What does it mean to be an “It Girl”?
The “It Girl” is social media’s new obsession. It’s the buzzword hitting various media platforms, especially TikTok, the trend-producing factory. For those unfamiliar with magazine editorials or gossip columns, it can seem like a nuanced term born from the recent immersive consumption of fast fashion trends and comebacks from past decades. However, the “It Girl” has been a perpetual niche encompassing wealthy and beautiful women who outwardly uphold the coveted “put-together” life. More specifically, the “It Girl” meticulously operates the intricate facade of the lifestyle associated with femininity. She boasts luxury by flaunting her downtime, spending it at the gym or local coffee shop. She orchestrates the possession of absolute control of her work and personal life by retaining composure, organization, and poise. She is confident and has a path with few obstructions. The media has spent decades painting this portrait of what the “It Girl” should be, upholding the narrative that she is the ideal woman by making it another accomplishment that should be desired.
In 2022, the “It Girl” is described as follows: she lives a seemingly lavish lifestyle portrayed by spontaneous vacations, luxurious accessories, and a beautiful home decorated with a “minimal” aesthetic. She is effortlessly beautiful and purports to have her life planned to the T, with everything working out as visioned with minimal obstacles. Her “put-togetherness” sits tied up in a bow on top of her acrylic coffee table beside her iced matcha latte held in her heart-shaped cup. She does all she can to maintain her external beauty and has cabinets full of facial, dermal, and other treatments. She regularly goes to the gym to complete the trendiest workout routine in her Lululemon outfit planned and put out the night before. Her Prada baguette purse is filled with Dior’s latest makeup launches and Louis Vuitton wallet. Her hair is slicked back in a neat ponytail or loose in a voluminous blowout. Her makeup is minimal and her skin glistens in perfect health without a trace of imperfections. She adorns herself in layers of gold or silver jewelry and a fashionable pair of sunglasses. This is the “It Girl”. The name’s esteem is enough to understand social media’s current fascination with women who fit the description.
Of course, these women’s intentions may not be to flaunt a life presumably built by themselves. They may simply be doing what everyone else does, updating their personal life portfolio on Instagram. Influencers, social media managers, and company ambassadors find themselves in the position of marketing the product with promises of this coveted lifestyle. It’s one of the moral dilemmas that come with social media's takeover. However, that doesn’t mean spectators can’t fawn over the “It Girl” and wonder if they could ever be her especially when one takes the time to truly question what it means to be the “It Girl”. Is it a cookie-cutter mold meant to find the most beautiful, influential, and wealthiest women who paint their lives as highlight reels online? I would argue that it is more complex than that. What does it take to be the “It Girl”? Is it something women should all aspire to?
With the recent popularity of revisiting trends and music from past decades comes the admiration for the people who created said mediums that made their way to the 2020s. In relation to “It Girls”, Audrey Hepburn is a prime example of the hyper-feminine, beautiful, wealthy, and affluent woman who fits that formulaic nature. Casual spectators would probably note how “put-together” she appeared to be when in reality, she was struggling with eating disorders. One should note that as trends passed along with time, the formula for the “It-Girl” also changed, as seen with Julia Roberts. She came onto the scene in the 90s following her performance in Pretty Woman, which was ironically a film about turning a normal woman with issues into a more “sophisticated” and traditionally feminine woman.
One could argue that a prominent “It Girl” of 2022 is Kendall Jenner, a beautiful, influential, and wealthy celebrity. A closer analysis of the events of her life may indicate that not everything is as streamlined in her day-to-day as we would like to believe. While being coveted by women in society, these three examples have demonstrated that even those with the means to perpetuate the facade of perfection and organization also have struggles and bad days. It only further supports the fact that this entire niche is arbitrary and relies on multiple different sources to stay afloat.
Social Media has taken these representations of idealized women and made their lives something to aspire to, even at a micro-level. Now, we can all see girls our age seem so put-together while some of us still struggle to take off our makeup before bed. What we fail to remember is that is it all external. The beautiful outfits she always has on are definitely planned in advance. She makes sure to get exercise, drink water, and take care of her skin in the morning. Her relationships may work better than most because of her own self-awareness and utilization of boundaries. These fundamentals aren’t impossible to incorporate into everyday life, however, they can be difficult. The human condition dictates that we all be different and live our lives uniquely, that is what makes us all exceptional. Nonetheless, it means that becoming the “It Girl” requires a holistic approach as you must assess your mind, body, and spirit. With these aspects of your being working synchronously, personal growth will propagate, leading to more attention towards oneself both superficially, financially, and mentally.
While wealth, a new wardrobe, or good looks aren’t promised as a result, confidence, a path, and a sense of self are guaranteed. Fundamentally, that is what an “It Girl” is, someone who is assured in herself and who strives to have the best that life has to offer. Just as beauty and success are arbitrary, I believe the “It Girl” is as well.
