VSCO girl transformation proves to be challenging

At 8:17 a.m. on a groggy Sunday morning, I rushed to junior Bela Chauhan’s house so we could go thrift-shopping at Goodwill Cupertino for specific clothing pieces and accessories. Our mission? To become VSCO girls for the upcoming school week.

What is a VSCO girl you may ask? According to Urban Dictionary, a VSCO girl is defined as “a Tumblr girl of 2019.” Which is to say a “VSCO girl” is the new trendy way to describe a basic teenage girl. Common VSCO girl items include tube tops, jean shorts, scrunchies, puka shell necklaces, Hydroflasks and Carmex lip balm, among other items.

Once I came home though, it was like my seemingly perfect VSCO girl items were now a waste of $17 and no bargain at all. 

At this point, I had to reach out to the most basic girls I knew. My friends (shoutout to senior Maya Gonder, senior Sarah Tucker, senior Sejal Sripadanna, senior Selina Yang and junior Shauna Zahabi) lent me nearly everything I needed for the next five days. So Sunday evening I planned out my week’s outfit and hoped everything would work out according to plan.

My first day started with frantically studying for my physics quiz during second period while simultaneously putting on my outfit for the day. The VSCO outfit of the day was a pair of Forever 21 denim overalls from Goodwill, an oversized/ripped white T-shirt, a shell bracelet, a black and white plaid scrunchie with worn-out brown Birkenstocks and Gonder’s blue Fjall Kanken backpack. Along with my other VSCO girl items, I carried my Hydroflask in hand as I power-walked through the school entrance.

Throughout the school day, my peers gave me strange looks or do a double take because my outfit was so out of character, but as the day progressed, I felt more comfortable in my clothes.

On Tuesday, I wore a yellow tube top with ripped jeans, a Guess necklace, a shell bracelet and the Kanken. As I walked into AP Gov, I was showered in compliments on the new look, which was an unexpected reaction for me, mainly because I was extremely self-conscious of the fit of the tube top. 

Wednesday’s outfit by far was the most comfortable of all the VSCO girl outfits. I wore an oversized USC T-shirt, Nike pros, a Guess necklace, a shell bracelet, black and orange scrunchies and Birkenstocks. Usually, I would be terrified of looking like I’m not wearing any pants,  but the loose nature of the tee and the fit of the Nike Pros provided the feeling of a dress.

Thursday was my second and final tube top day as I wore a  white tube top, jeans, a hole punch belt, a Puka shell necklace, a navy blue scrunchie and Birkenstocks with white Nike crew socks to top it all off. I definitely struggled with basic tasks such as bending down to grab my backpack and raising my hand in class, but with my newly-gained experience with tube tops I got through the day relatively unscathed. 

By the time Friday rolled around, I was exhausted by the amount of effort it took to be basic. By this point I had nearly given up and my outfit reflected that; I wore a black crop top, ripped jeans, a hole punch belt, a Guess necklace, a shell bracelet, a black scrunchie and Birkenstocks with black Nike crew socks. There was little to no trouble getting through the day, since this outfit was the closest to my normal wardrobe, but the outfit definitely looked more emo than VSCO.

To sum up, my VSCO girl week was challenging, to say the least, but I was surprisingly excited to broaden my narrow view of fashion. I was much more conscious of what I was wearing throughout the week, and I wouldn’t wear the majority of the VSCO girl clothes I wore that week again, with the exception of the oversized tee with the biker shorts.