If there’s one question that keeps me up at night, tossing and turning in a cold sweat, it’s this: why the hell was everyone so obsessed with owls in the 2010s? I remember them being plastered everywhere in Forever 21 and H&M for absolutely no discernible reason. All the other poorly-aged trends I remember connected to something—mustaches were related to hipsters, Nutella came from Tumblr, and bacon traces back to Bacon mania.
Owls….I am stumped. The closest association I can think of is Harry Potter, but it feels like a bit of a stretch.
There was also the popularity of the “O RLY?” meme, which initially picked up in the early 2000s but died off by 2006.
And of course, we can’t forget Owl City, the man who gave us the most heartfelt synth pop bops of this era.
But none of these really explain why everyone wanted to plaster owls all over their wardrobe.
As it turns out, the owl fad may not be that random of an occurrence. Owls were actually a big trend in the ‘70s thanks to a rising interest in environmentalism, and a few feathered mascots—namely Mr. Owl, the Tootsie Pop mascot, and Woodsy Owl, the U.S. Forest Service mascot.
Since fashion works in twenty year cycles (or at least did before tiktok accelerated the trend cycle), there was a lot of influence from the ‘90s and the ’70s in the 2010s. It makes sense that the collective consciousness would return to owls.
In an interview with Better Homes & Gardens, Dr. Anna Ruth Gatlin, an assistant professor at Auburn University who teaches history of interior design, says that in the '70s, “there was a longing for nature, which is why owls were such a popular motif.” The late ’00s and early ‘10s were a time of rapid technological advances (shoutout to Steve Jobs) and growing concern about the environment, so an owl revival seems obvious. Other aesthetic trends, like Hipness Purgatory, which was a twee-like, handmade graphic design style, were also a response to these factors.
Back in the '70s, owls were also a sign of individuality. Gatlin says "you had all these Boomers who had been into the counterculture in the 1960s who now have homes...they didn't want [theirs] to look like everybody else's. They wanted their space to be their own." The 2010s were also a time were individuality was emphasized in fashion, thanks to hipsters and the rise of social media. Don Caldwell, the editor-in-chief of Know Your Meme, says “[internet] culture celebrates being a nerd — it’s nerdy and random for the sake of being nerdy and random, making references for the sake of references,” in an article about millennial cringe humor on Vox. People wanted to be different, to be separated from the mainstream, and to show off their uniqueness in online spaces. Owls were a signifier that you were quirky, nerdy, and individual enough to wear them on a statement necklace.
However, the owl resurgence resulted in some very…..interesting fashion choices. To me, the ubiquitous owl necklace is a combination of maybe the worst aspects of 2010’s fashion: a half-hearted interpretation of ‘80s maximalism mixed with offbeat hipster culture. It makes a statement, sure, but one that’s like “I wear owl necklaces because I’m ~nerdy~ and ~quirky~ and ~not like all the other girls~” ……except you have the same necklace that every other Harry Potter-obsessed girl does in your middle school, Emily. And look I’m not judging—I have some owl-shaped skeletons in the closet myself. But, while there were lots of 2010s fashion trends I am eager to bring back, this one can stay dead for a long time as far as I’m concerned.
