Unveiling the Enchanting World of Cottagecore & Exploring Its Whimsical Subgenres
“We come from the earth, we return to the earth, and in between we garden.” — Alfred Austin
It is a lovely morning in early spring. A light breeze enters through the French windows and floats about your kitchen, forcing your long hair to dance as you work on mashing the strawberries necessary for your homemade jam. After boiling your sugary concoction, you empty the contents of your completed creation into several mason jars, ornament the tops with doilies, and place them inside the refrigerator so that they will be fresh for your afternoon tea. You slip out of your lace apron and into your favorite dress — a yellow gingham midi — and tie the satin straps of your sunhat swiftly around your chin. You scurry out of your quiet cottage and into the garden, planting your bare feet against the soil. The birds sing their sweet symphony, a butterfly flutters atop your shoulder, an earthy aroma fills your nose. You hang your clothes to dry, fill your favorite hand-woven basket with wildflowers, tend to your goats, and generally just, well, frolic.
Such is the dream of the cottagecore girl. The cottagecore aesthetic, also known as countrycore or farmcore, is one that embraces simple living and rejects modernity. Those who uphold the aesthetic express a nostalgia for a simpler time — one without technology and one that is void of the busyness that is prevalent in everyday life. In short, the cottagecore life is an escape from the incessant hustle and bustle that permeates city living. The aesthetic emerged on Tumblr in the 2010s, but can now be seen on several different social media sites, most notably Instagram and TikTok. It became especially popular throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, when daily lives were interrupted and quarantine forced many to isolate indoors, far away from nature and any semblance of normalcy. The cottagecore girl dreams of fleeing the modern world and entering into a sanctuary of quiet solace and absolute freedom. She seeks a life of simplicity — of green pastures, homemade goods, and undisturbed introspection. She is not bound by material or external ties, and fantasizes about a life of rural bliss. With its emphasis on farm animals, baked goods, and unity with nature, cottagecore heavily romanticizes all aspects of western agricultural life. In addition to its focus on the outdoors, the aesthetic embraces femininity completely. The cottagecore girl is gentle, empathetic, and warm. As though she were a deer, she roams through wild meadows with grace and ease. You can think of her as a contemporary transcendentalist; she is influenced by romanticism and relies on intuition. She shows kindness not only to Mother Nature herself, but also to all of her inhabitants, both human and animal. She is unprejudiced and progressive, accepting all beings and encouraging them to live out their true passions and desires. Because of the aesthetics’ progressive tenets, it is popular in the LGBTQ+ community, especially among lesbians. However, despite the fact that the term “cottagecore girl” has been consistently employed to describe the typical cottagecore enthusiast, there are a number of men and non-binary people who ascribe to the aesthetic as well.
The fashion elements prevalent in cottagecore are a reflection of the aesthetic’s fondness for all things feminine. The cottagecore girl adorns her body with wildflowers and dainty jewels. She draws inspiration from 19th-century everyday agricultural wear, buttoning up pinafore dresses and layering with lace blouses. She frolics about in floral-printed minis, ties her hair with ribbons and braids, and completes her look with ballet flats, lace-up boots, or no shoes at all. The cottagecore girl is essentially a modern-day Snow White. Nature and all of its creatures are her muses — her wardrobe is filled with neutral and natural tones, such as brown and fern green. Additionally, cottagecore fashion centers around sustainability. Because the cottagecore girl cares deeply for nature, she can often be found with a needle and thread in hand. She bids adieu to fast fashion and gives life to her imaginative clothing designs by creating more environmentally sustainable pieces.
Within the cottagecore community, there is a great emphasis placed on using the hands to create; from the pottery that she crafts, to the berries that she forages, to the baskets that she weaves, the cottagecore girl loves to use the magic of her own fingertips to bring her beautiful vision to light. Though most who abide by the cottagecore aesthetic likely live miles away from the quaint cottage of their dreams, each cottagecore girl embellishes her home with sights and smells that are reminiscent of simple and sustainable living. She fills her kitchen with the sweet scents of carefully crafted cherry pies and intricately decorates her walls with dried flowers and herbs. Her bedroom is covered in vintage gold mirrors and stacks of thrifted poetry books. Though she spends most of her days outside, she cannot resist furnishing the interior of her cozy abode with elements that remind her of her true home in nature. Colorful diagrams of mushrooms, framed butterflies, floral bed sheets, and an endless array of houseplants are all cottagecore interior design daydreams.
Under the cottagecore umbrella, there are many different subcategories. Cottagegore, fairycore, goblincore, grandparentcore, honeycore, mori kei, and naturecore are some of the most notable subcategories of the aesthetic. Though they all encompass many of the same themes as cottagecore, each subcategory emphasizes different elements that distinguish them from the principal aesthetic.
Cottagegore
Cottagegore is similar to cottagecore in its appreciation for baking and vintage decor, but unlike cottagecore, it emphasizes the darker aspects of nature — such as the decomposition and decay of plants or the spiky thorns of a rosebush — and sometimes focuses on the occult. Cottagegore photography often includes the presence of rain or fog, supernatural beings, or just an overall spooky ambiance.
