cottagecore

What does cottagecore mean?

Cottagecore is an aesthetic trend, especially among women, marked by clothing, decor, and activities associated with traditional pastoral lifestyles. It is particularly inspired by nostalgic, romanticized conceptions of the English countryside or American homesteading. Some hallmarks of cottagecore include floral prints, flowing dresses, rustic interior design, homey atmosphere, and an interest in gardening, baking, and handicrafts.

Examples of cottagecore

The art of cottagecore is not just pretending we live in the past, but rather taking the more romantic, inspiring pieces of the past and weaving them and weaving them into our modern lives. The same goes for cottagecore fashion.
—Tiffany Francis-Baker, The Cottage Life, 15 April. 2023

Love going into the garden to pick some lettuce leaves for lunch (sandwich). It satisfies all my homesteading and cottagecore urges.
—@VerbingNouns, X (formerly Twitter), 3 Jun. 2021

Take modern escapist fantasies like tiny homes, voluntary simplicity, forest bathing and screen-free childhoods, then place them inside a delicate, moss-filled terrarium, and the result will look a lot like cottagecore.
—Isabel Slone, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2020

Where does cottagecore come from?

Cottagecore combines cottage and -core. Cottage alludes to picturesque English country cottages that the aesthetic evokes. The combining form -core originally came from hardcore (when used for a raucous type of punk rock music), but now can refer to fashion and design trends characterized by a distinctive aesthetic. Other examples include Barbiecore, cluttercore, goblincore, grandmacore, normcore, and tenniscore, as well as countrycore and farmcore (both of which are similar to cottagecore).

The word has been in use online since the late 2010s, and spread in popularity in 2020, driven by people’s experience of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic and the stress associated with contemporary life and technology. Taylor Swift, who had a hit album, Folklore, in the summer of 2020, is widely viewed both as embodying cottagecore and helping fuel its rise in popularity.

How is cottagecore used?

Cottagecore is primarily used in reference to women’s fashion and home decor, especially on social media, including as a hashtag. It is often used attributively, modifying another noun, as in a “cottagecore wedding dress” or “cottagecore kitchen renovation.” The word and style remains associated with activities like gardening, baking, sewing, and foraging (although less so than during its popularity in 2020), as well as valuing a simpler and more natural (albeit idealized) way of living.