What does Coquette mean, the trend that has invaded social networks

In recent years, the aesthetic of the 2000s, known as Y2K, has managed to conquer a part of today’s youth. Wearing thin eyebrows, low-rise pants or miniskirts were part of the norms among Generation Z.

This seems to have been left aside a bit, after the emergence of a rival: flirtatious there orient yourself which has taken over the content of social networks in recent days, to the point of appearing in memes. On Instagram alone, the hashtag #coquette exceeds one and a half million posts.

The word coquette literally translates to “coquette” from French to Spanish. It is not a concept born recently, since in applications like TikTok it has existed at least since 2022, according to an article by Vogue .

“The truth is that flirting has been around for a long time, only now there has been a boom” he tells La Tercera Denise Agurto cosmetologist and content creator (@nissagurto ).

It is an aesthetic or style that is characterized by being romantic, delicate, sweet and a little innocent, but without leaving aside attractiveness. At the same time, seeks to promote hyperfemininity.

There are certain details that are very significant for flirting: bows, flights, flowers or pearls. On the other hand, pink, pastel tones, white or red are the color palette not to be missed.

“You see this and you automatically know it’s part of the flirtatious style” explains the content creator Manuela Rendon (@ellaesmanuela ). “As long as the clothes match these colors or have a little ruffle, a little ribbon, something very feminine, it’s fine,” he adds.

While Tamara Torres, English teacher and content creator (@tamvrx ), states that the clothes that tend to be used most frequently are “dresses in fine fabrics, lace blouses, corsets and ballerinas » said.

As with all styles, several inspirations drive this aesthetic. One of them is the character of Marie Antoinette in the film of the same name by Sofía Coppola, as well as the character of Nina Sayers in the movie Black Swan.

If we talk about music, there is an artist who is considered the “queen of coquettes”: Lana Del Rey. “There’s something very feminine about her, but she also has a half-suffering side that breaks her heart. It goes hand in hand with that,” says Manuela.

Denisse says she started applying the flirty aesthetic after observing that in Korean dramas, they dressed in this romantic and subtle way. And then she immediately felt struck.

However, the influencer also points out that it’s likely that the fashion is widely used by her and other young women due to childhood memories.

“One example is these ruffled socks that were used in the 90s that you can now reuse as someone in their 20s or 30s. Like it’s a way to get back to our inner child, to have something that we wanted to wear when we were little and maybe we couldn’t because we didn’t have one. the means. And now, as an adult, you can do it. he rocks.

While Tamara remembers that she discovered style through Pinterest and Instagram, as these are the platforms she uses the most to seek inspiration. In 2023, for the first time, he dares to integrate it little by little into his clothes. And now she just feels like she can’t leave her house without wearing bows in her hair.

“Ever since I was little, I’ve loved pink and super feminine things. I didn’t have the budget to worry about dressing like that, and besides, they always made fun of that kind of style, where you look more girly or that doesn’t match your age.” , she says.

Now that she’s an adult, managing her own money and no longer worrying about what others will say, she feels like she can dress however she wants. “I honestly think it’s a way to heal my inner child.” he argues.

Initially, this trend was used in outfits, makeup or hairstyles, and what’s more, it was not as well known to all the people circulating on social networks.

However, little by little it began to take off and some users applied the term to virtually all everyday things, including food, places or people, to make them more feminine.

Thus, the seductive aesthetic has become the protagonist of an endless number of memes. One of them claimed that Helga Pataki, a character from the animated series Hi Arnold and who was characterized by wearing a large pink bow, she was the “real coquette”.

“We got to the point where people started attaching connections to unthinkable things. Many trends have gone viral in recent years, but I don’t think any have gone this far,” says Manuela.

While influencers take humor about flirting being the subject of memes, they also think the trend itself likely won’t last long.

“Fashions are very ephemeral. No matter what, I firmly believe that you should wear what makes you happy and makes you comfortable. At least I will continue to put links on everything for a long time », explains Tamara.

Manuela, for her part, says that although she likes bows and other elements characteristic of flirting, it is likely that the mass use of this fashion will not happen beyond this year. “Everyone has joked about it so much on social media that ultimately it becomes a joke.” », he concludes.