What’s up with this “Downtown Girl” aesthetic?

[@ssandrino]

i meaaaan if u’re a plus size u can totally wear this aesthetic’s clothes and still slay. if you think it looks bad just because u’re not skinny like the girls on pinterest i would like to remind you that this is how internet works, everyone can wear everything and look good in it and i stand by that. if u like something just put it on without comparing yourself to pinterest’s girls but if you do that’s a problem YOU have to solve…..

[@ssandrino]

honestly, i love this aesthetic so much cuz it’s cool but effortless, u can wear these clothes in pretty much every occasion and still pop out. maybe i found it interesting just becouse people in my city don’t really have an aesthetic so I’m able to be stylish(??) even with this aesthetic

[@secondscarletazul]

What I actually love about this aesthetic is that you can veer off to any variation of this aesthetic. You could go more couquette, more grunge, more witchy, etc. And if you live in a place where there are a lot of thrift shops / second hand shops, it can be a great aesthetic that is very accessible to a lot of people. Although this aesthetic can be very susceptible to being integrated into fast-fashion, so can all aesthetics. I do think that the Downtown Girl is one that you can achieve sustainably! However there are downsides to it that I totally get. Like with the low-rise trend that comes with this aesthetic goes hand-in-hand with the 2000's trend of being super super thin; However I do feel like as a society we can and have changed things like this and made alterations to societal constructs to fit more modern idealisms. I really resonate with this aesthetic because of my interest in music and the arts, personally I am a pretty average weight and have an average figure. So I tend to alter how I emmulate this aesthetic by veering off into the different variations because that's what I feel will complement my body type :)) This video was very informative, thank you for posting!!

[@hamboan6266]

Your channel is such a gold mine. I want to explore fashion aesthetics more and this is such an underrated yet useful source for me, keep up the good work!

[@dionthetaurus]

omg thank you!!!

[@ahousecatwhohasacellphone]

a lot of core aesthetics nowadays look exactly the same apart from one different aspect tbh! additionally, I think it would ease a lot of this "aesthetic anxiety" a lot of young people have if there weren't such rigid names and rules for fashion sub-types. i remember seeing those videos where someone would say, "when you wanna be this, but you also want to be this" and proceed to flash 30 pictures of similar composition across the screen. people shouldn't feel like they have to adhere to one "aesthetic", but it just shows how many of these same people have lost a sense of their own identity and interests in order to adhere to a lifestyle that doesn't match their own, or doesn't even exist in the first place. also, personally i'd love to see a wes anderson type fashion video! i really like the colour palette in his movies! :) awesome video by the way

[@dionthetaurus]

yes!!! it’s become so niche i feel like there’s not these big umbrella aesthetics that are defined

[@katiethewise]

the best downtown girls dont do fast fashion for this aesthetic. be one of the best downtown girls.

[@dionthetaurus]

agreed

[@urfaeprincess]

this aesthetic just screams fast fashion to me, even tho its so thrift-able, most are doing these downtown girl hauls from h&m and brandy melville

[@dionthetaurus]

ACTUALLY

[@the1r1s]

lol i get this comment. i really do, and i agree... but we excist i guess,,, cus i just wanna say that i relate to the aesthetic too much, but i have not bought anything new in yearssss. everyhting i own and wear is thrifted or hand-me-downs in different ways. (im 22 and ive been in this style awhile, i dont follow trends consciously)

[@skylerk126]

i thrift most of my clothes lately but this is so tru, all the tiktok downtown girlies say their stuff is from shein, brandy melville, n more ☹️

[@realestsienna]

do you have an iphone?? because that’d be hella ironic

[@urfaeprincess]

@@realestsienna how so

[@daniela-lq1xt]

yess thank u for calling out the glamorization of mediocrity and lack of diversity in this aesthetic ! is it cute ? yeah sure it looks put together and whatnot , but is it “FASHION” ? that’s where i draw the line because of course people can wear whatever they want, but to call this “super chic and unique”, like you didn’t just throw on a pair of jeans and a knit sweater with some headphones as your statement piece 😭 also i think these outfits are so basic they can be part of literally any other aesthetic, the only difference is this one has oversized headphones

[@dionthetaurus]

FRRRRR!!!!!

