And I Oop! Wait, WE Were VSCO Girls?!

The year is 1999.

Sugar Ray’s Every Morning is blasting from your massive cd player/stereo system in your bedroom. Sorry for getting that song stuck in your head.

14 year old you is getting ready to go meet up with friends and walk around the Mall. Probably to hit up Gadzooks and Claire’s.

You don’t know what to wear, because you don’t really have your own style yet, but you are loving all the things. Anything that is sparkly and bright seems to call to you.

Butterfly hair clips? Check. But you better throw a few scrunchies on your wrist or in your tiny backpack in case its hot and you want to put your hair up.

Choker necklace that also looks just enough like a tattoo to make you feel like a rebel? Hell yes, check.

Birkenstocks because they are comfy comfy? Check.

Fudpucker’s t shirt from your last trip to the beach (with matching souvenir puka shell necklace)? Check check.

Also, these sunglasses with the subtle cat eye and pink lenses are your jam. Better wear those too.

You slather on a little body glitter on your cheek bones and some lip smackers or carmex on your lips and you are ready. to. go.

One look in the mirror and you look cute, or at least you feel cute, and when you feel cute, well, your confidence goes way up. And at 14, you are simultaneously totally unsure of yourself and also almost fearless.

 

Actual page from Seventeen Magazine way back in 1998, because I admit I am a pack rat. Oh hey dELiA’s!

You get to the mall and see that your group of friends seem to have a style similar to yours. Smiley face baby doll t-shirts, colored lens glasses, y’all are all beachy chic, or… something. You say things like “Will the real slim shady please stand up?” and “Raise the roof!” (bonus points if you pump your hands toward the ceiling!)

With social media still around 5 or 6 years down the road, your 14 year old self will never know what random people thought about your outfit, or your hair, or your sweet glitter bomb eye shadow. Your vision of the world was literally through rose colored glasses.

As. It. Should. Be.

Now, let me rock your world.

Guess what kind of girl you were?

YEP. A VSCO girl. But you and your girls were the OG. And it didn’t have a name because it didn’t need one. It wasn’t preppy and it wasn’t goth. It was just… you. And you carried on with some variation of this casual comfy cute look on well into college with no regrets.

 

Shell, hemp, or bead, we loved all the necklaces. And yes these are all from high school (and very faded from constant wear!)- except the pink, which belongs to my daughter…!

Now, fast forward, like, a bunch of years.

You have a daughter, and she is precious and fragile and a little insecure, but at the same time she is confident and sure of herself. One day, she asks you to buy her a pack of scrunchies.

Wait, scrunchies?! Like to wear in her hair or as a bracelet? Yes, the answer is yes to both.

She starts talking about these girls that call themselves VSCO girls (pronounced vis-co). They wear Birkenstocks and puka shell necklaces and big t shirts, with at least two or three scrunchies on their wrists. They carry water bottles, and use metal straws and say things like “I oop!” (fancy VSCO for “whoops”) and “Save the Turtles!”

You are confused because these VSCO girls sound like you in the 90’s and 2000’s. Except some of us quoted Eminem instead of talking about saving the turtles so its good to hear we’ve made progress in some aspects.

So you giggle to yourself, as you pull out your storage bin full of scrap books. There you are. VSCO girl and you didn’t even know it.

What the HECK is a VSCO girl?!

So the whole “VSCO” term thing comes from the VSCO app that allows its members to post pictures with various filters, but does not offer the option to like or comment. Its just sharing pictures without fear of no likes or comments. The idea is that it allows members to be themselves without fear of being judged.

Rose colored glasses, if you will. As it should be.

So they embrace their cute and comfy clothes just as you did. And they aren’t quite sure of their style, so they just roll with what calls to them.

And they might say things that confuse us, like “sksksk” (which is some variation of the sound of a laugh or giggle. I think….)

But really they are just living their best low stress lives, expressing themselves while trying to figure it all out- and we should really just let them. Because soon enough they will be in our shoes- and all this VSCO stuff will be just a memory.

So, when you are ready to really freak them out, break out your old clothes and jewelry show them how its done! Maybe even predict their next move- My guess is that in no time flat, they will all be in line to buy blow up furniture, beaded curtains for their doorways, and bandanas for their hair! And I oop!! You are all that and a bag of chips VSCO mama!

 

 

 

Katy Dean
Katy has been married to her college (Geaux Tigers!) sweetheart Chris for 12 years. They live on the Northshore with their 5 daughters, 1 son, and 2 dogs, who keep their lives exciting and exhausting, and their house messy. After being relocated to the Midwest for several years due to her husband’s job, she and her family realized they missed Louisiana and its glorious heat and humidity more than they could handle and moved back home, this time for good. She loves trying new local restaurants, the four minutes a week her house is actually clean, and watching whichever activity her girls are involved in at the moment. You can usually find her dancing to classic country in her kitchen with a glass of wine, while attempting to come up with something to make for dinner.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here