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For as long as I remember I have been drawn to a simpler way of life, time in nature, “introverted” activities such as picnics and tea, reading, and country homes and cottages. I love old fashioned things and feminine clothes. As a child I dreamed of being like Laura Ingles Wilder on Little House on the Prairie. I drink my tea form vintage tea cups and boil my water instead of microwaving it. I have a love for the regency and victorian eras. The past few years especially I have been drawn to simplicity as well as historical aesthetics. When you come from a childhood or a prolonged period of trauma, you might notice that you’re drawn to quieter and safer places. And that is exactly what cottagecore provides. Or perhaps your personality simply compels you to these quiet and beautiful details. That time in nature and lovely and almost magical activities with a meditative quality may bring you comfort. As a little girl, it was a form of dissociation and escapism. I wished to live in a fairytale world and escaped into the stories in my books. As an adult, it isn’t an escape I am looking for, but peace in the here and now. Perhaps even a touch of magic and whimsy.
For the past few years I have been saving photos on Pinterest that I love of cottages and little country homes. One day I would love to have my own pet chickens and live in an old farm house like the one of the Netflix show Anne With An E. I save photos of picnics and simple living lifestyle images and lots of cute summery dresses with puffed sleeves. In fact, this lifestyle and trend is becoming so trendy right now that there is a word for it; cottage core.
Cottagecore is a yearning for simplicity and romanticization of rural life. During the pandemic, it was a way to connect with ourselves and nature and to disconnect from the stresses of life. In many ways it is used as escapism from a hectic modern lifestyle. Except it has embraced social media technology as a way to share the beauty and the ideas. It has used social media to connect like minded individuals. Cottagecore is in a way a rejection of modern living and even a rejection of capitalism and consumerism. It is not all about minimalism (sometimes it can be about material items especially in crafting, thrifting, and collecting), but it is about living a simpler life. The cottagecore lifestyle and aesthtic is a nostalgia for the beauty of the past. It is the answer to a fast and busy life, favoring slower living and activities such as baking, jewelry making, embroidery, sewing, and other crafts and activities.
One warning to look out for is that, like everything good, some people use it and manipulate it to push their dangerous agendas. It has been used as a tool by some white supremacists and tradwifes to connect and draw others into their way of life. Some people use it as a catfish technique online to lure in people, much like how Q-Anon uses wellness trends and influencers to trick people into their messaging. This is not common, but something I thought I should mention to warn viewers who have been consuming cottagecore content online.
If you find yourself drawn to cottagecore, you may have been called an “old soul” in the past or had a knack for vintage. You might have been more of a country lover than a city dweller. Perhaps you were drawn to historic dramas like Pride and Prejudice or books like Little Women. You might have been known as being “old fashioned.” As a kid, or maybe even now, you had a love for fairies and fairy tales. Perhaps you escaped into the world of The Secret Garden or painted illustrations like those of Cicely Mary Barker or Beatrix Potter. Maybe you even wanted to live in those books or movie places. Now that feeling and that aesthetic has a name. You have been introduced to the name “Cottagecore,” but you have known it your entire life. Welcome home.
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