[@lily-ol5iw]

honestly! i love dressing minimal but i feel like the 'downtown girl' wardrobe is way too general and simple to even be considered an individual aesthetic

[@uuhhhahahahahajahahha]

i want to wear this style to college, simple yet cute. but i want to wear it with a more 60's influence, im going to rock out red tights and black dresses !! the white shirt and blue jeans is a lana del rey thing for me

[@fleurdelis3818]

I really do resonate highly with Downtown Girl. I have always felt more “activated” when I’m in a city, I don’t drive, I have resonated with elements of the Downtown Girl style for most of my life, etc. And I seemed to resonate a lot with what Aesthetics Wiki said about the history of Downtown Girl too. And plus, it looks really at home with my Kitchener Essence Blend (Natural-Gamine-Classic). And not only that, it makes sense with what it’s the most present in my Natal Chart (Sagittarius, Capricorn, and Scorpio energy)! But I 100% make it my own by keeping some of the silhouettes (flare jeans, Chucks, sweaters, even the god forsaken headphones) but opting for a more colorful and/or light color palette (because I’m a Spring in Seasonal Color Analysis). And not every aspect of it is something I like to wear or compliments me (ex. I’m not as big of a fan of the Baby Tee or Mini Skirt part in me, but I am with the Flare Jeans and Doc Martens part).

[@lauraortiz8939]

I like the aesthetic because of the decor inspo for your house and bedroom and I also got into it because of the underground grunge rock music scene :)

[@dionthetaurus]

That’s totally fair!!

[@patatav7780]

i think i'm this aesthetic but a bit more grunge, ironically i've been dressing like this but i didn't even know there was an aesthetic to this lol, i thought i was being true to myself and what i like 🤷🏾‍♀️, oh well, interesting

[@dionthetaurus]

I love that! Do you, it’s your style and you should feel good about it!

[@milomccabe6201]

Here is the thing I don't understand, if you are only seeing white skinny girls having downtown girl aesthetic, maybe that's because bigger or colored people just haven't dressed in it as much. It's not just because they are just skinny. Also, you keep body shaming skinny girls throughout this whole video. I don't agree with most of the things you said; I regret watching this video.

[@procreatedara4562]

Yeah, and she keeps on saying their not like the other girls but I haven’t seen them putting down others tho. It seems like their just enjoying the aesthetic

[@keti.rg.editzzz]

@@procreatedara4562 Me neither, they're just chilling their lives with comfortable clothes. Also she talked about Brandy Melville that it's the brand everyone uses for this aesthetic but honestly it's just a brand alot "use" and it's not "required" to buy from those stores. If you are bigger just buy cloth in that style from other stores that fit you🤷🏻‍♀️

[@ashweee722]

Yeah I'm getting a lot of bitter vibes from this chick. It's not cute. If we really wanna be "inclusive" towards all body types, that should also include the women who look like "clothing racks" (her words). 🙄

[@Sleipnirseight]

A lot of the grungy teenage girls, nonbinary kids and trans guys I know (I work in hs) dress in this aesthetic (at least the grungier vids you showed). A lot of them wear their parent's old band tees, thrifted stuff, handmade, and pants from boy's clothing sections, and definitely a few giant headphones lol. It sometimes feels a little 00's grunge but updated?? I wonder if I'm totally getting aesthetics mixed up or if there is crossover. I always thought of their style as kinda grunge-artsy?? Edit to add: this style does seem to be adopted by mostly the slimmer kids, but it seems like an effort to hide their bodies and have more of an androgynous form, which is interesting. It almost makes it feel like Bella Hadid and her ilk co-opted this fashion from younger gen Z???

[@ahousecatwhohasacellphone]

so true! back in highschool (2015, so not too long ago) my trans friends and i all wore the baggy jeans and oversized sweaters and shirts because it simply was figure masking and it worked!

[@dionthetaurus]

that’s a super good point! because of the relaxed fit it’s a good aesthetic for people who wanna cover up or create a more neutral silloutte! thanks for this!

[@marielleconcejo7946]

ok same i dressed like this, and kinda have since i was in high school a decade ago 2011-2015 but its cause i was poor and only got hand me downs.... and i still wear em to this day haha (also came out as queer)

[@justlanchen]

I’m dead. What you said is so accurate.

[@dionthetaurus]

We’re savage on this channel 😭😭😭

[@GravityFallsUp]

That commenter that said “brandy Melville vibes” hit the nail on the head. This “aesthetic” is just Brandy Melville

[@dionthetaurus]

precisely !

