Mindful Microtrends: Fairycore
Our last two articles in this series delved into two polar opposites: cottagecore and grunge. This next trend, fairycore, is the best of both worlds, creating a style that’s equal parts edgy and whimsical.
What is “Fairycore”?
Well, it’s pretty simple: you dress like a fairy. This kind of style can work for a quick ren faire fit, an ecologically friendly Halloween costume, or just everyday life. Characterized by earthy tones and glitter, fairycore leaves a lot of room for creativity.
Image Source: Instagram user @canfrgu
Tops
Blouses and corsets are the go-to. If you don’t have a blouse on hand, don’t worry. A button-down men’s shirt can quickly be converted into one with an elastic band. If you don’t have these tops in earth tones, white, light green, pink, and baby blue can also work. While white works great on its own, you can also dye it with fabric dye from the store. Don’t feel limited!
Bottoms
Long, swishy dresses and skirts, along with corduroy pants, are what work best here. Honestly, though, you can make any kind of bottoms work. Painting fun, fairy-related designs on your pants can be a cute project that’ll elevate even the oldest pair of jeans. Plus, you can always add length to a short skirt or dress.
Shoes
Sandals work well when it comes to shoes. Bonus points if they’re strappy. If they’re not, you can tie some ribbon across your calves in a criss-cross fashion.
Converse and Vans also work well, especially if you’re the type to decorate them.
Accessories
The most crucial accessory is ribbons. We recommend that you get a few different colors for variety, but it’s up to you. The easiest (and probably most obvious) option is to tie them in your hair. You can also replace our shoelaces with them, or tie them around your waist. The second option works best if you want to spice up a plain t-shirt. To give them a grungier look, you can fray the ends.
Image Source: https://wandsandwishesoccasions.com/characters/fairy-queen/
With fairycore, glitter is the name of the game. We hate to be the bringers of bad news, but glitter, essentially being a bunch of little microplastics, is pretty harmful for the environment.
Thankfully, biodegradable glitter is available in all sizes and colors, because what would we do without it? You can also make your own biodegradable glitter with salt, though this works best for arts and crafts projects. Speaking of which, there’s one last accessory that’s the most important of all…
Fairy wings! You didn’t think that we’d forget about them, did you? Don’t worry if you don’t have some left over from last Halloween, because you can make your own using a pair of wire hangers.
Fairycore is a great way to explore outside the bounds of conventional fashion. If you tried out any of these ideas, let us know how they went in the comments!
Written by Sara Traynor
Sara uses she/her pronouns. Fashion and writing are her two favorite modes of creative expression, and she loves to combine them in SFUSA. In her free time, she does crossword puzzles, reads, and watches SpongeBob.