It was my DSLR-selfies-in-my-high-school-bedroom era. My index-finger-ballpoint-pen-mustache-tattoo era. My hashtag era.
It was 2010, and I was wearing circle skirts and polka-dot tights with "acid-washed" band tees cut into crop tops. I had successfully hunted down a pair of sold-out Jeffrey Campbell Lita platform boots and wore them everywhere despite suffering a sprained ankle. I even fell for an internet scam over $12 studded denim cutoffs because I wanted them so badly but my local mall was selling only low-rise Bermuda shorts. Anything to be the epitome of fashion-of ~Tumblr fashion~.
I rabidly thirsted for the very specific aesthetic, something I'd spend the next decade making fun of myself for. But now that said look is once again in (see: Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly, Kravis, the grungecore-meets-Jess-from-New-Girl vibes all over your feeds), I've realized something: I may have been cringe, but at least I was free.
In my small Tennessee town, where a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Cheesecake Factory was exciting news, I saw Tumblr as my window to life outside of the suburbs. I stared at GIFs of British TV dramas, read One Direction fan fiction, and kept up with trendy internet fashion that had yet to make it to my hometown (if it ever would-I can't stress the Bermuda shorts problem enough). My classmates would praise me for being a "trendsetter" and I would accept the compliment, all the while keeping the secret that I was actually behind on style compared to the big bloggers out there.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
DREAM-SCROLLING FOR DINNER
With young people in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis, TikTok creators are turning grocery runs into rich-girl-coded productions - and followers are eating it up. Krista Diamond digs into what happens when a cart full of staple goods becomes a clout metric.
Young Love in Atlanta
WE TOOK OUR COUPLE SPOTTING SERIES DOWN SOUTH.
THE NEW C-SUITE 2024
Progress. It’s a word that, in 2024, gets thrown around a lot. Especially when it comes to representation across all sorts of roles at all sorts of companies, including, crucially, at start-ups. Yet...people of color—and specifically women of color—still don’t often get the chance to even enter the conversation. Over the past few years, less than 1 percent of venture capital funding in this country has gone toward women of color entrepreneurs. (Making matters worse, funds that are geared toward supporting these women have become targets of anti-affirmative-action groups, forcing at least one to shut down entirely.)
Revenge Dressing
Model and content creator Olivia Ponton is giving you permission to bring everyone who's ever wronged you to their knees with these simple yet very effective styles.
HOTTER Than DRAGON FIRE
It’s very likely that no matter where you are right now, there’s a copy of Fourth Wing nearby. Probably one of Iron Flame too. Both books, by romantasy queen Rebecca Yarros, topped every bestseller list—and absolutely ignited BookTok, spawning a rabid fandom that cannot get enough of badass heroine Violet Sorrengail and her relationship with fellow dragon-rider Xaden Riorson. Honestly, what’s not to love? There’s extreme adventure. Absurdly high stakes. Wildly hot sex. And the promise of a lot more, starting right here, with this exclusive first excerpt of the series’ third book, Onyx Storm. Friends, get your daggers ready. (IYKYK. If you don’t, prepare to get obsessed.)
RACHEL ZEGLER
She won a Golden Globe for her first major film role, in West Side Story. She took on a beloved franchise and made the newest Hunger Games a hit. She became a bona fide Disney princess with 2025's Snow White. And now the 23-year-old is checking a new career milestone off her bucket list: Broadway. Here, she chats with her Romeo + Juliet collaborator Jack Antonoff about it all.
Your Holiday Brunch Requires a Panful of These Treats
A gooey, coconutty gift to you and yours from Tik Tok-viral chef Tuệ Nguyễn.
We Need to Talk About ADHD in Young Women
We've been excluded from this conversation for a long time...and we're suffering because of it.
Go Ahead - Plan a Trip Around the Northern Lights
Because we're in the midst of a solar maximum (yup, we had to google it too) that's expected to end soon and this is the most intense and most accessible the aurora borealis will be for years. These stunning under-the-radar spots will grant you the best, least crowded views.
I Got My Tubes Removed and It Was the Most Liberating Experience
With reproductive health care ever at risk in this country, could this be the future of birth control?
