Tying a Coquette Bow on the Year of 2023

By Natalia Allensworth
February 29, 2024

As a result of the nominations, Barbie became the highest-grossing Warner Bros. movie of all time and the highest-grossing film by a female director. Barbie fans rejoiced because the film returned to theaters Friday, January 26 for one week.

Barbie and Oppenheimer were bookmark films for 2023, and it was said that their coming out revived the cinema. They came to theaters on Friday, July 21 and their release created “Barbenhiemer”. “Barbenhiemer” was the idea of a “double feature” - when one movie gets shown after another.

Audiences of all ages couldn’t binge-watch enough of these 2023 shows. 

Two of the most craved shows in 2023 were Netflix’s Wednesday, starring Jenna Ortega, and Max’s The Last of Us. Wednesday is a spinoff series of the well-known Addams Family. As a result of Wednesday’s popularity, it has now become the most popular English-language series of all time on Netflix. 

The only show that trumped it this year was The Last of Us, starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. The Last of Us was so popular that it is the HBO show with the highest audience since the final season of Game of Thrones. 

The old-money aesthetic was represented by very preppy and expensive-looking clothing - the focal point being neutral colors, patterns, and simple yet elevated-looking styles without logos. 

Mermaidcore is the epitome of underwater and ethereal-looking fashion. It included anything resembling mermaids - flowy fabrics, cool tones, shimmery colors, and abstract shapes. 

Coastal-cowgirl was wearing cowgirl hats and boots but with a light, airy twist. With the usage of lighter cooler toned colors, white and flowy skirts, dresses, and shorts. 

Balletcore and coquette were both very popular and are considered quite similar. Both aesthetics include the color pink, ribbons, and a very feminine feel while balletcore is more focused on ballet and sporty feminine clothing such as leotards, leg warmers, and ballet flats.

Meanwhile, the definition of a coquette is a woman who flirts - specifically to use her charm to persuade men. The trend showcases plenty of pinks and encourages people to lean into their more stereotypical feminine side. It includes a lot of pastel pink, hearts, ruffles, dainty clothing, and an abundance of bows. 

Lastly, one of the largest 2023 trends was the clean girl aesthetic. The trend was based on slicked-back buns, and minimal, natural makeup emphasizing clear and glowy skin, represented mainly by celebrities - Hailey Bieber, Gigi, and Bella Hadid along with other models and influencers. 

Contrastingly, there was some backlash to this aesthetic questioning if it was favoring people based on - money, thinness, age, and race. Despite these claims, the clean girl aesthetic did persist throughout 2023.