Be a Coquette!!!
Rebecca George
Be a Coquette!!!
Rebecca George
The Look
The Coquette aesthetic has made quite an impact on social media and in the news recently, so I was excited to try this look for myself. If you have not encountered the Coquette look before, there are several competing definitions. This one is taken from Wikipedia:
“The Coquette aesthetic is a 2020s fashion trend characterized by a mix of sweet, romantic, and sometimes playful elements which focus on femininity through the use of lace, flounces, pastel colours, and bows, and often draws inspiration from historical periods like the Victorian era and the 1950s, but with a modern twist.
It’s a shameless celebration of girlish glamour and flirty fun, but with that little extra added that sometimes comes with experience…
A movement, not a style
The Coquette look is an aesthetic movement rather than strictly a fashion trend. It derives from social media and from the streets, so we can’t point to a single designer or collection that first defined it. The Coquette is central to Gen-Z attitudes to fashion, but is also accessible to older generations. Singer Lana Del Rey is regarded as an icon of the look – and among movie stars Sydney Sweeney and Zendaya are closely associated with the trend.
The look has its critics, who accuse it of reinforcing gender stereotypes (surely not!!!). I think of the Coquette myself, as being teasing and playful, yet with a hint of something more knowing below the surface.
Playful Coquette
Preparing for this shoot with my stylist and photographer Josie, I was already familiar with puff-sleeve dresses, as I had modelled one during a previous shoot. We added two more puffball dresses, one in pale blue and one in pure white. We chose a blonde look for my hair, with fresh daytime makeup, pink lips and nails, and a pair of cowgirl boots for that little hint of toughness. Lacy white tights and lots of pearls at the wrists and neck completed the look, before we headed off to the park to capture me cavorting in the spring sunshine. The Coquette look needs the right background to set it off, and our outdoor shoot among the delicate pink and white cherry blossoms added just the right ingredient to the mix!
Seductive Coquette
Back in the studio, we focused on another side of Coquette – the seductress. Previously, I had added an absurdly short polo-neck micro-dress to my collection of cocktail gowns. This dress is really boudoir attire and completely unsuited to wearing in public. We ramped it up with a massive beehive up-do then lit the blue touch-paper, and started shooting!
Modelling this outrageous dress put me in the mood for a lingerie shoot. Coquettes love their lingerie, and often add elements of it to their streetwear. For this shoot, we stuck to a strictly boudoir look. I dressed in delicate pink and vampy black negligees, and assumed a series of suitably coquettish poses!
Street Coquette
A week later, I found myself out and about on Brick Lane with several of my besties, including fab photographer Gorgeous Gillian. For this day out and photoshoot, we put together a slightly toned-down version the Coquette aesthetic – something that might be suitable for daytime and evening socialising. I wore a lacy white Victorian blouse, teamed with a plain black pencil skirt, a statement belt and high-heeled laced ankle boots with peep-toes – extremely flirty!
This photoshoot – against the spectacular graffiti of Brick Lane and Spitalfields – was an interesting contrast to shooting among the cherry blossoms a week earlier, hinting at how the Coquette look can flourish in many different environments.
Thanks once again go to my stylist and photographer, Josie at Adam and Eve – and to my friend and photographer Gorgeous Gillian, who took the pictures in and around Brick Lane.
Love and Kisses to All!!
xxxxx
Rebecca George