INSTAGRAM RAID: Ashley Garcia embodies the versatility of Gen Z style

When I think of a person that absolutely embodies the versatility of the Gen Z style, I immediately think of Ashley Garcia. The style has become so saturated and manufactured that like the mad anthropologist that I am, I have assembled a collection of her Instagram photos that encapsulates this. As a Gen Z herself, her photos would include a strong desire for self-expression.

Ashley Garcia embodies the versatility of Gen Z style

All photos came from the Instagram of Ashley Garcia.

Light Academia

Light Academia refers to an academic aesthetic that typically involves beige, cream, light brown, brown, white, plaid, pastel, and dim shades. It became the emotionally positive and visually lighter counterpart of Dark Academia. The latter, on the other hand, involves darker themes than the former. A lot of imagery crosses over but the color palette makes the two aesthetics distinct enough.

Cottagecore

Cottagecore refers to a romanticized interpretation of western agricultural life. It typically involves faded colors, florals, ginghams, and lace among others. Just like Light Academia, Cottagecore also has a darker counterpart called Cottagegore. The latter, on the other hand, focuses on darker aspects of nature. Cottagegore tends to take the Cottagecore fashion aesthetic and runs it through a gothic lens.

Glam Girl

Glam Girl refers to a female-dominated aesthetic that feels feminine, luxurious, and fancy. It correlates with the Boujee aesthetic which colloquially shortens the term “bourgeoisie” which means the wealthier side of the middle class. Its visuals also tend to look very decadent, affluent, and luxurious. Aside from that, it also tends to be chic, elegant, and stylish. Meanwhile, this aesthetic roots back to the Haute Couture fashion genre.

Grunge

Grunge refers to a darker, edgier style that has its roots in the 1990s hard rock scene. It also involves a large amount of disenchantment with modern society. Aside from that, it also includes a lot of earth tones and pale colors. Of course, this would include 90s inspired fashion choices like oversized t-shirts, flannel shirts, ripped jeans, and combat boots. When it comes to grunge, thrifting and DIY remain encouraged.

Softie

Softie refers to a group of aesthetics dedicated to going for as cutesy of a look as possible. It draws a lot of parallels with some of the Kawaii-centric aesthetics in Kapan. However, this comes with a more subdued look compared to how over-the-top some of the looks in Harajuku tend to get. This aesthetic would usually involve pastels, florals, oversized sweaters, plaid skirts, gold jewelry, and tied-up cardigans among others.

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Urban

Urban refers to an aesthetic based on the imagery of urban cities and street life. It has an association with real-life and modern-day society. Aside from that, the aesthetic also embodies the youthful and somewhat rebellious spirit of a teen living in a nostalgic time. This would usually involve streetwear fashion, a style of casual clothing that grew skater girl, art hoe, hip hop, and nostalgiacore fashion. These include baggy pants and sporty looks.

Y2K

Y2K refers to an aesthetic prevalent in popular culture from roughly 1995 to 2003. It encapsulates fashion, hardware design, and furnishing shinings with tech optimism. The visuals would include gradients, chrome, bright colors, and something that would look like it came straight from a video game. Aside from that, it also focuses on a minimalist style that adds a fresh spin on nostalgia-driven movement.