Behold, the coquette aesthetic—coquette core, if you will. The last vestige of docile flirtation in the flurry of cores.
The cores are moving at the speed of light. We’ve gone through the cosplay of many: office siren (knows how to fax, submits her expense reports late, loves a kicky kitten heel), there’s fairy core (walks around with wings; sprinkle of glitter on face ), and quite literally cottage core (dressing like a bucolic milkmaid but drinks oatmilk). Everyone gets a core.
But where does coquette live in coreville? Is this core even still relevant? Is it in the core graveyard along with binaries of yawning normcore and costume-y Barbiecore? 20-something writer Nicolaia Rips, tells me that “Coquette has gone to college. She has a 9-5 now.” Ouch. I asked a brand manager on the Gen X-Millennial cusp about the relevancy of coquette core who simply responded: “What else is there to say?” Sure, on the surface, yes, the core has been exhausted. But perhaps not. There’s some batting of the eyelashes oomph deep within this trend. The core hinges on the definition of the French word “coquette”, which is defined by Merriam Webster as “woman who endeavors without sincere affection to gain the attention and admiration of me.” The aesthetic arrived in 2020, trotting towards us in silk ballet flats and little bows, armed with Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita. Since then, it’s been ebbing in and out of popularity.
Yet, I’d argue that the core’s perverse seduction is still very much alive. In a world where cores can feel binary, like we are living in a universe where we are getting dressed a la a character on the Sims, coquette core does give a little room for feeling. For flirtation! Tenderness! Expression! I also love a woman who knows how to wield those sentiments through clothing; to reign power over men through a campy version of femininity. Lil Bo Peep naivety with a hint of Marie Antoinette girlishness–but the brain to unleash both by way of a frill? Sign me up.
Besides, dressing up in the look is fun. How to do it? The coquette aesthetic might call for the wearer to be furiously cooling themselves with a fan; lacing up those ballet flats, braiding hair into pigtails, adding a ruffle here and there. The bows; the little bobby socks; the vanities littered with powders and tri-fold, gold-trimmed mirrors. Maybe Lana Del Rey is playing in the background. Seeing the world through powder pink tinted glasses might be a raunchy recipe for male gaze disaster, but only if we want it to be.
Plus, there are incredible examples of the power of coquette core on the runway from Vivienne Westwood. For the spring 1994 show coined “Cafe Society,” Westwood created a coquette feast: Models jutted their hips out, giving their best panther strut in suffocatingly cinched blazers and pinstriped dresses with a fused maid’s apron. Nadja Auermann shimmered her hips in a macrame babydoll dress with a nasty little frill on the hem that barely covered the bum. Kate Moss exited wearing a felony of a mini skirt, covering her chest with only her forearms while lapping up a Magnum ice cream. Fast forward to fall 1995, Westwood was naughtily back at it again with a collection that was titled “Vive la Cocotte”. Super cinched waist coats that flared out into severe peplums, little lady top hats slyly tipped on the head, and itty bitty vests and bustiers. A powerful display of flirtation!
Next time someone says coquette core is six feet underground, buried in the backpage dregs of the internet, tell them they are wrong. Whether you want to wear the full pink hued look, or simply tie a bow into your hair (or wear a very tiny skirt), the coquette aesthetic lives on. Excuse me while I go to powder my nose… while wearing my ballet flats.