If you're unlike me and don't spend every miserable, wretched second of your life scrolling on the clock app, you may not be aware of the Great Twee Debacle of early 2022. It all started when forecaster/oracle of fashion delphi Mandy Lee (@oldloserinbrooklyn) predicted that twee would rear it's plaid-wearing head again, and soon we would be donning 60s dresses, frilly blouses, and peter pan collars.
And what do you know: people were not happy about it!
Within the following few weeks, tiktok managed to "resurrect" and then "kill" an entire fashion trend (I'm using quotes because the trend hasn't even happened yet), reducing twee to modcloth dresses and zooey deschanel singing in cursive.
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| I think we can all agree that these dresses should stay put in the 2010s |
Twee is actually a music-based alternative subculture that emerged in the '80s, which focused on a DIY approach to music. The style was heavily influenced by '60s vintage fashion, because that was what was widely available at the thrifts during that time— hence all the shift dresses and peter pan collars. The main goal was to look a little frumpy, nerdy, and uncool.
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| Amelia Fletcher, twee pop icon |
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another iconic twee pop band, Talulah Gosh
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The twee discourse was a distant memory in my head when I watched the new Billie Eilish video for "What Was I Made For?" (her contribution to the Barbie soundtrack), but I did a double take when I first saw it. Her outfit made my twee-dar start tingling:
And then I started looking at Margot Robbie's red carpet style, noticing how her stylist cleverly referenced Barbies of yore, including the original Barbies released in the late '50s and early '60s.
"Hold up," I thought. "Is the Barbie movie going to be the thing that brings back twee?"
It's a dumb theory. It's silly. I fully acknowledge this. But mainstream media—specifically the '60s period drama Mad Men—definitely played a role in the twee revival of the the late '00s and early '10s. Maybe it's not that far fetched to think that Barbie could be a factor in an upcoming twee revival.
In any case, my brain can't get the thought "Barbie is bringing twee back" out of my head. So, I spent several hours scouring flickr and tumblr for Barbie-esque twee outfits. And I think it's time for the twee comeback to fully begin:
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| twee-py chan |
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| Last but not least, because it wouldn't be a twee post without Zooey Deschanel |
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