What Aesthetic Am I? Aesthetic Style Guide

Getting into your style and finding fashion that expresses your aesthetic is a fun way to celebrate yourself and show the world who you are. This can be as simple as throwing on your favorite t-shirt to make the fit complete.

Here’s the thing, though — to express your aesthetic, you need to first pick a vibe. There are plenty of looks and styles out there, and you might want to blend a few and create your own look instead of going with just one.

That’s where we come in. Aesthetics aren’t hard and fast rules — you definitely don’t need to pick one and stick with it for the rest of your life. In fact, switching up your style can totally refresh your day, week, or year. Cider makes it easy to find pieces that you’ll be obsessed with for the days when you’re grungy, dreamy, elegant, or a total baddie — or a combo of everything.

If you’re having a hard time finding the inspo that you need for your look of the day, keep reading for the info you need. We’ll take a look at some of the most popular aesthetics and how to find one (or ten!).

What Aesthetic Am I?

You may also be on the search for the name of your own personal aesthetic. This is where Cider can be your best friend in keeping your closet packed with fun and affordable styles that keep you looking the part you want the world to see.

Change up your aesthetic when you want or when the opportunity allows. Going to a rock concert? Shop for your inner grunge or indie fan. Going to take pictures in the city? Pull out your inner elegance to glam things up amongst the skyscrapers. Going apple picking? Get your fall cottagecore vibes on.

If you don’t know what your aesthetic type is, you can try searching for quizzes and personality tests online. Taking these quizzes may help match your personality and style to a specific aesthetic type. It’s seriously so fast and easy (and honestly, it’s pretty interesting to see the results).

Taking multiple quizzes can also give you different results, which may be confusing. However, you can then use those results to search for the relevant hashtags on social media. Searching the hashtags gives you visuals so you can get style tips and tricks to keep your confidence soaring and climb even higher.

Before you know it, hours will have passed by! However, we think that time enjoyed is never time wasted. In fact, with all that research you’ve done, you’re basically the poster child for the dark academia vibe.

Diving Into Aesthetic Types

While this certainly is not the end-all-be-all list of aesthetics, knowing some of the popular aesthetic trends can help you pinpoint your personal brand and style.

Fashion is cyclical, and what was in style decades ago can make its way back again. With the world being a little closer connected through social media, it is cool to see how these styles are worn by others.

Let’s dig in and see what different moods can be represented by style:

Retro

Do you find yourself going through your parent’s old photo albums and internally screaming at how amazing they looked? Do you daydream of how things looked in the “good old days” and want to recreate that feeling?

Are Friends and That 70s Show on constant repeat? You may find yourself loving the retro aesthetic and feeling great in styles that are inspired by previous decades.

Think skorts (in all materials like denim and corduroy), paisley prints, and cardigans in all lengths. Cider has taken these retro trends and added a fresh twist on them to keep you feeling current but plugged into the trends that touch on nostalgia from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s.

Grunge

If you are drawn to a darker, edgier style of rock concerts and moody coffee shops, then the grunge or goth aesthetic will speak to you. Oversized flannel shirts over a slip dress, darker colors and patterns, and ripped denim will have you looking like you came straight from a Nirvana concert.

With a looser silhouette, the grunge fashion style is one for the person who wants to feel free in their clothing. While this style was meant to be lowkey, once the music in the grunge genre hit it big, the grunge aesthetic became more mainstream fashion in the 90s. Like many other trends from previous decades, grunge is making its rounds again on the catwalk.

Dreamy

Like something from a fairytale, the dreamy aesthetic is flowy and ethereal. Ruffles, long and flowy dresses, bell sleeves, and watercolor-like pastels will bring a feeling of walking through a hazy dream. This aesthetic is where you’ll find sub-styles like the “soft girl” look.

Dreamy fits perfectly when you are strolling through a field of flowers or taking pictures in front of a beautiful sunset. When you tap into your dreamy side, you’ll feel at one with nature. You may also feel at one with your artistic side when wearing a flowy dress and writing in your journal as you daydream outside while watching the clouds pass by.

Elegant

Odds are, any TV show or movie set in the city will have an elegant feel to it. If you relate to the style of the Upper East Side Gossip Girl crew or want to relate to the feelings of simple but fine tastes, the elegant aesthetic will make all your upper east side boarding school dreams a reality.

Elegance is commonly seen as monochromatic. It will avoid clashing patterns or different types of fabrics together. Think smoothness in movement, fabrics like satin and velvet. These fabrics showcase the shape of the body while maintaining modesty and give off a lovely sheen in the light.