[@KrystalReanna11]

As a person of color and a native New Yorker I think the only reason you’re not able to find diversity in this aesthetic online is because the Internet pushes Eurocentric white people. I’ve lived in New York, my whole life I’ve been to Atlanta, Toronto, Montreal Miami Chicago some major big cities and this aesthetic is everywhere and it’s worn by a lot of people but obviously online you’re not gonna see it because you’re going to get the videos or the photos with the most engagement and Most white people are the top influencers no matter what the aesthetic is. Me and my friends have dressed like this our whole lives before it was given the name because these were the clothes in the accessories in the style that was available to us and still is available to us.

[@dionthetaurus]

100% ! lots of times when i say “aesthetic” i mean the internet culture around it which definetly support eurocentric beauty standards! typically POC in big cities are the trend setters in the first place!

[@Bruh-qy1zq]

I was waiting for u to talk about this one since it looks so basic like all those “that girl” vids on Pinterest except autumn. If u aren’t opposed: maybe u could do a video on fantasy aesthetics like mermaid/sirencore and pirate core? Thanks for the quality content

[@dionthetaurus]

oooh yes!!! those are so fun!

[@vickyhyatt1881]

as a girl who has mixed SOME of this aesthetic into their own and kinda made their own type of vibe out of it. i don’t give a flying rats ass who you are what you look like. you can be 90lbs and look absolutely stunning in this style but you can also be 900lbs and still look good. idc y’all are all beautiful please don’t let judgemental and rude and cruel people who only like aesthetics for trends ruin something you TRULY have an interest in. do what you want yolo.

[@urfaeprincess]

the wes anderson reply was from me! would love to see that video, would also like to see you dive more into historical fashion "aesthetic"s, maybe mod? wes anderson def got some inspo from that movement

[@dionthetaurus]

i haven’t done a historical one in a minute (if you call grunge historical 😂) good idea!

[@denissehuerta9514]

the wired earphones is so funny to me cuz a lot of ppl (including myself) have no money to buy any other type

[@Sleipnirseight]

Yesssss give us the banned aesthetics videos!!!

[@dionthetaurus]

heheheheheeee yessss

[@rilakkumabear6877]

Now I’m curious,, I would totally love to see what aesthetics you won’t do

[@dionthetaurus]

yes!!!!

[@Outtacontextouttatime]

This is just what I wear on a daily basis

[@Sleipnirseight]

Ughh what you said about thinness coming back as a "trend" has been giving me anxiety for everyone. When low-rise jeans started coming back, I had war flashbacks to the 00's celebration of being rail-thin and developing ED's. We all worked so hard to change that part of our culture and here it comes again, rearing its MEDIOCRE head 😭

[@dionthetaurus]

FOR REAL!!’ i feel like we made progress last year and in 2020 and it’s just gone 😭😭😭

[@gabbi7007]

@@dionthetaurus fr im skinny but not white (mixed) all we see now honestly is thin white girls

[@priyakapoor5531]

noooo its my fave!

[@RoxyWinx786]

yes please do a video on aesthetics you don't want to analyze, i'm curious

[@heidi_mitchell]

I kinda dress like this and like this aesthetic (mixed with another one) but I like didn’t know what the name of it was ever

[@heidi_mitchell]

But also idk I like it , maybe I’m jusr boring 😭 it’s not like the most mine blowing style but it’s cute to me

[@heidi_mitchell]

Mind* omg

[@TRUMPmyOSHI]

The funny thing is, this aesthetic has been me to a T in forever, ever since I had an oversized leather jacket gifted from my grandmother. Born and raised in NY, a coffee & whiskey snob, even the opening poem describes me. I never sought to be this, because I already am. 🙂 That being said, I am a WOC, Black Hispanic girl who grew up in a low income community. There are minority women who wear this (such as those as examples in the video), but most maybe white girls in gentrified neighborhoods. I’d agree that more smaller and thinner girls seemed to be pushed in this style, but there are a few plus sized girls as well, like the example. In fact NYC, seems to not only have many minority women as examples but plus sized as well, you can see them in various ads on the trains and such and even in person, even more so than the skinny girl, unless you look at media outside NYC. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@kandiseponce2899]

Yes, I am always interested in your thought process in aesthetics, it you hate it I want to know why 😅❤

