Not the “It Girl” You Think I Mean

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Krea chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Everyone knows about the “it girl”. The overused, airbrushed kind that social media tries to sell isn’t what I like, though. The quieter one- the kind that exists somewhere between melancholy and magic? The kind that hums with music that sounds like rain and memory? My Pinterest board is based on that, and if I could live in any of my boards, it would be this. It’s that world where you wake up to a half-drunk cup of coffee on your nightstand, soft light spilling through the blinds, and your favorite playlist – the one you’ve been curating for months – begins to play like the opening scene of a film that only you know the plot of.

Music sets the tone before the mirror even comes into view. My playlist— moody, cinematic, unhurried— always seems to score the ritual of getting dressed. The kind of songs that start as a whisper and build into something that fills the room. It’s a soundtrack for quiet confidence, for that half-dreamlike state between who you are and who you’re becoming. The beat syncs with the rhythm of brushing on eyeliner, fastening a silver ring, or slipping into an old leather jacket that’s seen too many versions of you to count.

The clothes in this world aren’t polished or planned; they’re lived in. They carry stories. There’s the leather jacket that creaks when you move, the one that feels a little too heavy and a little too right. There’s the vintage band tee, faded and soft, tucked into jeans that fit just wrong enough to be perfect. Some days, it’s a black satin skirt with boots that still carry dust from somewhere you’ve already been. Other days, it’s layers of silver jewelry that clink softly against one another, like tiny reminders of all the days that led up to this one. Nothing about it screams for attention- but everything about it feels deliberate.

That’s the beauty of the it girl aesthetic to me. It’s not about being looked at, but about feeling like yourself in a way that’s unfiltered and raw. It’s not perfection; it’s presence. It’s that moment when you catch your reflection and see not how you look, but who you are; the kind of recognition that comes quietly, like an exhale. The undone eyeliner, the chipped nail polish, the slightly oversized clothes – they’re not mistakes; they’re texture. They’re evidence of living, of feeling, of not editing yourself down to fit someone else’s version of beauty.

I think that’s why I love fashion that feels emotional. Clothes become a language when words don’t quite work; a way to tell the world how you feel without having to say it out loud. On the days I want to disappear, I reach for hoodies that swallow me whole. On the days I want to be seen, I’ll wear a halter top and pretend I don’t notice the way the air hits my skin. Every outfit becomes an act of self-expression, sometimes a rebellion, sometimes a display of softness.

There’s something deeply cinematic about all of it. Maybe it’s the way the music and the clothes blend into one another, making ordinary moments feel like scenes from a film that never ends. Walking down the street with headphones in becomes a montage. Adjusting your rings in the reflection of a café window feels like foreshadowing. Even the small things— a ribbon in your hair, the way the sun hits your sleeves, sharpening my same two lip liners— feel significant when they match the rhythm of the song playing in your ears.

If I could live in that space forever, I think I would. It’s the in-between- not quite polished, not quite chaotic. Just real. The it girl world isn’t about owning things; it’s about owning moments. It’s about finding beauty in imperfection, meaning in the mundane, and art in the act of simply being. It’s about putting on a jacket that doesn’t quite fit, turning up the volume, and walking out the door like the world’s been waiting for you to show up.

And maybe that’s what makes the aesthetic so timeless – it’s not really about fashion or music at all. It’s about emotion. About making your life feel like something worth remembering, even if no one else is watching.