Be prepared to dust off your Peter Pan-collared sweaters and unleash your whimsy side, because the return of the “twee” aesthetic appears to be on the horizon. According to Vogue, styles reminiscent of the twee look have recently appeared in high fashion, but it was its explosion on TikTok that brought it to the forefront of debate among students. Some advocate for the style’s return, while others strongly oppose it.
The word “twee” itself is originally a British word that refers to something quaint, feminine, and cute. The aesthetic mirrors this definition. It uses classically girlish pieces that draw from the femininity of women’s fashion in the 1960s and 1970s, ranging from large collars to Mary Jane shoes to vibrant tights.
This vintage-inspired look reached its peak popularity in the 2010s and remains most associated with that time period to this day, with stars like New Girl and 500 Days of Summer actress Zooey Deschanel bringing it to mainstream recognition. Twee’s influence was also further propelled by another emblem of the 2010s: the social media platform Tumblr. Its popularity among Tumblr users solidified it as a hallmark of fashion in the 2010s, but TikTok users’ rediscovery of the style has transformed it into a topic of debate among younger audiences.
Thomas S. Wootton High School senior Shreya Rajkumar opposes this aesthetic’s revival among Generation Z’s youth, as its dated influences no longer fit students’ style choices today. “Twee definitely should not come back. It looks very old and it’s just not trendy anymore. It’s just not something I see coming back because our fashion styles have changed so much and it doesn’t really fit in with the twee aesthetic,” Rajkumar said.
However, Rajkumar recognizes that twee still has its merits. “I think some twee fashion is questionable, but things like tights with dresses are pretty cute. When I was in elementary school, twee was pretty big. I saw a lot of people wearing it in shows. I would even wear dresses with tights and things like that,” Rajkumar said.
Wootton senior Humnah Ibrahim is in favor of twee’s return. “Vintage fashion and thrifting is popular right now, and I think the twee aesthetic fits that. There’s a lot of layering in twee, and I like that. I also like the longer skirts that are part of the aesthetic,” Ibrahim said.
Because the twee aesthetic was in its heyday in the 2010s, many of its participants are millennials. This is an association some twee critics say the style will not be able shake off to gain more traction in Generation Z. “I had never seen the twee style before, but now that I have, I dislike it. It’s very odd. Under a TikTok I saw about twee, there’s a comment that says it’s millennial hipster Buzzfeed, and I agree,” Wootton senior Elizabeth Ipe said.
TikTok has sparked heated discussion about the potential return of the twee aesthetic, and it is a topic that may continue to divide Generation Z’s fashion enthusiasts.
Written by Hannah Rah of Thomas S. Wootton High School
Graphic by Charles Wang of Walter Johnson High School