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photo credit: Amilia Rankine found here
So as a mom of an almost tween, I am finding that there is a whole new world of things for me to think about. I was sort of prepared for the boy/girl crushes to begin and feel ready for those. Wanting to put on headphones and listen to music came as no surprise. And the eye-rolling from my insanely sweet kid doesn’t irk me so much as I thought it would…
But considering my daughter lives for workout wear and her fashion revolves around what’s comfortable, I was not ready to learn that she & her friends are all about the “VSCO girl” trend.
For that matter, I didn’t know there was a VSCO girl trend to be all about.
But at pick up the other day, another mom asked me “So did your daughter wear her VSCO girl outfit today too?”
I was clueless.
But it turns out, she did. When the other mom started to describe the hallmarks of a VSCO girl, I thought back on the outfit my Monkey had put together and sure enough, VSCO girl.
Now, let me pause for a minute and tell you how hilarious I find this whole trend and it’s name…
When I heard VSCO girl, my first comment was “like the photo-editing plugins I use for my business?”
And apparently, yes. The trusted LightRoom preset maker’s mobile app has gone from just editing your photos, to being a trend of itself. I can’t even explain how as a photographer I find this hilarious.
So what is a VSCO girl? Well, with my quick google and hashtag searches, I am finding that it’s basically early 90s meets surfer girl re-packaged for the 2019 teens. Scrunchies. Oversized tees. Puka shell necklaces. Metal straws.
And as a mom, I see it so far as totally harmless. All about saving the turtles and what not. And I am pretty sure it isn’t too far off from one of the looks Emily Henderson’s staff styled her in recently… So I am okay with it.
But it did lead us to a bigger conversation in my house. When I asked my daughter about the whole trend, it turned out she didn’t know much about it – to her credit, there doesn’t seem to be much to know after my research. But that didn’t stop me from using it as a chance to talk about what it could have been and following trends without knowing what they are all about.
What if it had deeper meaning that you didn’t agree with? What if it meant you were saying that you are something you don’t want to be associated with? What if it secretly signaled that you were willing to do things that you didn’t want to be doing?
She paused in deep consideration and I could see that it worried her.
Which is exactly what I wanted. I wanted her to realize that while trends are usually harmless and no big deal, if you label yourself as something, you need to be sure you know what that something is all about and that you agree with what it stands for…
These are the conversations that I knew would come some day. The ones that are bigger and shape who she is. The ones that I listened to her sing “Let It Go” over and over and over again so that we would build the relationship of hearing each other out and open communication…
I know that we are just at the tip of the iceberg on these. But I also know that how I react to these harmless trends now will shape if she continues to come to me with questions. I know that if I am shocked or taken aback or act like she isn’t ready for things that I can tell she clearly is, then it will shut down all the lines we have established…
So for now, I’m keeping a pulse on this VSCO girl trend and scooping up some scrunchies for her birthday next week… even if Carrie Bradshaw would be appalled…
XOXO
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