in the original twee aesthetic and will continue in this new iteration.
Fashion trends come and go, or do they? While they may be in the mainstream, trends will always live on in certain corners of the world and the internet and twee was no exception, it has just evolved into something new, all thanks to its evergreen inspirations.