- Also known as: dark cottagecore, goth cottagecore, witchy cottagecore
- Interests: thunder, lighting, natural disasters, rain, fog, carnivorous plants, thorn bushes, dark fairy tales, animal bones
- Colors: faded brown, deep green, black, grey
- Fashion & Interior: black flowy dresses, collared dresses, lace, vintage finds, velvet, dried flowers & herbs, silver accessories
- Media: Fairytales for Wilde Girls (2013), Maleficent (2014)
- Quote: “A witch ought never be frightened in the darkest forest… because she should be sure in her soul that the most terrifying thing in the forest was her.” — Terry Pratchett
Fairycore
Like cottagecore, fairycore celebrates nature and springtime. The main difference between cottagecore and fairycore is that fairycore focuses on magic. Fairycore followers love pastel colors and shimmery objects. Much like cottagecore lovers obsess over farm animals, fairycore followers obsess over small, soft animals, such as bunnies.
- Also known as: fairywave, faecore
- Interests: gardening, plant collecting, “cute” animals, shiny objects, mischief, picnics
- Colors: pastels, shimmer, cream, green
- Fashion & Interior: floral prints, lace, maxi dresses & skirts, gingham, ribbons & headscarves, opal & moonstone jewels
- Media: Alice in Wonderland (1865), Over the Garden Wall (2014)
- Quote: “Magic, madam, is like wine and, if you are not used to it, it will make you drunk.” — Susanna Clarke, The Ladies of Grace Adieu
Goblincore
Like cottagecore, goblincore seeks to commemorate nature. However, unlike cottagecore, goblincore places an emphasis on the aspects of nature that are commonly considered “ugly,” such as mud and toads. The goblin itself is representative of this ugliness. While cottagecore embraces spring, goblincore embraces autumn and all that comes with the season.
- Also known as: gremlincore
- Interests: collectibles found in nature, animal bones, small & slimy creatures, shiny items, mushrooms, goblins, clutter
- Colors: darker, earthy tones, such as dark brown or olive green
- Fashion & Interior: clashing fabrics, overalls, mismatched colors & patterns, oversized cardigans, vintage wear, handmade accessories
- Media: The Dark Crystal (1982), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
- Quote: “From my rotting body, flowers shall grow and I am in them and that is eternity.” — Edvard Munch
Grandparentcore
Grandparentcore celebrates all aspects of life that are traditionally associated with the elderly and embraces simple living. Like cottagecore, the hobbies focused on in grandparentcore revolve mainly around using the hands: embroidery and gardening are both common activities in grandparentcore. However, grandparentcore followers place more of an emphasis on “older” activities — such as antiquing — than cottagecore followers do. Many of the activities that are associated with grandparentcore take practice and skill, and they are generally centered around comfort. Grandmacore is associated with the more feminine side of grandparentcore and grandpacore the more masculine side, though they often overlap.
- Also known as: grandmacore, grandpacore
- Interests: antiquing, gardening, sewing/embroidery, baking, knitting/crocheting, woodworking, reading
- Colors: whatever the follower’s preference
- Fashion & Interior: sweaters, cardigans, layers, lace, knits, embroidery, brooches, wire-rimmed glasses, vintage finds
- Media: Spencer’s Mountain (1963)
- Quote: “It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life.” — J.R.R. Tolkien
Honeycore
Honeycore is an aesthetic that centers mainly around the consumption of goods such as honey and waffles. Like cottagecore lovers, honeycore enthusiasts exemplify a fondness for agricultural life, but their main focus is on honey and honey bees.
- Also known as: beecore
- Interests: tea, tea cups & teapots, honey, bread, waffles, bees, bee conservation, apiaries, mason jars
- Colors: pale yellow, browns, green, cream, gold
- Fashion & Interior: floral maxis, yellow clothing, mini dresses, gold accessories
- Media: Bee Movie (2007)
- Quote: “If everything is honey, and I am what I eat, I must be made of honey, and life is very sweet!” — Winnie the Pooh
Mori Kei
Mori Kei is a Japanese woodland fashion aesthetic. It reached the peak of its popularity in 2009, when several magazines and fashion brands were created based on the aesthetic, but has since significantly decreased in popularity. Though few people follow the aesthetic today, its memory lives on in cottagecore.
- Interests: forests, forest creatures, embroidery
- Also known as: mori girl, natural kei
- Colors: brown, green, yellow, cream, pink, gold
- Fashion & Interior: fluffy layers, loose clothing, tights, lace, cardigans, vests, embroidery, floral prints, maxi dresses & skirts
- Media: Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
- Quote: “Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” — C.S. Lewis
Naturecore
Though naturecore and cottagecore are two sides of the same coin, naturecore focuses less on agricultural life and more on nature that can be found anywhere, especially through adventure. Naturecore enthusiasts celebrate all of the aspects of nature that are commonly considered “beautiful,” such as flowers and plants.
- Interests: flowers, forests, animals, adventure
- Colors: yellow, green, pink, orange
- Fashion & Interior: floral prints, bucket hats, maxi skirts, flowy dresses, sustainability, dainty accessories
- Media: Into the Wild (2007), “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage” by Lord Byron
- Quote: “Nature is made to conspire with spirit to emancipate us.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Though it can be fun to adopt a certain aesthetic, it is important to remember that there are no rules when it comes to beauty and fashion. Personal style is about experimentation, self-expression, creativity, and having fun. One day you might feel like a full-blown cottagecore girl — you’ll lace up a floral gown just to run barefoot through meadows and lie dizzily underneath the scorching sun. You’ll paint pink glitter over your eyelids and whisper sweet nothings to the wind. Other days you’ll wake up feeling witchy and wild. You’ll adorn your fingers with silver jewels from faraway lands, exchange secrets with the creatures of the night, and chant mantras to the moon. Every day, you are reborn again. You are constantly transforming, unbecoming yourself and starting anew. Why should your style be any different?
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