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Coquette Aesthetic: The Complete Style Guide for 2025
The coquette aesthetic has emerged as one of fashion’s most enduring trends, blending sweet femininity with a hint of flirtatious power.
While some might dismiss it as just another fleeting “core” in the social media landscape, this style’s staying power suggests something deeper resonates with its followers.
What Is Coquette Aesthetic?
The coquette aesthetic centres around hyper-femininity expressed through soft, romantic elements.
The word “coquette” comes from French, meaning “flirtatious” or a woman who uses feminine charm to attract attention.
The aesthetic gained popularity on Tumblr in the early 2010s and experienced a major resurgence around 2020-2021 via TikTok.
At its heart, coquette style embraces traditionally feminine elements: ribbons, bows, lace, flounces, pastels, and delicate details.
It draws inspiration from historical periods like the Victorian era, Regency, and 1950s-60s fashion, but with modern sensibilities.
What Does Coquette Mean in Fashion?
In fashion terms, coquette represents the deliberate adoption of ultra-feminine elements that celebrate rather than diminish femininity.
It’s less about dressing for the male gaze and more about reclaiming traditionally feminine aesthetics as sources of power and pleasure.
The aesthetic mixes Lil Bo Peep’s naivety with Marie Antoinette’s girlishness – but with an awareness that makes it far from passive or powerless.
It’s flirtatious, yes, but with agency.
Coquette Style Essential Elements
If you’re looking to embrace your inner coquette girl, these elements define the aesthetic:
- Bows: Perhaps the most iconic coquette element, appearing everywhere from hair to clothing details
- Ballet flats: The footwear of choice, particularly in pink satin or black with delicate details
- Lace and frills: On hems, collars, and accessories for that touch of delicate femininity
- Pastels: Especially pink, cream, light blue, and other soft colours
- Corsets: Updated for modern wear, often layered over tops or dresses
- Hair accessories: Scrunchies, ribbons, and dainty clips
- Pearls: Necklaces, earrings, and embellishments on clothing
What Is A Coquette? The Aesthetic’s Deeper Meaning
Beyond the surface level of bows and ballet flats, the coquette aesthetic has been characterised as both a way to express creativity through childhood fantasies and a way to “fully escape into femininity without feeling guilty about it,” while ultimately being “self-aware and playful.”
For many adopters, particularly Gen Z, it represents a rebellion against the idea that femininity must be rejected to be taken seriously.
Coquette Core: Fashion Inspiration
The aesthetic has drawn inspiration from various cultural touchpoints:
- Historical references: Victorian, Edwardian, Regency, and Rococo fashion
- Literature: Jane Austen novels, the Brontë Sisters works, and controversially, Vladimir Nabokov’s “Lolita”
- Film: Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette” and “The Virgin Suicides”, Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie”
- Music: Lana Del Rey is widely considered the unofficial patron saint of coquette
Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood has been particularly influential, with her Spring 1994 “Cafe Society” and Fall 1995 “Vive la Cocotte” collections serving as powerful examples of the coquette sensibility reimagined for the runway.
Coquette Fashion: How to style it
Styling the coquette look is about balance – too much can veer into costume territory, while subtle touches can elevate an everyday outfit:
For beginners:
- Add a ribbon to your hair or bag handle
- Swap trainers for ballet flats
- Try a lace-trimmed top with jeans
For the full aesthetic:
- Layer a corset over a white shirt
- Pair a frilly skirt with knee socks
- Add pearl accessories and hair bows
Aesthetic Coquette: Criticism and Controversy
Like any aesthetic, the coquette style has faced criticism. Some argue it reproduces damaging gender roles and potentially caters to the male gaze.
Others have raised concerns about its infantilizing elements and potential problematic connections to Lolita-inspired imagery.
Defenders counter that embracing femininity can be empowering on one’s own terms.
Define Coquette: Beyond Just Another “core”
In a world saturated with rapidly changing aesthetic “cores,” from cottagecore to Barbiecore, what gives coquette its staying power?
Perhaps it’s the emotional quality it brings to fashion – a sense of playfulness, romance and subtle power.
While many aesthetic trends feel binary and prescriptive, coquette offers room for personal interpretation and genuine expression.
As the fashion world constantly reinvents itself, the coquette aesthetic has proven remarkably resilient.
Its celebration of femininity as a strength rather than a weakness resonates in an era where gender expressions continue to evolve and expand.
Next time someone dismisses coquette as just another passing trend, remember – this aesthetic has already outlived many of its contemporaries.
Whether you embrace the full pink-hued look or simply add a bow to your everyday outfit, the coquette aesthetic continues to offer a touchpoint for those seeking to express their femininity with both sweetness and strength.
Related Aesthetics: Feminine-Forward Fashion Movements
Balletcore: Grace in Motion
Balletcore embraces the grace and ethereal elegance of ballet, transforming dance-inspired elements into everyday fashion.
Much like its cousin aesthetic coquette, balletcore celebrates femininity but focuses specifically on the delicate strength found in ballet attire and movement.
The aesthetic features soft pink hues, wrap skirts, leg warmers, ballet flats, ribbon details, and bodysuits that pay homage to traditional dancewear.
Balletcore appeals to those seeking a refined yet approachable style that balances functionality with a dreamy, romantic sensibility.
While coquette leans into flirtatious charm with its bows and frills, balletcore channels the disciplined beauty and quiet confidence of ballet dancers, offering wearers a way to incorporate graceful elements into their everyday wardrobe without sacrificing comfort or practicality.
Cottagecore: Rustic Romanticism
Cottagecore celebrates a romanticised interpretation of rural life, emphasizing pastoral simplicity and connection to nature.
Where coquette aesthetic draws from urban feminine allure and historical aristocratic influences, cottagecore finds beauty in floral prints, natural fabrics, vintage silhouettes, and handcrafted elements that evoke countryside living.
Both aesthetics share an appreciation for lace, soft colours, and traditionally feminine elements, but cottagecore trades the flirtatious energy of coquette for a more earthy, wholesome approach.
The aesthetic gained massive popularity during 2020’s lockdowns as many sought comfort in idealised visions of self-sufficient country living, gardening, baking, and crafting—activities that offered a mental escape from urban confinement.
Cottagecore’s flowing dresses, aprons, straw hats, and botanical motifs represent a different but complementary expression of feminine style that many enthusiasts mix with coquette elements.
Lovecore: Romance Amplified
Lovecore takes romance to its emotional peak, embracing symbols of love, affection, and sentimentality as its central aesthetic elements.
Like coquette, it celebrates femininity, but where coquette plays with flirtation and subtle power, lovecore is unabashedly passionate.
Characterised by heart motifs, deep reds and pinks, cherries, roses, love letters, and Valentine’s Day imagery, lovecore creates a visual love letter to romance itself.
Both aesthetics share an appreciation for bows, frills, and traditionally feminine elements, making them natural companions for those looking to express different facets of romantic femininity.
Lovecore offers a maximalist approach to expressing emotions through fashion and decor that complements coquette’s more restrained flirtatiousness.
For many enthusiasts, these aesthetics aren’t mutually exclusive but rather different notes in the same symphony of self-expression.
Ready to explore more about these trending aesthetics? Dive deeper with our comprehensive guides:
Ariana Grande’s Enchanting Balletcore Transformation for the Wicked Press Tour
Coquette Nails: The Ultimate Guide to TikTok’s Most Romantic Nail Trend
The Return of Lace: Your Not-So-Prim Guide to 2025’s Dreamiest Trend
The Bow Revival: How Childhood Nostalgia Is Shaping 2024’s Hottest Hair Trend
