Cottagecore: Living beyond Modern convenience

What is cottagecore? And why is it so popular these days? Follow us as we learn how cottagecore aspires us to live beyond modern convenience.

Cottagecore is a fashion aesthetic and lifestyle popularized by Tumblr – around 2015 and 2016, but it hasn’t taken off until circa 2020 by Tiktok. This particular aesthetic was well-known among teenagers and young adults who honor the romanticized rural lifestyle. Focused on rural life in England and Europe, its traditional attire, home decor, and handicrafts such as pottery, baking, and drawing are the focal points of the aesthetic.

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Cottagecore provides a sense of escapism from capitalism, trauma, and stress. This aesthetic has made people realize that living could be more than just engaging in the 9 to 5 work life and climbing the corporate ladder. There are no phones that ping all the time with updates, no urgent emails from the office, no evenings spent working overtime for a company that can fire you on a whim, and pleases a demanding boss with an unrealistic expectation placed on you. The longer we live, we know that we can’t escape the grasp of the cruel reality of the status quo, so we fight back whenever and whatever we can to maintain the last bit of our sanity and self-expression.

We revert back to a more rustic and self-sustaining lifestyle at the time when life was simpler, and there was less pressure to fight to survive than today.

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As the cottagecore aesthetic revolves around a less modernized and self-sustainable way of life, people who participate in this aesthetic have to give up quite a bit of the benefit of modern convenience and embrace what nature has given us. Aside from the fashion, beauty, and artistic aspects of this aesthetic, the focus was more on how we live a better life without having to rely so much on technology. The idea was to live a life where you have to cultivate your own food by planting, gardening, and enjoying the simple pleasures in life is what cottagecore is all about.

Another fascinating aspect of cottagecore is how it can prepare you for a more sustainable lifestyle because you need to learn how to recycle and upcycle things you use daily. Thrifting can become your best friend too! Thrifting is a great way to find vintage items and furniture when looking for a more rustic look in your living space without having to build anything from scratch when you are not incredibly skillful at crafting. 

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Crocheting, baking, and making your own clothes seem to be very prominent activities for this aesthetic since we thrive on a life far away from the hustle and bustle of the present times. These activities made people keep in touch with their most basic instinct, resensitized themselves, and put their minds at ease. Another critical point is how this can provide a sense of accomplishment in the meantime because these tasks can require an immense amount of work and focus.

The reason why people love it so much is probably due to the fact that domesticity separates them from the harsh and polarizing world out there. Immerse in domestic bliss is the epitome of cottagecore.

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With the principle of “reject modernity, embrace tradition” but not traditional values, cottagecore has really impacted the younger generations on a wide scale. It has taught and exposed them to the idea of living an alternative lifestyle and that it’s okay not chasing a professional life. This aesthetic also promotes people to not succumb to societal pressure and live a life fully for themselves and no one else.  

Even though cottagecore is just an internet subculture, its idea and values of the aesthetic have really made people stop and think about what they live for; questions like these can arise: Am I happy? Am I living life to the fullest? Or am I wasting my time on a meaningless and miserable life? Only you can answer that.

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