Society is a constant pendulum, swinging back and forth between extremes; the same goes for trends. Right now, people are struggling to balance the clean girl aesthetic that has been a staple for the era and the return of the messy girl aesthetic growing in popularity. Obviously, these two trends seem to be polar opposites, yet it's possible that they can and should coexist. Both have benefits and maybe that balance is what we need.

The Clean Girl Aesthetic

The tried and true clean girl aesthetic has been popular for quite some time now; it is the picture of simplicity, elegance, and self-care. It encourages cleanliness, good personal hygiene, serenity, and good habits. Aesthetics are a strong motivator, and feeling excited about caring for yourself and your space is amazing.

However, too much of one good thing can cause problems. While the clean girl aesthetic can be an incredibly motivational and uplifting trend, the fact that the root of the trend is to have the appearance of your life being perfectly together is completely unrealistic. This image of the effortless, clean girl is unattainable; she wakes up at 5 am, works out, does her skincare, cleans her whole house, goes to work, and meditates, all while looking perfect. The truth is nobody is perfect. So everything is well and good until you have a bad day: you wake up late, eat leftover pizza, spill coffee on your shirt, and barely make it through the day. Suddenly, you're comparing yourself to that image of the clean girl, and even though you tell yourself it's not real, that, of course, it's okay to have a bad day every once in a while, you still can't shake the feeling of not being good enough. That's the problem with striving for perfection: you can never succeed.

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The Messy Girl Aesthetic

On the other hand, the messy girl is everything the clean girl is not: she wakes up at noon, her eyeliner is smudged from sleeping in it, her hair is box-dyed, and she is loud, wild, and free. Now, while this promotes many unhealthy habits, this girl is not worried about being perfect; she's barely worried about being good enough, the messy girl lives life to the fullest, she lets herself make mistakes, and she doesn't care about what other people think.

These are the things the clean girl needs to be sustainable, and the messy girl needs the motivation and self-care of the clean girl. It's not about picking between these aesthetics but combining them to maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle.

The It Girl

Allow me to introduce the it girl. The way I see it, a girl is someone who combines messy and clean girl aesthetics to create a sustainable life. She works inwardly to have the discipline to take care of herself and the grace to forgive herself for her mistakes.

She practices good habits in a fun way and doesn't get upset if she gets busy and misses a few days of her routine. She balances her work and her play, and she doesn't do it for the image or the aesthetic; she does it because she believes in it and because she loves herself enough to have both in her life.

Everyone can be it, girl. All it girl is is the most confident, happy version of yourself. It's not made up of products to buy or hobbies to do to fit an aesthetic.

It's about what you like to do that makes you feel happy and good about yourself. Self-reflection, exercise, goal setting, budgeting, fashion, socializing; all these things can make you feel good and can be practiced however you want. It's not about creating the perfect image of a cool, interesting person; it's about finding who you are and being so authentically yourself that people naturally see you that way.

It's natural to be both messy and clean. That's how humans are; trying to choose one or the other will eventually lead to a disaster. People aren't aesthetics; they aren't cartoonish extremes, they have duality, and they are a mix of all the things in their lives.

To say you're one or the other simply isn't true. The only way to live is with balance and variation. The only way to live is as yourself.