[@dionthetaurus]

hehehehhe👹

[@natka444]

its cute everyday wear -- but i feel it lacks personality if that makes any sense at all, all the items seem pretty basic (which personally I think is more of good thing) I don't really agree with the whole 'is it a fit or is she just skinny' thing because clothes will look different depending on bodyshape (obv) so some fits will just look better with a certain bodytype. So I don't really see that point you made -- It is definitely unfortunate that brandy Melville is the face of this aesthetic though considering any of the items can be easily thrifted

[@jillbaer4511]

Agreeeeed this aesthetic is literally just put on clothes and call it a fit, and sometimes it just isn’t a fit, and if I wore it, it would certainly not be a fit! I wonder about what you said about having the most updated phones or not though, it’s possible some ppl just might not have the money to upgrade their phone lol but I get what you’re saying and agree

[@dionthetaurus]

lmfaoooo it’s my i’m the one with the cracked iphone 10 😂

[@pixelzebra8440]

Honestly it’s not really fashion in the sense of trying new things and it doesn’t have the best diversity (who am I kidding it’s rly bad :/ ) but I like it because i accidentally did this style and someone pointed it out to me and I realized I do it every day so it kind of validated me in a way I think because I really want to be someone who is stylish but i don’t want to be made fun of which is my greatest fear so something I do is this style because it helps me blend in and stand out in a way idek but i agree with your opinions it is basic but (not in a rude way) that’s kind of the point and that’s what I like about it we really do need more diversity tho

[@luckyone2837]

Sorry I just had to comment on the flowers they are soooo beautiful

[@katyp564]

I was confused why this was even a thing, and thought I was the only one unimpressed. It has no personality.

[@dionthetaurus]

same! i’m glad we can all be haters together 😂

[@st3458]

This aesthetic is literally just Bella hadid off duty model

[@dionthetaurus]

exactly

[@gabbi7007]

i have mixed feelings on this aesthetic tbh, like its cute but I don't like other parts of it. I like the wide jeans, leather jackets, and long sleeves (some), but some stuff, like those baby graphics that are everywhere or how so many of the outfits are very basic I don't like that much. My style is partially downtown girl, but also grunge, fairycore, and sometimes that freaky Friday style that anna has (it took me a while to learn that I wont ever be just one aesthetic! I'm a mix)

[@gabbi7007]

by long sleeves i mean like the plain ones or some floral ones too. I feel like those striped sweaters are big too, but I only like the green/blue one and the dark blue/light blue one. the red/blue or black one reminds me of freddy krueger LMAO

[@gabbi7007]

im sorry this is so long too but the hearts and the stars I feel like are going to be like the cow print and "cringy" in like a year

[@shedoessomestuff896]

omg i love your makeup sooo much! have you thought about making a tutorial? it's adorable

[@dionthetaurus]

eeeeep that would be fun!!! it’s pretty minimal but i would love to do a lil tutorial💕

[@lilian.100]

"is this fashion or is she just skinny" is so real

[@dionthetaurus]

😂😂

[@the1r1s]

fricking hell. this is the most accurate way of descibing my style (description used in the "positives" section lmao) and im size small/medium and a cis white female..... 90% of everything in my closet is second hand, either thrifted or hand me down from grandmothers etc.... loose pants and big shirt over a bralette or sportsbra is my religion. i had no name for my style before watching this video,, like i couldnt associate any aesthetic to my style, "like cottage core but also akademia and messy frenchgirl and rockstar girlfriend but also reincarnated forrest-nymf-grandma" just anything from everything i find fun and i enjoy. but this is like the most accurate description being most precise to what i wear.... idk if any of this makes sense lmao i just needed to vent that out before going to the next video on my "watch later"-list. Thank you Dion for tearing my (apperent) aestethic (not sarcastic). i needed the relief of a name on my as-of-yet-most-accurate-"aestethic",,, but i also needed the bashing, because as a white somewhat small female i can never get enough (also not sarcastic to be clear!) thank you and i wish yall - who ever felt like reading this - a nice evening or day or a nice what ever you want edit to add: i want to highlight @Sleipnirseight comment on the ways this aesthetic and style gives more androgynous and neutral form. feels like an importent add to this topic that gives additionall relevance to the inclusive side of the aesthetic. also i just love wearing clothes with sentimental value and history i know of

[@Alyssia297]

Id be interested to hear some aesthetics you wont do because I love your fashion take but youre also super smarts so yeah. I think it would be interesting and maybe eye openning on some stuff :)

[@luckyone2837]

Weren’t the Gilmore girls in a small town on that show that’s funny

[@jildou1411]

Hey Dion, totally off topic but I love your button up! I'd really like to thrift or even sew something similar, is there a textile description on it? Is it silk?

