‘Messy girl’, ‘clean girl’, ‘it girl’, ‘that girl’, oldmoneybrunettecookiebutterblondeblueberryfrazzledenglishmuffin…girl? I think we might have lost our minds a little bit in recent months, succumbing to what my younger sisters would call ‘TikTok brain rot’.
The trend cycle seems to go a bit like this: a new squeaky-clean ‘aesthetic’ springs up on TikTok, led primarily by the personal style of certain influencers or groups of influencers. Then, it trends exponentially (yes, I’m aware I’m probably using that wrong) until it reaches a boiling point. Once this point is reached, people decide it’s unrealistic to continue idolising morning routines that begin at 4am or clothes that cost a month’s rent, so the pendulum swings back firmly in the other direction. Suddenly, messy makeup, undone hair, and ‘eclectic grandpa’ style cosy jumpers are back in style, and hairlines can begin to slowly recover from their oppressive ballet buns.
Breaking it Down
But what is the messy girl aesthetic, at its core? There seem to be several different iterations, primarily centring on Britain, France, and the US, each with a slightly different flavour of curated mess.
For Brits (or anglophiles), the prime suspect is the ‘frazzled English woman’, with Bridget Jones as its epicentre. As Bridget pines after her sleazy boss Daniel Cleaver and navigates a complicated relationship with the sensitive Mark Darcy, she is clad in a mix of cosy knits, unassuming office wear hybrids, and comfy pjs. Key elements of this style profile include undone hair, minimal makeup, and objectively ugly scarves, all thrown together in a way that says “every time I make a cup of tea I forget about it and let it get cold”. Slightly more elevated iterations of the ‘frazzled English woman’ include Keira Knightley in Love Actually, or Kate Winslet in The Holiday, but all include the same basic elements.
Why is this more appealing than traditionally curated outfits? First off, most people will have the basic elements of this ‘aesthetic’ already in their wardrobe, reducing spend and textile waste. Fundamentally, it plays into the ultimate ‘cool girl’ desire - to throw on an outfit without caring, and somehow still embody loveable, relatable chic.
Gliding across the channel to France, we meet ‘the messy French girl’. We all know the stereotype - she wears Repetto or Miu Miu ballet flats, smokes the occasional gauloise, and nonchalantly sips her petit café, barely smudging her red lipstick (the only makeup she is wearing, of course). Historical inspirations often include Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin,despite her actually being British.
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Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones’ Diary
Despite the somewhat ridiculous written-by-a-man energy of this style profile and the constant protestation of many real French women, the ‘messy French girl’ definitely has its plus points. With a focus on pared back beauty, practical yet stylish garments, and prioritising quality over quantity in all areas of life, we could yet learn something from this Catherine Deneuve-esque phantom.
Now we turn to the American iteration (s) of the messy girl. First up, we have every fashion girlie’s dream - the scatterbrained fashion assistant, writer, or otherwise overworked industry professional.
Key characters include, of course, Andy Sachs, writer turned fashion assistant in cult film The Devil Wears Prada, especially pre-Nigel’s transformation. Running from office to boutique and back again, spilling coffee onto spiked Manolo sandals while talking on a miniscule telephone, Andy (and Emily) are the embodiment of on-the-go cool. A notable inspiration for this look also includes the one and only Carrie Bradshaw, the chain-smoking lifestyle writer protagonist of Sex and The City. With wild curls and an eye-watering collection of Jimmy Choos, often found lying on her bed eating Chinese food, she is the biggest ‘relatable character’ con that the television industry has ever managed to perpetrate. Well-played, HBO.
Finally, we have a cool, fun, y2k contender: the all-American party girl. Think Paris Hilton (back in the day), Nicole Richie, Lindsey Lohan, and Ke$ha, waking up covered in glitter at 4 in the afternoon, shuffling in designer sweats to pick up a comically oversized soda from Sonic. Simply sleep in your makeup from the night before and voila, you’re now ‘messy party girl chic aesthetic’ rather than ‘hungover in class’...core?
Like the ‘frazzled English woman’, the popularity of these styles stems from the fashion and beauty Holy Grail: looking amazing, while doing very little to achieve said feat. The question is this: are ‘effortless’ aesthetics really any better than their ‘clean girl’ counterparts?
The Best of the Mess
On the plus side, the ‘messy girl’ resonates with the current fashion landscape, which is rightly lamenting the death of personal style. Cookie-cutter ‘old money’ outfits dominated our timelines for too long in 2023, and it’s inevitable that everyone’s had enough. However, be wary of the commodification of personal style that’s already creeping in - there is nothing you can buy, no product or garment or anything else, that will give you personal style.
The beauty of the ‘messy girl’ is in how naturally it fits with many of our lifestyles. Very few of us have time to lay out our outfits the night before and do our hair every other day (layabout fashion writers exempt…), so this look is natural and achievable for many. It relies on products and garments already in our collections, and gives you some direction for mindful purchasing in the future.
So, disclaimers out of the way, let’s talk top tips for integrating the ‘messy girl aesthetic’ into your personal style.
First, stop brushing your hair so much. This may sound very strange, but this writer once overheard an older French lady in a café exclaim that she can always tell a tourist by how often they brush their hair, so leave the Denman at home and let the wind do its worst! The tousled, lived-in look will lend authenticity to your messy girl style that isn’t too carefully curated.
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Andy Sachs, The Devil Wears Prada, 20th Century Fox
Clothing wise, thrift shops and vintage sales will be your best friend, shortly after digging around in your wardrobe and trying on combinations you already have. There’s no such thing as too many accessories for the messy girl, so throw on that horrendously outdated skirt chain and anklet from your 2012 family holiday. After all, the messy girl is an individual, and so are you.
Finally, when it comes to makeup, do your pre-shower experimental makeup routine…and leave it on. Alternatively, try out an everything-but-the-foundation look, or use up whatever weird products you got for Christmas and can’t think of any occasion to wear. The carefully placed dark red lip and artfully smudged eyeshadow certainly has a place, but the undone chic quality of the messy girl look lies in its authenticity.
Faux-nonchalance is well and truly tired, so make messy girl style an aesthetic choice that exemplifies the unique qualities of your wardrobe, not someone else’s.
By Ella Jones
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