Musings on the 'That Girl' Trend: Unrealistic or Aspirational?
This past year, most of us social media perusing gals have either brushed against or become infatuated with the “That Girl” trend making its way across Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest. From the neutral toned vlogs and short sleek tiktok clips to shiny glossy photos on IG or Pinterest–the image of “that girl” shines through as a self assured, disciplined, healthy, “has her shit together”, goal-oriented wonder woman.
So who is that girl? She typically has a clean makeup look with light blush, pop of mascara, and lipgloss painted across a clean, smooth complexion. She’s usually found wearing a gamma of neutral colors like eggshell, snow white, rich navy blue, deep rich black that she crafts together seamlessly from an impeccably chic yet deeply curated minimalist capsule wardrobe that hangs in her closet in a mastery of organization. Her hair is slicked back in a low bun held together by a French pin or sported in a high pony–but never a hair out of place.
She wakes up at 5am and hits the gym for a mix of strength training or pilates– wearing a matching sports bra and leggings set, neutral vibes only, and ends her 5 to 9 sipping green juice and eating chia pudding before starting her 9 to 5. She’s killing it at work and in her side hustle, because let’s be real, those girls are ambitious, productive, motivated. She’s off to grab a glass of wine with the gals right after in a sleek modern cocktail bar downtown. And then she takes her ‘everything' shower, goes to sleep, wakes up, and is energized to do it all over again.
It's important to remember that the "That Girl" trend is just that, a trend. It's a constructed image that is created for the purpose of selling products and making money. The reality is that there is no one way to be a woman and no one definition of what being a successful woman is. True empowerment comes from being true to oneself, and not from conforming to a societal standard.
The "That Girl" trend can be viewed from two lenses. It promotes the image of the confident, independent, disciplined woman who somehow has it all together, but it also promotes unrealistic standards and sometimes makes us stop and think, “well, why am I not keeping up?”. Ultimately, true success comes from being true to oneself and not conforming to societal standards.
What I personally love about this trend is the dopamine hit of inspiration and motivation that I get the more I see the image of other women living their best lives. Ultimately at its core, this trend inspires me to get my body moving in healthy ways, to put love and care into taking care of my skin, crafting a wardrobe that suits my style and simplifies getting dressed in the morning and easing the executive dysfunction of making too many decisions throughout the day, eating in the healthiest way to nourish my body, excelling in my career and business, and making time for social interactions with my loved ones. I remind myself that we don’t have to get everything done in one day, each and every single day. But when we do log into our socials and we see “that girl” doing her thing, we can smile and get inspired to go out there and continue doing our thing. For me, this trend is here to stay.
Just a few thoughts on this topic. Let me know what you think!
Xoxo,
Lulu