Why the Pink Coquette Aesthetic is Already Fading Fast

 What do you think of when you think of the word “coquette”? When a character in a book is described as coquette nowadays, you don’t think of a woman who is flirty and manipulates men to get what she wants, oh no, that’s a siren woman! A coquette now is just a woman who wears…pink and bows?

The, in my opinion, revolutionary aesthetic of coquette is one of the many aesthetics I mourn the loss of due to capitalism and fast fashion. I remember being a middle schooler in 2021, when the Lana Del Rey, vintage red americana, vintage lace and frills, melting candles surrounding Mary Jane’s coquette aesthetic was trending. And for many people, that is how we remember the once small community of the tiktok coquette’s, or what used to be called the “Lolita-core” or “nymphet” girls. It seems there is a common theme of the naming for this style, all rooted in hypersexualization of little girls (a common theme in Lana’s music), and now just a few years later, the style has been completely watered down but we still recognize that theme in the form of tiktok’s latest obsession: bows. Specifically, pink bows. 

Now, coquette has merged into more of a dollete fashion, the pink completely overtaking the aesthetic and the original Lana Del Rey, the coquette queen’s previous influence on the fashion as well has now been reduced to just music. It reminds me of the pink pilates princess aesthetic. So many influencers I followed because I enjoyed the pink pilates princess aesthetic have now changed into the “coquette” aesthetic because of what it is seen as coquette now. I mean, where has the pink pilates princess aesthetic gone? Perhaps I should write a blog post about that soon…

What used to be frilly babydoll dresses and soft fabrics, gorgeous pearl jewellery, has now been reduced to pink tops with a bow plastered on. And if you’re really stylish, a bow in your hair. The previous coquette took on a more preppy and upper class feminine look, with a sensual touch here and there via Lizzy Grant’s magic. Now, it seems like coquette is just Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film Marie Antoinette if it was filmed in 2024, in the ghetto…I mean, you can’t convince me grey sweatpants, a pink tube top, and a pink bow in your hair is “cute”, you look like you’re advertising Shein. 

When I saw the hashtags, I nearly jumped.

But it seems I’m not the only one who remembers the now well remembered influence of 2021’s coquette, which dominated my pinterest boards. Multiple netizens have also come out with their own nostalgic retelling of 2021 coquette, all which match what I remember vividly.

Pinterest user @porcelainheroincunt (love the username) said “ughh i remeber in like 2021-2022 when the coquette girls were on tumblr mostly and we were baking those cookies with the heart and jam and the ppl on pinterest like the anime/vocaloid people were calling us toxic and insulting us all the time 😔 i miss it soo bad” 

Me too girl, me too. I remember on TikTok people would bash on the coquette girls, calling them toxic and saying they were promoting p3dophilia and toxic femininity, because of the movies “Lolita” and Lana Del Rey’s music being staples in the aesthetic (I don’t know why Lolita was considered an aesthetic movie…yikes). It seems now coquette has become the new “emo” and an attempt for the girlies to be “different”. 

Another pinterest user @bambinterrupted recalled “i miss when it was heart shaped sunglasses, cooking/baking, reading, cd stores, and cherries.”

Now THIS is the coquette I remember greatly, when baking heart shaped cookies with jelly filled centres on cherry printed table sheets was considered “coquette”, and smoking was considered cute. I mean, smoking being considered cute is something I think is worth also looking into, as it is something I find a staple of MULTIPLE fashion aesthetic and subcultures.  

Ah, my sweet summer coquette child.

Reddit users also share the same sentiment, creating “Bring 2021 Coquette back!” chants. So how come coquette is falling out of favour fast? Well, now, it’s being seen as childish.

At least to the people around me. With trends like “i'm just a girl”  and the pink pilates princess fading quickly, I think the pink Shein bow version of the coquette style will die out. I don’t think the entire coquette trend will die, as here are dedicated fashion girlies dedicated to girl blogging (hehe) and just Lizzy Grant fans worldwide keeping the subculture alive, and hyperfemininity is something timeless that I don’t think will ever go out of Vogue, but it may present itself in different ways. In a couple of months, when no one is sporting the pink bow, you can remember me!

I love pink, and think every outfit can use a bit of pink, but when I see a Shein warrior walk in my classroom with a pink bow hoodie in sweats and sneakers, I can’t help but puke a little.