You Are Already ‘That Girl’: Here’s Why
If there’s one thing I know from being an Internet kid of the 90s living in 2023, it’s that social media is a never-ending factory of aesthetics, eras and trends. Hey, I was there for the Jeffrey Campbell era of LOOKBOOK.nu and now I’m here for the weekly aesthetics that we’re all obsessing over.
One such era that I accidentally came across is the ‘that girl’ aesthetic, which I quickly Googled after a flurry of Instagram comments and WhatsApp messages likening me to ‘that girl’.
So, who is she, and why are we so obsessed with trying to become her?
Who’s ‘That Girl’?
‘That girl’ gets out of bed with – or before – her alarm, makes her bed, does her skincare, works out in a matching set and drinks a matcha latte, all before work and all choreographed to a tinkling, lo-fi tune. She checks off all of her work tasks, nails every meeting, before an equally aesthetic evening of a homemade dinner, journalling, downtime with her pet and partner, evening skincare, then bed.
She checks off all of the wellness habits and happy, healthy lifestyle traits that we’re fed from every platform… all from a little shiny 9:13 screen. We know that that 30-second TikTok is edited and made up of clips filmed over a week. But somehow the age of aestheticism and making everything look good takes over.
We crave routine and structure and at least some form of perfection in an increasingly busy and buzzy world, where nothing remains the same from day to day. Strangely, social media isn’t built on community and connection any more – it’s about making everything look a particular way, to appease algorithms that are seeping across into reality.
The ‘That Girl’ aesthetic is and isn’t attainable
After discovering that at least some of my everyday lifestyle fits the mould, I wanted to share of my thoughts on it. It is as attainable as you’d like it to be. After all, we all know the art of arranging our brunch tables for the perfect overhead flat lay shot, of taking a perky photo in front of a made-for-Instagram setup on holiday or in town, of trimming a few seconds off the start and end of video clips for an Instagram Reel. Why can’t our everyday lives be the same?
Start small. Romanticise your life in the littlest ways, whether that’s selecting a different mug for your morning coffee, or tidying away worktop clutter for a more aesthetically pleasing setup. If we’re capable of staging it for everybody else on Instagram? Why not for yourself? While I’ve taken several steps back from social media these days, you can bet I’m still romanticising life for myself.
What is it about the ‘that girl’ aesthetic that you crave to emulate so much? Is it the concept of routine? Wanting to integrate a workout to the day? Slowly but surely, carve out time to do so. A workout four times a week is a non-negotiable for me, so I make sure I get those in before work. If nothing else, I have that.
It isn’t an exclusive circle
Since taking a moment to work on myself, my (loose) routines and how I’d like my life to look, I’m getting closer to my own iteration of the ‘That Girl’ aesthetic. From morning matchas and workouts to my thrice-weekly journalling, and from home-cooked meals to a polished-to-me home, there is no right and wrong way to adopt this coveted lifestyle. So it isn’t 100% ready to share on TikTok – perhaps it’s even better, because it’s real. Choose the cornerstones that work best for you; skip the matching outfits, the branded bottles and perfectly matching dinnerware, or the sunrise wake-ups.
The ’That Girl’ aesthetic isn’t an exclusive circle, unless you let it become one.
Take ‘That Girl’ with a pinch of (Himalayan pink) salt
Above all, remember that this aesthetic is simply that: a façade for social media, merrily sliced over several times with a carefully selected track laid on top. I bet we could all create such a ‘routine’ if we recorded it over several weeks or months. An edited aesthetic isn’t attainable in everyday, real life.
What do you think of the current ‘eras’ and ‘aesthetics’ trend all over social media? Are you ready to step into being ‘That Girl’?