[@dionthetaurus]

hi! it’s from Djerf Avenue it’s called the on the go top! it’s a velvety recycled viscose! similar to almost a velveteen mixed with silk

[@jildou1411]

@@dionthetaurus Thanks! I'll see if I can use this as a search term online! Love the video, keep doing what you do! x

[@the1r1s]

I WONDERED THIS TOOOOO thank you for asking ,,, and thank you dion for answering!!

[@Yolk421]

As a Hispanic woman, it’s really annoying that you bring race into it and shaming skinny women. Just talk about the style without bringing people color and size into it. You keep complaining about skinny white women, yet you are one. Minorities don’t need a white savior. Anybody can pull of any look with the right modifications.

[@Sleipnirseight]

Okay I really like the outfits of the chick in the middle at 2:21. It feels a little more on the edgy-chic side

[@dionthetaurus]

i will say there’s some cute fits for sure!!!

[@spokenme08]

The idea of such defined aesthetics is just weird to me. We had preppy,scene,emo,etc but many of us just wore comfortable clothing without much thought to an image. I will say I never had a Myspace and even now most of my pictures are of my animals.Mainly because face blindness makes looking at pictures with people awkward. I will ask where are people finding actual low rise jeans? Any plus sizes?Mid rise on me is over my belly button because of my very short torso and many high rises are painful to wear.I need a 6 to 7 inch rise for it to be mid rise on me.

[@dionthetaurus]

i RUN from low rise so i apologize for not being helpful in that regard 😭

[@samanthaj2303]

I'm confused by this aesthetic. It seems like many styles combined together or just someone being "normal" and not aware of the influences they have from several different aesthetics. I guess I don’t see the cohesiveness.

[@anonymousperson4214]

Somehow, this aesthetic just looks like every non-science student on campus when I was in college a couple years ago. The science students tended more towards plaid and hiking boots. For reference, this was in Bellingham Edit: I should note that most of these people weren't skinny, so that's something

[@sarahpeartart]

This is literally just Grunge.

[@emb3173]

👏👏👏

[@ashweee722]

Just came here to say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being thin or white.

[@colette9433]

The whole skinny or fit thing is the reason I don't like y2k style. I feel like that style can really skew that way and it doesn't help that that era was following the "heroin chic" era of the 90's.

[@BENHARRIS1955]

HAHAHAHA! Omg when you said "White tank top and jeans. That's not an outfit," I lol'd and clapped my hands together in exclamation. Never have you and I thought more alike than on this vid. Before you said "living in N.Y.C." I thought the same thing. I loathe this aesthetic. IF that is what it is. The color palette? I'll tell you what the color palette is: melted snow runoff water. Wear a COVID mask because in NYC you never know! Could be COVID, could be polio in the drinking water, could be rats running across your dinner table, could be you are a female mugger who is about to board a urine-smelling subway and do your thing. Count me as one who doesn't want to see you do ANY MORE vids on this whatever it is. Ms. Dion, for all you do, this bear hug is for you!

[@dionthetaurus]

dad you’re a savage 😭

[@BENHARRIS1955]

@@dionthetaurus

[@the1r1s]

hahahahhaahah the melted snow runoff hahahahaahha i cant say that i dont have clothes in that colourway

[@not_ur_bae_09]

nooo you dont lke any of my fave aesthetics

[@liancund5733]

you remind me of helena bonhan carter

[@dionthetaurus]

I’m hoping in the “strong brunette sassy” way and not in the “supporting Tim burton, Johnny depp and jk Rowling” way 😂💕

[@liancund5733]

@@dionthetaurus No no not the second way for sure. I meant the looks and def the strong brunette sassy thing

[@dionthetaurus]

@@liancund5733 hahaha I got you ! Tysm💕💕

[@Harleyxjokerforever]

Yeah I like of aesthetic you won't. Purely for curiosity sake.

[@dionthetaurus]

heck yeah!

[@stowe5668]

mannn this aesthetic irks me cause it’s pretty basic and almost ALL of it is just brandy melville 💀

[@thomasanderson4490]

Ｐｒⓞм𝕠𝕤𝐌