Over two months into his presidency, the shock of Donald Trump’s win has nearly worn off. Days after his re-election, though, I was dumbfounded – how had he accumulated over 77 million conservative voters? Surely, conservatism had not infiltrated the minds of that many people, right?
When looking at recent fashion trends, though, it is glaringly obvious how conservatism has been diligently working to infiltrate our minds for years.
This infiltration was subtle, but constant… until it did not have to be subtle. Conservative values are all about conserving the status quo, or resisting social change, and the “traditional” nuclear family: dad as the head of the family, mom as the homemaker and one to two perfect children.
The culmination and declaration of conservative media was the “trad wife” aesthetic popularized by TikTok creators like Nara Smith and Ballerina Farm in 2024. This aesthetic glorified stay-at-home life for women by romanticizing tasks like cooking and cleaning.
It is hard to find popular media more blatantly conservative than this, however, there were many trends before this showing us that we were headed toward a more conservative society.
- 2016 makeup is out, “clean girl” makeup is in
As a lover of this makeup routine, it saddens me to say that “clean girl” makeup was our first sign of conservatism rising. “Clean girl” makeup is the epitome of effortlessness, intending to make the wearer look as natural as possible. The look favors fewer products over more, swapping out foundation for skin tint, powders for creams and dramatic eye looks for simple mascara. The makeup is so light that it is almost unnoticeable, and this is where the conservatism lies.
Republican makeup is often mocked on the internet as an overly tanned, unblended makeup look. However, a conservative look, by definition, avoids showiness and sticks to traditional styles. By this logic, the most traditionally conservative approach to makeup is no makeup at all. All of the recent beauty trends overtaking the internet, down to celebrities all dissolving their fillers, point toward a more natural, “no-makeup” makeup look.
- The resurgence of “Americana”
Recently, the high-fashion brand Dsquared2 hosted a fashion show, but the looks were not what you might have expected. Many of the models were dressed in flannels, cowboy hats and even painted with dirt. This is simply the latest example of “blue-collar style” — the hottest trend in men’s fashion. The look includes Carhartt jackets, carpenter or cargo pants, cowboy boots, hats and anything you might see a blue-collar worker wearing.
This fashion fad contributes to a trend seen throughout popular culture: the resurgence of “Americana,” the culture associated with the United States. Cowboy boots and hats are now considered fashionable, Ralph Lauren’s American flag sweater was so popular that Shein made a dupe and new country artists seem to be popping up every day.
Artists like Jelly Roll, Teddy Swims and Shaboozey have dominated the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Well-known artists have also been switching over to country: Post Malone, Quavo and, most notably, Beyoncé. Lana Del Rey, who crafted multiple albums around romanticizing Americana, has reached new levels of popularity as emerging fans discover her music and the aesthetics behind it.
This obsession with the traditional culture of the United States points to a return of not only the look of Americana, but the values of it as well.
- The loss of self-expression
Quiet luxury, office siren, old money, coastal cowgirl – these are just some of the trending aesthetics of the past few years. Aesthetics present romanticized lifestyles and are often used as mood board inspiration. However, rather than inspiration, people now use aesthetics to completely replace their individual sense of self.
Shopping for clothes that express your sense of style is a thing of the past, replaced by the endless search for the current trending item. Shopping and overconsumption have taken the passion once reserved for hobbies. The clothes themselves have lost their personality, as every store seems to sell a slightly different version of the same shirt, same trend.
Obsessing over fitting a certain “vibe” has led people to give up their unique personality, censoring themselves until they are just like everybody else. By limiting ourselves to doing only what our chosen aesthetic allows, we have voluntarily begun giving up our self-expression and playing into the conservative value of remaining the same. Aesthetics have become yet another way to tell women how to conform, act and look.
- The “trad wife” is back in style
As far-fetched as this may sound, our obsession with aesthetics is what allowed the “trad wife” to return. Viewing Nara Smith’s or Ballerina Farm’s lives as nothing more than an aesthetic has allowed us to overlook the narrative they are pushing that women’s lives should center around the home.
There is nothing wrong with dreaming of being a mother, but romanticizing the lifestyle ignores all of the hard work that goes into taking care of children and tending to a home. Whether the creators are conscious of it or not, their viewers are being convinced that this life is for them, without understanding the work or context behind it.
The “trad wife” is more than an aesthetic, it is an ideology – a misogynistic, racist, regressive ideology that strips women of all autonomy. Our obsession with aesthetics has taken us out of reality, allowing us to forget that these romanticized lifestyles always bring their value systems with them.
One of these trends by itself would not be enough to point toward a rise in conservatism. When you put them all together, though, it’s hard to ignore the obvious. We are, slowly but surely, becoming minimalist, losing our self-expression and returning to traditionalism.