VSCO girl

A VSCO girl is a 2019 teen style built around oversized T-shirts, scrunchies, Birkenstocks, shell necklaces and a sticker-covered Hydro Flask. The name comes from VSCO, a photo-editing app popular with teenagers.

What does VSCO girl mean?

The VSCO girl was a breezy, beachy, environmentally conscious teen look that dominated social media in summer 2019. She carried a reusable water bottle and metal straws (to “save the turtles”), wore her hair in a messy bun, and posted soft, filtered photos edited in the VSCO app. The term was used both affectionately and as a light insult.

The VSCO girl look

• Clothes: oversized T-shirts over bike shorts, Birkenstocks or Crocs with charms.
• Accessories: scrunchies on the wrist, puka shell necklaces, friendship bracelets.
• Must-haves: a Hydro Flask covered in stickers, metal straws.
• Catchphrases: “sksksk” and “and I oop.”

How to use VSCO girl

• “She has a scrunchie on each wrist and a Hydro Flask. Total VSCO girl.”
• “And I oop, sksksk, I’m such a VSCO girl.” (joking)
• “My 2019 photos are embarrassingly VSCO girl.”

Where VSCO girl comes from

The VSCO app launched in 2011. According to Dictionary.com, a satirical YouTube video by Greer Jones in January 2019 helped define the stereotype, the term’s first Urban Dictionary entry appeared that July, and by summer 2019 it was everywhere. The New York Times highlighted the Hydro Flask and turtle-sticker craze in August 2019.

Related terms

• Soft girl: pastels and cute details.
• E-girl: edgier 2019 internet style.
• Clean girl aesthetic: a later, polished trend.
• Cottagecore: idealised country life.

See more terms like this in our internet aesthetics guide.