User:AlexMontenegro24/Aesthetic coquette

The coquette aesthetics is a fashion trend that exalts femininity through the use of lace, ruffles, pastel colours and bows.

History and meaning
The word comes from the French "coquette". The beginning of the resurgence of this aesthetic can be traced back to TikTok around 2022.

This aesthetic can be understood as reminiscent of childhood and a statement that strong women can also look feminine, delicate and innocent, moving away from the previous stereotype that female empowerment is bound up with masculinisation.

At the same time, the coquette aesthetic seeks to defend femininity without sexualising it. It is about defending all the things that were previously scorned or demonised.

This happened in the period after the French Revolution, when society condemned the maximalism and exaltation of the feminine in Marie Antoinette's clothes in favour of silhouettes closer to masculine fashion. The same thing is happening now: the coquette aesthetic is moving away from the power suits of the 1980s to more modern and contemporary looks like oversize, tomboy core and military core.

The coquette aesthetic is close to "balletcore", "cottagecore" and "princesscore", but should not be confused with these, although they all share hyper-femininity.

Critics
The coquette aesthetic is criticised for reproducing gender roles that are harmful to women and for appealing primarily to the "male gaze". Similarly, it is said that internet images related to this aesthetic are almost always of thin, fair-skinned women, which excludes women with less hegemonic characteristics. There are even those who consider that this type of clothing can be suggestive for paedophiles. In contrast to these criticisms, others argue that the use of bows, lace and pink clothing should not be a justification for sexist aggression. Equally, there are those who consider that this aesthetic can be understood from a disruptive, non-heteronormative interpretation.

Art referents
Among the artistic references of the coquette style are the novels Jane Austen and the Brönte sisters, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, the film Marie Antoinette by Sofia Coppol and the recent Barbie film. The inspirations from the Victorian and Rococo periods are also evident.

American singer Lana Del Rey is also considered an icon of this aesthetic.