Neutral colors play up physical features and create a sense of understated chicness. Show off how elegant you are with a cowl neck, monochromatic separates, or a knitted cardigan set. Your inner Gossip Girl will be showing off the city in style in no time while partaking in brunch overlooking the skyline.

Cute/Kawaii

If looking adorable is your main goal, you’ll want the cutest patterns and pastels to emphasize that feeling of being fresh and cute. This category sometimes falls under the name of kawaii,” the Japanese word that means “cuteness.”

Fruit, ice cream, and animal prints on dresses and coordinating separates will have you looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. The “e-girl” aesthetic can sometimes fit in this category as well.

Baddie

When your inner baddie wants to come out, you’ll certainly feel the temperature rise when you enter the room. Think hot and fiery for this aesthetic. Body-conscious pieces, peek-a-boo slits, and cuts will give you that sizzling look that will have everyone sweating when they look at your latest post.

You’re all about the “If you’ve got it, flaunt it” mentality, and we are here for the confidence you are giving. We’ll catch your next viral video on Tik Tok; we know you’ll be dancing to the latest #1 song and look great while doing it.

Cottagecore

Another popular aesthetic made popular by social media is cottagecore. If staying off of the trendy algorithms is more your speed, and you prefer baking TikToks and relaxing afternoon teas, then cottagecore may be your aesthetic.

Enjoying the little things while wearing natural fabrics and feeling cozy will make you never want to leave your “cottage,” no matter if it’s an apartment in an urban area or a suburban single-family home. Cottagecore is different from a dreamy aesthetic because it’s more about relaxing and feeling homey. Dreamy is more of a flowing and hippie vibe, while cottagecore embraces natural materials and stay-at-home vibes.

What Do I Do After Selecting My Aesthetic?

If you now have a pretty good idea of what aesthetic your normal self feels, or one you want to portray. You can do several things to help curate your closet, home, and social media presence to show how your aesthetic is represented in your fashion choices and home style.

Choose Your Inspirations

The internet is your friend when it comes to choosing your aesthetic inspirations. Using celebrities, like actresses or social media influencers, can be a great source of ideas for your closet and home. They may even recommend music, shows, movies, or style tips and tricks that will have you loving the way you look and feel and what hobbies you participate in.

You don’t have to necessarily choose a living person as your inspiration. Literary or movie characters, art, and music can all be sources of inspiration on how to express your style. The key is whatever speaks to you and makes you feel good without worrying about anyone else.

Although we like to be in style, there are so many aesthetics to choose from. Beauty and style are subjective, and what one person thinks is beautiful, another may not. The key is to focus on yourself and your feelings.

Creating a Mood Board

Get out the poster, scissors, and glue! Or log on to your Pinterest or VSCO account. Creating a tangible or virtual mood board can help you find patterns in the things that you like, whether it be certain colors, patterns, or even styles of clothing.

You may find that after putting various pictures of outfits — perhaps you like the look of wide-leg jeans instead of skinny jeans. You may also like the color pink, although your professed favorite color has always been yellow. Don’t limit yourself to clothing; you can also spot patterns in home styles, jewelry preferences, and even hobbies that look interesting.

You just need to feel good about yourself and feel that your spirit is lifted. This will show in your interactions with others, as well as the way you present yourself to the world. When you feel good, you look good, and this will be evident in pictures and videos of yourself.

Pick and Choose

After choosing your inspirations and pictures that speak to you, you’ll be able to notice patterns you may not have seen before. You may see that you are drawn to certain shapes, materials, and feelings that fashion can evoke. Sometimes, being able to see everything laid out in front of you helps make things so much easier to figure out.

Once you’ve got your visuals for reference, you can then see the common themes throughout. You can also see pictures that don’t really fit your aesthetic and vibe. Before rushing to throw out something that doesn’t quite fit, try and get creative. Maybe you can try and incorporate it into your personal style with a few tweaks.

There is no limit to how you can elevate your style and add a unique flair to how the world sees you. With a little inner diving, you can find consistent ways of maintaining your chosen aesthetic through the large variety of fashion that Cider can offer you.

Cider – Elevate Any Outfit or Any Mood

Whether you plan on curating one aesthetic for the long-term or if you jump around and create hybrids of aesthetics depending on your mood, Cider is your one-stop shop for all styles and feelings, and we have new styles every week to keep your closest current without emptying your bank account. Celebrate yourself by treating yourself to our variety of fashionable and affordable pieces at Cider.  

Sources:

9 Factors that Influence Aesthetic Choice | Psychology Today

The Rise and Fall of Grunge | Los Angeles Times

The TikTok-Viral Dark Academia Aesthetic Is Like Real Life Hogwarts | Bustle

What is kawaii – and why did the world fall for the 'cult of cute'? | The Conversation

XOXO,

Cider 💋