Fashion and Beauty

ON “TWILIGHT CORE” FASHION: DRESS LIKE BELLA SWAN THIS SEASON

Bella is meant to be relatable, dressed like an average teen who happens to live where the weather tends to be colder and gloomier. She wears long-sleeved shirts layered with a jacket or a flannel shirt, low-rise often boot-cut jeans, and sneakers. The color scheme is very muted, neutral, and autumnal.

/ 8 October 2021

With y2k coming back, the year progressing onto its colder months, and Netflix making the most iconic teen vampire film franchise of the recent decade available on their platform last July, it is no surprise that The Twilight Renaissance would ensue once more. Besides the resurging interest surrounding The Twilight Saga as a book-to-movie franchise, teens of today are focusing on the fashion of the film especially that of its female protagonist Bella Swan.

Social media platform TikTok has definitely become the platform to watch when wanting to get a feel for what is currently on trend especially among Gen Z. Last summer, the reigning fashion trend on TikTok was the “Coconut Girl” aesthetic which was all about swimsuits, hibiscus prints, crocheted pieces, shell accessories, and sandals. All very throwback and indicative of people’s yearning to go on a tropical vacation after being cooped up inside for so long.

@fa1ryprinces3🌴🥥🌺 ##coconutgirl ##summer2021 ##clothing ##fypシ♬ original sound – ʚ❤︎ɞ

These colder months, the brand-new fashion trend is informally “Twilight Core” or the “Bella Swan” aesthetic. Now, if any of you are familiar with The Twilight Saga and the characterization of Bella Swan, you would know that Bella was never described to be a ‘fashion icon’. She was, in fact, quite the opposite—not a fashion victim but definitely not meant to stand out. After all, the extraordinary aspect of the story is the ‘falling in love with a vampire’ part.

Bella is meant to be relatable, dressed like an average teen who happens to live where the weather tends to be colder and gloomier. She wears long-sleeved shirts layered with a jacket or a flannel shirt, low-rise often boot-cut jeans, and sneakers. The color scheme is very muted, neutral, and autumnal.

@emmabchuTwilight Bella Swan outfits pt. 2🖤 ##twilight ##bellaswan ##outfitideas ##DontQuitYourDaydream ##outfits

♬ ac loverrmore – a

The great thing about this latest trend is that it is practical and quite achievable with pieces a teenager probably already has. What you would need are essentially ‘basics’. Plain shirts and tank tops as bases. Jackets and button-ups for layering. Then it’s just pants and sneakers or boots. Whereas past TikTok trends encourage a lot of hauling and purchasing new pieces to achieve the new popular look, this one should hopefully not promote such overconsumption.

Now, will this trend actually stick around for long? After all, trends come and go much quicker now and especially on platforms like TikTok. As mentioned, the elements that make up this “Bella Swan” aesthetic are all staples that can be dressed down and dressed up whatever the trends of the near future may be. Like the vampires of The Twilight Saga, they’re pretty much immortal.