Indie Sleaze, Ballet-Core, and Clean Girl aesthetics can all be tied back to Tumblr… what does that say about our trend cycle? Or better yet, what does that say about our society and progression toward body image?
When I was 10, I discovered the wonderfully horrifying world of Tumblr. SuperWhoLock was everywhere. You would scroll past black-and-white Lana Del Rey gifs and edgy quotes. Maybe even make an online friend or two and spend hours chatting about your favorite music and YouTubers.
In this Tumblr era, teenagers used their blogs as diaries, detailing their struggles with depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. Because of the widespread popularity of the site, these real mental health issues became the basis of trends. Companies like H&M began printing shirts with “DEPRESSION” in big letters. Urban Outfitters rose in popularity during this time and started off with “One Size Fits All” clothing, with other companies like Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch following suit. The general atmosphere during this time was “thin is in.” Low-rise jeans, drinking only coffee for meals, and “thinspo” (thin inspiration) blogs made the front page of Tumblr. You couldn’t escape these trends, even in your own little corner of Tumblr.
Then, the 2010s came along with the rise of the “influencer.” The Kardashians rose to fame in this time period, rocking their BBLs and sporting the newest “body-con” trends aiming at showing off a curvier trendsetter body. The Body Positivity movement was in full swing. This direct contrast to the “thin” body aimed at allowing people to feel more comfortable in their skin, even if they were thin. Due to the nature of the trend cycle, we largely moved away from these harmful sections of the internet, and curvy bodies began to be more widely accepted and embraced. But history is just one big circle… and we have unfortunately fallen victim to the classic “history always repeats itself.”
Meet Indie Sleaze: the aesthetic that categorizes the Tumblr indie party scene fashion prevalent from 2008 to 2014. Think big bags, messy bleach blond hair, hats, and cigarettes dangling from thin models’ mouths – and of course “thinspiration” in full swing.
Aesthetics like Indie Sleaze serve to be easy search engine terms. If you are looking to keep up with trends, you can use terms like “indie sleaze” to find whatever you need. This leads to mass consumption, making people buy a whole new wardrobe every time a new trend emerges. Brands know you want to follow fashion trends from your favorite influencers, so they make it easy for you to search for exactly the type of clothes you want on their website. Or you can type “indie sleaze” directly into TikTok, with thousands of results of “Amazon Basics You Need: Indie Sleaze Edition.” Not surprisingly, the revival of these trends comes with the revival of classic ole’ fatphobia.
If you are feeling left out of trends like these that seek to only fit into one type of “body,” make it yours. Those low-rise jeans will fit you even if you’re not thin. That bleach-blonde hair is doable with any drugstore hair dye. You can fit whatever aesthetic you want to. Just make sure it fits into your personal style, as trends like Indie Sleaze come and go.