Why the clean girl aesthetic refuses to die

If the early 2020s could be defined by anything, style-wise, it’d probably be the clean girl aesthetic. You know what I’m talking about: all those dewy-skinned girls with the slicked back bun and tiny hoop earrings making their way to the gym with a body-sized Stanley Cup and pulled-up sports socks over yoga leggings. Proponents include but are not limited to: Hailey Bieber (famously), Zoë Kravitz during her more off-duty moments and Kendall Jenner whenever she’s gallivanting around an airport. Plus, basically any girl in the smoothie line at Erewhon in Beverly Hills.

As the decade ticked on, however, it started to seem as though we might be amid a push-back, especially post-pandemic when we started going out properly and reintroducing the club: indie sleaze stylings by way of faux fur jackets and leopard print, messy hair and big black shades, falling into the Uber at 3 am or at least looking like you had. Think: Charli XCX (“did Brat summer kill the clean girl?” feels like a ridiculous sentence to type out), gothy ’90s-style Gabbriette make-up and the distinct vibe that you are in fact not clean but a little dirty, or at least don’t mind if you get wine stains on your strappy white top with no bra.

But, despite silliness and chaos being the prevailing mood of the decade’s midpoint, the clean girl aesthetic hasn’t actually seemed to relent, especially not on the ground – it’s just evolved somewhat, turning into something even more pared-back and glossy in the process. Think: demure beauty trends like soap nails and naked manicures and the chic yet understated style of Lila Moss and Lily-Rose Depp. Indeed, the clean girl aesthetic is apparently the trend that refuses to die. But why? What is it about the clean girl look that people just can’t seem to get enough of? And what does it actually entail?

Where did the clean girl aesthetic come from?

Anyone who spends an inordinate amount of time watching make-up tutorials on Instagram and Youtube will have noticed that people started saying “clean girl aesthetic” sometime towards the end of 2021, with the term accelerating on Google trends the following year. By the time Bieber launched Rhode in the summer of 2022 – a brand who’s whole vibe screams (or should I say softly murmurs) clean girl aesthetic – the trend had gone stratospheric, with everyone suddenly wanting to look like they had a membership to E by Equinox and were getting their eight hours. In the years since, the trend’s evolved from just an internet thing to being everywhere, with the style now becoming central to the way a lot of people dress.

What is the clean girl aesthetic?

The key word that defines components of the clean girl aesthetic is “minimalism”. Everything about the trend is pared-back and well-maintained. Think: natural-leaning make-up that doesn’t feel too glam or overdone (glossy lips rather than lipstick, subtle highlighter and light-coverage foundation rather than huge globs of the stuff, structured eyebrows as opposed to Pamela Anderson-style thin).