“I am not at all stylish. For me, style is a state of mind and individuality.” – Tiger Shroff

Even though aesthetics have been used throughout history, they have grown in popularity, especially with modern teens. This article serves as the go-to place for information, references, and latest trends for the reader’s top picked aesthetics. Today’s topic is the Indie aesthetic. According to the Interactive Design Foundation, an aesthetic is defined as “a core design principle that defines a design’s pleasing qualities” such as “balance, color, movement, pattern, scale, shape and visual weight”. An aesthetic is a general term that groups similarly themed items together.

Characterized by individuality and independence, the Indie aesthetic is the hardest aesthetic to label. Due to the nature of Indie culture, the definition changes from person-to-person. What might be the standard version of indie to one person, might be a subculture to another. A subculture is a category under an overarching topic: i.e. goth and traditional goth. What counts as Indie is the media and fashion that is under the label of Indie aesthetic. If you’re at a loss or looking for inspiration, TikTok has a thriving community. Indie and Indie-kid aesthetics often coexist under the same name on social media.

So, what’s the point? An aesthetic allows a person to dress up, participate in activities, and find other people with similar interests. An aesthetic reflects the personality of a person. At the end of the day, an aesthetic is what you make of it and can be changed depending on what you like.

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Outfits

As an essential part of self expression and aesthetic culture, outfits are used to identify people who enjoy specific aesthetics. Outfits can make or break an aesthetic. Below are a few tips and tricks to make an outfit inspired by the Indie aesthetic.

Disclaimer: Due to the multiple subcultures of the Indie aesthetic, there is often an overlap of Indie and Indie-kid (a fusion of Kidcore – a childlike aesthetic- and indie aesthetic). Typically, Indie-kid is what social media describes as Indie.

Gallery • 17 Photos

Indie

• Band and brand name t-shirts
• Cardigans, puffer coats, flannels (worn as shirts or jackets), jean or leather jackets
• Jeans (the less form-fitting the better), sweatpants
• Tennis shoes, boots, Chuck Taylors
• Ray Ban sunglasses, bucket hats, beanies
• Little to no jewelry, natural hair and makeup

Indie – Kid

• Crop tops, polo shirts, tight-fitting tops
• Baggy pants/jeans
• Platform boots or sneakers
• Bucket hats, butterfly clips, polymer clay jewelry, bandanas
• Bold eyeliner, colorful eyeshadow and eyeliner, blush (usually on the nose and cheeks), unnaturally dyed hair

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Medias

Movies

• Any A24 film
• “Coming of age” movies
• Non-mainstream films
• Any up and coming director
• Any film like “The Breakfast Club” and “The Perks of Being A Wallflower”

Music

The Indie aesthetic is unique due to the definition of Indie music: any music that is made by an artist without the help or publication of a major label. The following artists are suggestions that can help you find similar indie artists.

• Wallows
• Clairo
• The 1975
• Of Monsters and Men
• Young the Giant
• Beach Bunny
• girl in red
• mxmtoons
• cavetown

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Activities

Due to the desire to embody individuality and independence, activities that count as Indie vary greatly. As long as you’re having fun, staying safe, and are responsible, it can be classified ass an Indie activity. Here are some suggestions:

• Thrifting
• Skating
• Going to gas stations to buy snacks
• Taking photos (depending on what subculture of Indie you like, the type of editing for your photos will change. Youtube, Instagram, and TikTok have many tutorials and inspirations for your next photo editing adventure)
• Sharing and listening to music
• Watching movies under the “Indie” category
• Exploring (stay safe if you decide to do this activity)