By Norah Jewett ’25
Aesthetics: something we’re all familiar with one way or another. It’s a very broad term that can relate to any number of things, but this article will focus more on aesthetics as being something that describes a set group of items that is appealing to the eye with a similar feel, such as clothing, locations, and pieces of media. For example, the dark academia aesthetic is normally associated with boarding schools, tweed jackets, poetry, Greek architecture, dusty libraries and a color palette of different shades of black, brown, tan and dark red and green. Movies such as Dead Poets Society and books such as The Secret History reflect these aspects of the aesthetic.
Another is the cottagecore aesthetic, with flowy clothing, rolled up pants, blossoming plants, tea and pie baking closely associated with it. These are just two of the many, many different aesthetics out there that people can associate with a way of living or dressing. It is a way for people to express their ways of dressing or find pleasure in the closely related style of different aesthetics.
However, this whole world of aesthetics comes with a cost. Many people feel the need to fit into one certain niche and can’t experiment with other genres of clothing or hobbies. Don’t feel pressured just to stick with one certain style, just find things that you find pleasing and interesting. After all, an aesthetic is supposed to be something that you find joy in, not stress.
