In recent years, the app ‘TikTok’ has proved to be the source for many different fashion trends, with an enormous amount of videos explaining and promoting what’s in style and what has gone out of style, with a focus on what the most popular celebrities are wearing. Since its emergence in 2022, the ‘clean girl aesthetic’ has flooded the pages of the app, with the tag accumulating over 750 million TikTok views. This style has been defined by slicked-back hair, gold hoop earrings, a brown glossy lip, and the minimalistic “no makeup, makeup look”, with celebrities such as Hailey Bieber and Bella Hadid being the inspiration for the look.
At ground level, this style seems like another harmless ‘TikTok’ beauty and fashion trend, although many women of color have quickly called it out for being identical to beauty aesthetics that have existed within the Black and Latino communities for decades, and are now resurfacing with credit being given to white women who are tailoring it to be more palatable for white audiences. Not only that, but the trend has become toxic and unfair due to the fact that in the past, women of color have been ridiculed for wearing and trademarking these same beauty and fashion concepts. Now that these style elements are being worn by white influencers does it become more socially acceptable and trendy. In fact, white women have become the face of this trend, with aspects like the glossy brown lips that have been worn in Latina culture for years being trademarked as the Hailey Bieber ‘brownie glazed lips’. By doing this, the ‘clean girl’ aesthetic extracts elements of Black and Latino culture for fashion use while promoting Eurocentric beauty standards that entirely erase women of color, the rightful pioneers of these popular movements.
The ‘clean girl’ style encourages important discussions about how cultural appropriation occurs in the beauty and fashion industry, but it in no way prevents people from respecting other cultures and experimenting with makeup looks. However, it does serve as a guide for what not to do when inventing “new” style trends. Influencers and famous people need to learn and stop taking part in trends that turn the cultures of people of color into styles that are exclusive to white audiences. Give credit where it is due.
With that being said, in appreciation of where the style of slicked-back buns and brown glossy lipstick originally came from, here are some inspirational photos from people of color, with some being from when these fashion trends first started being worn:
Sources:
EAC PRESS 