By now you’ve probably heard someone say “My aesthetic is definitely cottagecore!” or “You look like an e-girl!”, but what does it mean? And how do you determine your aesthetic? It can be hard to figure out, but we’ve made this quiz to help you better understand!
See if, at your core, your aesthetic is e-girl, Y2k, cottagecore, or dark academia.
Questions Overview
- Kind.
- An old soul.
- Edgy.
- Bubbly.
- Cardigan by Taylor Swift.
- Baby One More Time by Britney Spears.
- Take Me to Church by Hozier.
- Brutal by Olivia Rodrigo.
- A time travel piece about friendship.
- A rom-com about finding love in the city.
- A mystery-thriller set in an English boarding school.
- A fast paced, action show with a revenge plot.
- I wouldn’t even see the text until the morning – I passed out at 9pm!
- I’ve been waiting all night for this text. Of course!
- I’m lost in a great book, maybe another night.
- Give me 5 seconds to wing my eyeliner and I’m there.
- Run away to a rural cabin and spend my days harvesting vegetables.
- Wear my lowest low-rise jeans and my shortest crop top together.
- Buy every beautiful journal I see.
- Dye my hair a different color every other week.
- My family is my top priority.
- Standing out and being unique.
- Getting the most out of my education.
- Being my authentic self no matter what.
- Captain America.
- Iron Man.
- Batman.
- Black Widow.
- The coast of Italy.
- New York City, baby!
- London, of course.
- Tokyo is the dream!
- Playing house in the backyard with my siblings.
- Dressing up in my mom’s clothes and heels.
- Going to piano lessons.
- Having my first crush.
- No routine! I let the day come, and I go with the flow.
- I like to start my day with a nice morning workout and end it hanging out with friends.
- A strict routine makes sure I’m able to finish the day’s to-do list.
- I like to play some video games during the day before heading to my date in the evening.
- Give me anything with frills and I’m ready to go!
- A good square-toed heel can make the night.
- You can’t go wrong with an oversized blazer!
- My graphic tee never lets me down.
- An Arnold Palmer always hits the spot.
- A matcha latte with vanilla syrup please!
- Anything to keep me awake.
- I always get a cappuccino for the latte art.
- Tuck Everlasting.
- Spirited Away.
- Bring It On.
- Anything from the Harry Potter saga.
- A poster featuring an array of herbs.
- A poster of Hatsune Miku.
- A poster of the Powerpuff Girls.
- A poster of an old book page with a skull drawn overtop.
- Totoro from “My Neighbor Totoro.”
- Ramona Flowers from “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.”
- Elle Woods from “Legally Blonde.”
- Will from “Good Will Hunting.”
More Quizzes
Get to Know the Aesthetics
What is an aesthetic? The word aesthetic refers to the nature of physical beauty and the expressions of judgment through taste. The term was popularized by platforms such as Tumblr, Instagram, and Pinterest, and described anything that was “pleasing to look at”.
Think beach sunsets, pale pantone colors, and cityscapes. Now aesthetic has come to mean a collection of images, colors, objects, or music that evoke a certain emotion or create community. You’ve probably heard the expression “aesthetic core”. This refers to personal aesthetic categories like angelcore, softcore, light academia, grunge, fairycore, grandmacore, VSCO girl, and twee. While there are many aesthetic categories, the most popular are cottagecore, dark academia, Y2K, and e-girl. Let’s dig into them!
Cottagecore - Cottagecore is inspired by a romanticization of western agricultural life. It’s a nature-based aesthetic, and it is rooted in visuals of domestic life. Popular activities are hanging up laundry, foraging, baking, and sewing. Colors representative of cottagecore are brown, olive, baby pink, light yellow, and sky blue. The clothing one wears is loose, long and flowy. The style is dominated by linen, denim overalls, puffy sleeves, gingham, and stripes.
Dark Academia - Dark academia revolves around academics, classical literature, and self-discovery. It represents a high class and vintage style full of sweater vests, blazers, trousers, pleated skirts, and loafers. Letter writing, reading, making tea, dreary weather, and indulging in classical or instrumental music is popular within this aesthetic. Dark academia images are rich with gold, burgundy, forest green, dark orange, cream, and black.
Y2K - This aesthetic category is nostalgic of the early 2000s. Complete with low rise jeans, bright colors, and matching coordinating sets, Y2K encapsulates the futuristic and innovative feeling of its callback year. Images of Y2K contain chrome, icy blue, glossy white, and black linework. The fashion has chunky, colorful rings, skinny sunglasses, mini-skirts, and platform heels. Fun activities within this aesthetic are playing with Tamagotchis, creating graphic flyers, and going to the mall.
E-Girl - E-girl, or “electronic girl”, is an aesthetic category used to describe young women who participate heavily in online culture such as anime, gaming, Kpop, or Discord. The fashion style is alternative, and heavily influenced by the grunge, goth, or emo look. For example, it includes heavy eyeliner and dyed streaks of hair. Visuals within this category are checkered patterns, neon lights, and desaturated images. Activities within this category include streaming on Twitch or Youtube, making TikToks, and experimenting with makeup.
Want to learn more?
To learn more about the different types of aesthetics, check out these resources:
Reader Success Stories
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"I never knew if I was grunge or cottagecore. Seems like I'm more cottagecore, yay!"
