First of all, what the hell is a VSCO Girl?

VSCO Girls. If you're one of the few grown adults who secretly downloaded the TikTok app this year, you've heard the phrase countless times there and eventually saw the teenage archetype become a rapid-fire meme across Twitter and Instagram, too. And, of course, all memes are subject to becoming Halloween costume trends. Chances are, every party you attend this year will be littered in adults dressed like teen girls who just really, really like sandals and Hydro Flasks. If you're looking for a hyper-timely get-up for 2019 (or just want to appear cooler and younger than you actually are), the VSCO Girl is probably one of the easiest to put together.




Luckily, Allure's chief TikTok meme poster (hi, yeah, that's me) can walk you through the concept, including what a VSCO Girl actually is, what you'll need to wear, and what to say to really get into character. All it takes is a few staple wardrobe pieces you'll probably use again, a couple of memorable phrases, and a laid-back beauty approach.
First of all, what the hell is a VSCO Girl?

The "VSCO" in VSCO Girl refers to the photo-editing app of the same name, pronounced "vis-co." The term began as a catchall phrase for teen girls who post pictures on the app's social feed or use its colorful photo filters exclusively on other social media. The VSCO Girl aesthetic, coined in 2017, basically snowballed from there thanks to TikTok and its instant virality.
OK, but how do I dress like a VSCO Girl?

Watch an Actual Youth go shopping and you'll get this aesthetic down pretty quickly. It's part athlete, part hiker, part beach bum.






There are three items you absolutely, 100 percent need if you're going to pull off a recognizable VSCO Girl: An oversized T-shirt, athletic shorts, and sandals. Like other teen stereotypes of years past, VSCO Girls have a documented affinity for certain colors and brand names. The key to finding a VSCO Girl-friendly shirt, like this one, is to stick to pastels or intentionally faded colors and to pick a size that's large enough to hit mid-thigh. Contrary to most high-school dress codes, shorts must be so short, they disappear entirely underneath the shirt — can't go wrong with a pair of black Nike Tempo Shorts, a common VSCO Girl staple.


As far as shoes go, sandals, clogs, and slides are the primary shoe choices of VSCO Girls everywhere. Have a pair of Crocs lying around? Go to town with some cutesy, customizable Jibbitz (that's the hilarious name of those charms you can attach to the holes in the top) and revel in their squishy comfort. How about some Birkenstock slides? Congratulations, you're already most of the way there.

How To Be A VSCO Girl For Halloween Without

 

Halloween is the perfect holiday for accidentally being unforgivably basic. So you watched Suicide Squad and thought Harley Quinn was a badass and her costume an easy enough outfit to recreate? Oh, you also thought nobody else would do Lady Gaga on Halloween 2009? We’ve all been there, and while it’s not the end of the world, sometimes it’d be good to know if your Halloween costume idea is as, let’s say, special as you feel it is.

Fret not, Google has a very wavy and majorly ‘80s-looking tool to help you find out if you’re letting your freak flag fly or if you’ve fallen prey to the zeitgeist. Google’s aptly-named “Frightgeist” is a stunning example of the power of the internet’s most reliable feature:

Like most things popularized on TikTok, VSCO girls seemed to pop up overnight. Or, at least the term for them did. They may have existed for much longer — recognized by their breezy, "California casual" style that is actually super expensive to replicate. They were eventually deemed VSCO girls because many of them use the photo-editing app VSCO, which is known for its beachy-vibe photo filters. But you don't have to be on VSCO to be a VSCO girl, and you can even be a temporary one with a VSCO girl Halloween costume. 

Fox Business reported that it can cost upwards of $200 to stay on trend with the VSCO girls who rep a lot of pricey name brand products while also looking chill and casual and like they're not even trying. If you're just interested in dipping into the world for Halloween, there are ways to do it on a budget. Not all of us have that YouTube or Instagram #sponcon money, you know?

Tread carefully, though, because once you know exactly what goes into making a VSCO girl a VSCO girl, you'll start seeing them everywhere. And you may find out that you're part VSCO girl as well. I show at least five of the, like, 12 most common VSCO girl traits. It's okay, it happens to the best of us, and it'll make putting this costume together that much easier.