For years, the internet has been a place for people to truly find and define themselves, by curating an online world filled with our hobbies and interests. However, I find the emergence and growth of 'style aesthetics' to be one of the most fascinating aspects of social media today.

For example, this morning I was catching up on some quality
Instagram-time, and came across a Reel (Instagram's answer to TikTok) that showed a series of images representing a 'City Girl'.
There was a Pinterest-worthy photo of a girl posing on the Subway, next came a photo of friends going out for the evening, then a beautiful London apartment, followed by an aesthetic photo of an espresso coffee next to a newspaper.

These images are all used to demonstrate the idealised life of a trendy, cool girl living in the city. And in the space of the 30 second video, I had already decided that I wanted to be her.

That was until I scrolled a bit longer and a video about a girl living in the rural countryside popped up, and I wanted that life as well.

With the recent 'Clean Girl aesthetic' takeover of Instagram and TikTok, there has never been so much conversation about different aesthetics.

Not only do I love my feed to be filled with these satisfyingly aesthetic videos and trending songs, but I have been inspired to try and emulate many of these aesthetics myself.

Each aesthetic romanticises a certain lifestyle, and so my fact-files will attempt to capture the essence of what these aesthetics actually entail.

Whilst some aesthetics have faced valid criticism over exclusivity, I will detail more general characteristics that can be implemented by anyone who desires to.

By endeavoring to break-down their components, these aesthetics become more accessible. Not everyone can overhaul their entire life into an aesthetic dream, but they can pick and choose small features and activities to implement into their life, to follow the aesthetic within their means.