Stacey Nguyen Pop Culture Recently, coquette has come to mean anything with tiny bows and washes of pink. However, fashion mavens are trying to reign in the definition of coquette, drawing a line between what’s fake and real coquette. But what exactly is coquette, and how has it changed over time? We’ll clue you in ahead.

The lacy, frill-covered aesthetic has more of a checkered past than you might think. Coquette is an opulent and intricate style, one characterized by luxurious textures and delicate details. According to , it’s “defined by soft pastels, lace and pearls, romantic florals, and old English elegance.

” French in origin, the use of the word “coquette” dates all the way back to the 1600s. It has a somewhat disparaging connotation— defines a coquette as “a woman who tries without sincere affection to gain the attention and admiration of men.” Despite this gendered definition, many who embrace the aesthetic approach it as a fun way to express themselves.

There’s agency involved, so it’s not them simply abiding by patriarchal and heteronormative traditions. TikTok creator shares just the visuals that make a look “real coquette” as opposed to just hyper-feminine or girly. We’ll talk more about what counts as real coquette a bit later.

Associated with Lana del Rey and Sofia Coppola, what we now know as coquette took off on in the late aughts and 2010s. What specifically gained traction was the controversial nymphet aesthetic derived from Vl.