Frilly, hyper-feminine and cute with bows everywhere, coquette style is increasingly popular. As an aesthetic, is it a problematic trend – or fun and empowering? In 2024, makeup is coquette; our dogs are coquette; rooms are coquette. From the office to the gym, bows are appearing in places where they wouldn't dare before.
It's as if Gen Z and younger millennials have found a way to wear Sofia Coppola films, from the pastels, lace and A-line silhouettes of 2006's Marie Antoinette to the stockings, Mary Janes and Peter Pan collars of 2023's Priscilla . Now, musicians like Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan are confidently taking the stage in pearls, lace and corseted tops, while other celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker , Sydney Sweeney , and Cardi B have casually nodded to the coquette aesthetic with a simple bow. With its high-profile reach and its longevity, coquette has arguably surpassed the status of a micro-trend and become, if not quite a movement, then a community – and a topic of controversy.
Before we step ballet-flat first into this trend, what is it, exactly? A coquette is defined by the Oxford English dictionary as "a woman who trifles with men's affections" or "a woman given to flirting or coquetry". However, according to influencer and stylist Maree Ellard , the movement separates itself from its literal definition, in a sort of reclamation of femininity, especially for its Gen-Z audience. "I think people who are not aware of coquette are going to think t.