The Soft Grunge Aesthetic: Tumblr's Eternal Darling

"I wish I was a teen in 2014" is a sentiment you can't escape on the For You Page. What did it look like at its peak?

In the 2010s, a 90s revival movement began to take shape in music, media, and most notably, fashion. The 20 year trend cycle continued to roll forward, with the bright 80s influences of the early 2000s fading out to make way for some of the darker, more subdued styles of the 90s.

It was a countercultural anti-consumerism movement that rejected the society of the decade of excess in the 1980s, and that appealed to a lot of teens who were kids during the 2000s explosion of logomania and manufactured pop stars.

The kids of Gen X parents were coming into their teenage years, and with the resurgence of vinyl as the “cool kid” medium of music, many were exposed to the origins of grunge– Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and the like–and through social media osmosis, the nouveau-chic “Soft Grunge” aesthetic was born. 

The 2008 housing crisis left the country shaken and on a downward economic spiral, and the trends of excess just weren’t feasible for the everyday consumer. It was the perfect entryway for the revival of grunge, and the new generation of young adults were ready to put their spin on it.

The grunge look originated in the roots of its official definition– dirt. It was meant to be messy, unrefined, and a rejection of fashion as a whole. However, in 2010 with the emergence of “Soft Grunge,” outside influences of gothic and japanese kawaii style added a touch of drama and femininity to the overall look. Other 90s styles like kinderwhore, were massively influential–think bands like Hole and Babes in Toyland.

It cannot be overstated how much this trend owed its popularity to the emergence of social media as an everyday medium, the most notable of which being Tumblr. Images of girls with dark lipstick, pastel hair, fishnets or knee highs with Docs dominated blogger’s dashboards. The resurrection of vinyl records complemented the aesthetic perfectly, and Tumblr’s favorite musicians defined the sound of the era.

Alternative Press writer Marian Phillips cited Sky Ferreira as having "largely popularized" the style beginning in 2009. The melancholia of her record “Everything Is Embarrassing” set the tone for the Soft Grunge aesthetic, and music was a massive part of the culture. 

The Arctic Monkeys cult classic “AM” was constantly left on repeat. The Neighborhood, The XX, and Tame Impala scored late nights in your best friend’s car. Lorde, Marina and the Diamonds, and Lana del Rey were online royalty, and their individual styles influenced the hair and makeup of a generation of tumblr girls. 

It was the era of the Cool Girl. Manic pixie mentality ran rampant, and everyone was digging out their old jars of Manic Panic hair dye that hadn’t been touched since a middle school emo phase for the occasion. 

It was girly, feminine, but not overly so. The makeup was dark and heavy, yet the colors were pastel and playful. Lorde’s mac lipstick shade “Heroine” was in the pocket of every pair of high waisted cut off Levi’s, and a pack of American Spirits was tucked in every boot. “Boyfriend” flannels stayed perpetually tied around the waist, maybe with phrases like “DROPOUT” written in sharpie on the back.

The look retained the effortless nature and raucousness of its parent grunge while remaining photogenic, social media ready. It was soft and messy, pretty and dirty, a combination of influences in the right place at the right time. 

The trend itself is being revived today, with i-D magazine citing it as influential on both the e-girl and VSCO girl fashion styles of the early 2020’s. Social media aesthetics come and go, but fashion is cyclical. Elements of Soft Grunge may be recycled, and though we don’t know what the future of online fashion holds, we do know the desire for nostalgia only grows as the trend cycle quickens. 

Time flies when you’re finished scrolling.