Is Witchcore Girlhood Fashion's Final From?

For millennials, nothing says reclaiming your girlhood like dressing as an iconic 90s witch.

Girlhood dressing has dominated the fashion zeitgeist over the past few years. Influencers have been coveting coquettish bows, pinks, and the Sandy Liang hyper-feminine aesthetic to reclaim childhood nostalgia by relishing in details once considered juvenile and frivolous. It's been the ultimate form of escapism, reverting to being just a baby to deal with the aftermath of a pandemic, the garbage economy and the overall bleakness of the world.

Gel x By Grace, Bye Bambi & Sandy Liang

Now, as we continue to look back on our childhood and teen years to inform how we dress as adults, I’m predicting a shift away from ribbons and frills to something darker and cooler, in the form of witchy icons from the 90s.

This may already be a defining style in your wardrobes. I know it is in mine - I spent Melbourne’s 2021 lockdowns rewatching Charmed and hunting for Alyssa Milano’s Armani flatform sandals from S1 E2 (the closest I came were STAUD’s Rio Thong sandals, which broke constantly, even with frequent help from my trusty shoe repair specialist or this style from Monki in 2022 that I decided not to risk purchasing.)

Ah, the shoes that launched a thousand Depop searches. If anyone finds something similar hmu.

The Buffster was also a fan

Already, grittier aesthetics are taking over, with Charli xcx’s brat girl summer reviving elements of Indie Sleaze and Club Kid culture...maybe that’s a story for another time. So for now, let’s examine why supernatural pop culture has continued to capture our hearts and wardrobes.

Why Were We Such Witch-Obsessed Teens?

If you were a 90s baby and anything like me and my group of weirdo friends, I’m guessing you enjoyed the slew of other-worldly content our generation had to offer once we entered our teens. We had The Craft, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Charmed, and my personal favorite that’s just been announced for a fuck-yeah sequel, Practical Magic. Bet you also tried some potions and spells in your own little coven at sleepovers (hey, no shame in the “light as a feather, stiff as a board” game).

Witches represent the ultimate symbol of rebellion and the TV and movies we were consuming may have been one of our first forays into feminism. The symbolism of burning women at the stake due to misogyny, opposed beliefs, and misunderstood fear mirrors our plight in an age where things are supposed to be better than ever. While this media was undeniably white man-made and created with the intent to sexualize, witches were transformed into modern-day it girls and our young minds reinterpreted them as figureheads of empowerment.

Is Fashion’s Tide Turning?

As mentioned, the last few years have been overwhelming femme-coded, reclaiming girlhood for the girls and not for the male gaze. However, unfortunately, social media has the ability to make everything sinister. The Coquette aesthetic has been grossly branded as “paedo-bait,” with its adjacency to Lolita inaccurately romanticizing the text and the rise of trad wife culture unfairly reinforcing that anything feminine automatically equals subserviency.

Without being overly simplistic, my stance remains, as always, to dress for yourself and no one else etc. etc. Yet, as with all trends that blow up, saturation results in fatigue. In April, one of my favorite sites, Data, But Make It Fashion, found from a sentiment analysis that the popularity of bows and ribbons dropped 13%. Similarly, US searches on Pinterest for “coquette outfits” have dropped off since the start of the year.

Meanwhile, Whimsygoth, TikTok’s attempt to bucket a woo-woo crystal girlie aesthetic referencing Practical Magic on mood boards, has never really gotten off the ground in terms of searches and, in my experience, mass fashion in general.

Pinterest US Searches

I am curious if this will start to change. Maybe the Whimsygoth brand isn’t all that appealing, but now that boho has been revived, Practical Magic’s dark, romantic aesthetic is more relevant than ever. The maxi skirts and dresses with muted florals, crochet camis and cozy cardigans. Anything that errs on the side of boho is always a thanks, but no thanks from me. Yet even I can’t deny that Nicole Kidman’s green velvet slip dress was one of the greatest looks of the 90s.

After years of Y2K elements dominating fashion, what I’m really excited for is the 90s takeover. And if Pinterest searches are anything to go by, the general population is too. This has been bubbling away for some time, with the rise of Gen X Soft Club (basically, the Buffy Summers aesthetic) becoming notable at the start of the year (I shared some insights on this with the Business of Fashion if you’re interested). This makes the time ripe to borrow from the digital closets of Sabrina, The Charmed Ones and The Scooby Gang as I’ll outline below.

Pinterest US Searches

Furthering the case for an impending Season of the Witch, recent runway shows have taken on a darker tone - plenty of black lace and occult references. One of my favorite collections from Australian Fashion Week was Nicol & Ford’s conceptual show called Thorn, which paid homage to Sydney underworld figure Rosaleen Norton, aka The Witch of Kings Cross. I suggest you check it out here - its nothing short of spectacular.

Ann Demeulemeester, Injury, FKA Twigs, Nicol & Ford, Pink Pantheress

90s Witch Fits

Our TV heroines’ wardrobes were personified by classic 90s minimalism meshed with playful details and, at times, some pretty wtf accessories that I’m happy to leave behind forever. Charmed was notorious for this - see these questionable hat choices and that time Phoebe wore a hair net but made it fashion.

The peak fashion moments that will forever be burned into my brain are as follows:

1. Prue Halliwell’s Miss Hellfire era (S2, E9) - From her little black Dolce & Gabbana dress to her NSFW crop tops (were we meant to believe this is how art dealers dress?), Prue served some of the greatest looks in the early Charmed episodes. However, the crème de la crème was when she cosplayed as a killer-for-hire in head-to-toe leather and THAT coat.

2. The Buffy Uniform - Before you at me, yeah I know Buffy wasn’t a witch. Dare I ask, while Willow has surely become a fashion icon in her own right, was she dressed “frumpily” on purpose because she was a lesbian and therefore wasn’t made to see fit to the male gaze? Anyway, when I think of quintessential Buffy looks, what comes to mind is mini skirts and dresses with long boots and leather trench coats - the maroon coat under her graduation gown in the Season 3 finale. Iconic!

3. Sabrina’s Yellow Dress (Sabrina Goes to Rome) - “If you think I’m good with my magic, wait until you see me shop,” Sabrina says, cueing a shopping montage of Italian designer boutiques, which were apparently accessible to a teenage witch on vacay. She exits Valentino in a yellow cut-out dress that had no business being in any teen’s wardrobe, but that I still think about fondly all the time.

Also of note

With the help of dedicated IG fan sites, I took a walk down memory lane to compile the key trends from our fave 90s supernatural shows. For more nostalgia, I’d recommend @charmedfashionandstyle, @buffytheoutfitslayer and @spellmanianstyle.

• Midriff tops (points for no bra and visible nips)

• Leather everything

• Layering

• Chokers

• Bandannas

• Bustier tops

• Backless tops and dresses

• Halter necklines

• Crucifix necklaces

• Capri Pants

• Fitted cardigans

• Graphic tees

• Satin midi skirts

• Sheer materials

• Cowl and boat necklines

• Tube tops

• Y2K sunglasses

In my personal and professional opinion, I believe the bow renaissance has peaked, yet ultra-feminine aesthetics will still play an important role in future fashion trends. However, in our quest to reclaim our girlhood in the way we dress, we can certainly look beyond the ruffles and ribbons. I know I am.

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