The Cool Girl Paradox — Why Genuine Style Can’t Be Replicated

By Samantha Faye Hirschhorn

For a generation with their heart set on uniqueness, Gen Z — dare I say — may be the most unoriginal cohort to date. But is it entirely their fault? Or can existing in the era of a crazed social media haze and late-stage capitalistic pressures be to blame for their inept authenticity? It appears that everyone has clicked copy and paste, frantically attempting to achieve the cool girl look. But the secret to emulating the fashion it girl isn’t about mimicking their aesthetics or even purchasing the latest trending items. It’s about developing your fashion encyclopedia, based on who you are and how you live your day-to-day life. But I wonder if Gen Z has the guts to disconnect from the digital world and commit to personally getting to know themselves. As I observe what I can only explain as clones of fashion robots, I fear that I’m watching personal style face its extinction.

Existing in a world of content creation has warped our views on style to become performative rather than a reflection of our life experiences. It’s important to remember that most “Pinterest- worthy” outfits have been styled for the photoshoots we view online. When the looks are re- created to be worn in the “real world” they often translate awkwardly — appearing inauthentic and impractical because it was created to be perceived from a digital lens, not placed into everyday life. What’s been forgotten is that fashion is meant to be functional for each time and place. The essence of “coolness” stems from the wearer’s personal style and how they decide to dress themselves to exist in that specific moment in time.

Take Kate Moss’s iconic 2005 Glastonbury festival outfit as an example. Kate Moss recently collaborated with Zara on a collection, releasing a dupe of the dress she wore to the music festival. Since then, people have attempted to replicate the look from head to toe, pairing the dress with the leather belt, studded bag, and rubber rain boots, just as she styled it herself. What’s been overlooked is that the glittered gold mini dress was paired with the rain boots because the weather was stormy and the event was held in the mud outdoors. When the same outfit is worn outside of that context, on a dry cloudy day for say, it doesn’t make sense why the two items would be paired together. The look worked because she styled it to be functional for her life experience. When replicated for any other time, it doesn’t have the same effect.

Personal style is built from living and experiencing our lives. It’s molded by the culture that’s surrounding us and the lifestyle we’re choosing to engage with. To create our personal style we learn how to dress in alignment with our current existence. Until we accomplish this, we are just copying aesthetics and subcultures. It's one thing to dress as a rockstar girlfriend, it's an entirely other thing to BE one. If you're a rockstar's girlfriend, you're living and breathing music, getting ready while you're actively on the road, you're sitting in venues clouded by cigarette smoke and infused with the smell of booze. The rockstar girlfriend is known for being effortlessly chic and cool. The look can’t be replicated accurately because the messiness of their look is completely natural, it's a reflection of their current existence. You have to become a rockstar girlfriend, it has to be oozing out of your skin and radiating out of your aura for it to feel authentic. Only then does it become your personal style because it’s a reflection of you and your relationship with the world.

This applies to garments and accessories as well. The chic “lived-in” look cannot be artificially produced for a fast-fashion store. For items to authentically feel vintage, they must have real wear and tear, which involves wearing them. And then wearing them again. And wearing them some more, until you can physically see that the item has experienced life with you. Witnessing each and every one of your highs and lows. Sitting with you on planes as you travel the world and at each laughter-filled dinner with friends. Accompanying you on every shitty job interview and first date. And joining you as you walk the streets of your favorite city, the one that feels like home, the one that makes you feel alive. These “messy” items are cool because they hold the stories of our existence. We have to be patient enough to fill them with life and that takes time and commitment. Jane Birkin was known for using her bags until they fell apart, we can’t replicate her effortlessly cool aura by purchasing bags with artificial tears and scuffs or by throwing the bag on the ground a couple of times. To authentically portray the look, we have to be willing to give up instant gratification. This involves turning away from consumerism and trend-chasing. And choosing items that instead are high quality and classic enough to exist in our lives for years, hopefully even decades to come.

To achieve the cool girl look involves devotion to self-discovery and remaining unapologetically authentic to oneself. This transcends social approval through trend-following and any desires surrounding uniqueness. Deeply knowing ourselves provides the confidence to pull off any look. Our fashion encyclopedias should combine style preferences, with a dress that allows us to function successfully in everyday life. Eventually creating a personal style that’s individual to you, that continues to evolve through your lifetime. The items you own and wear should simply enhance your already existing presence in the world. I urge you to say goodbye to the copycat competition, trading it with journeying to develop your style because life would be so boring if personal style went extinct.

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Trad-Wives, Quiet Luxury, and Sexy Secretaries: Fashion’s Conservative Reawakening.