The return of the Tumblr era
Around early 2014 Tumblr reached its peak and people were making around 100 million posts a day. While Tumblr seemed like just a social media platform, many remember Tumblr as more of an aesthetic or era now. The platform was mostly used by 2014 teens and had a certain “grunge aesthetic” if you will, though this wasn’t the only aesthetic going on at the time I can confidently say that people hold on more to this rather than a lot of other types of content on Tumblr. The reason I say that Tumblr is having a comeback is based on what Ive been seeing in our everyday social media apps.
We have seen time and time again the need for nostalgia in fashion and media. We like to take trends and reinvent them into more modern ways because of the fashion cycle along with like I said before, nostalgia. Since we are going through so many micro trends, the fashion cycle is moving evidently faster meaning media will as well. I think I have seen hundreds of videos now about a “better time” or a “simpler” time in the 2010’s and while we can all agree it was just around the corner, it is getting an early comeback in certain ways.
The first was musically, the return of arctic monkeys, a new Taylor swift album, and a Carly Rae Jepsen album screams 2012-16. Specifically it is hinting at that Tumblr era I have been talking about. More and more artists that were popular in this era are coming back, a big indication of this return.
Social media has become a bit, saturated, instagram is no longer casual and fun. This has been a commonly acknowledged thing, since many people including celebrities have commented on the shift in social media platforms. Instagram is no longer what it was, people just want to have fun on the app and be able to interact with their friends. Instagram has also been shifting to more of a video platform, this isn’t desirable to many because this certain type of content is being pushed out more. The app, along with many others, has not been the same and people miss that. While Instagram will not change its algorithms, people want the old Instagram back, they want that casual posting era. We are going to see more people using Instagram as they would Tumblr, more people using cameras (not on their phones), and straying away from posts that feel “forced”. More people want to be real, to the point where every one is even using an app called, Be real. On this app you can only post at a certain, random time and it comes from the front and back camera. Everyone wants to feel real and genuine and this is what we are going to get from media.
King Kylie, Kylie Jenner
Fashion wise, things are coming back but differently. For example, ballet flats are making a comeback, not to say that it was ever fully out. Most people attributed the trend for ballet flats to these feminine, cottage core, coquette aesthetics and while I agree…I could also say that it came back to many other areas of the fashion cycle. The trend cycle is moving faster an faster and that means that we will be seeing trends from everywhere come back no matter what era but we will all notice them getting faster and faster. So think back to the trend of that time and you will being noticing more and more people using these trends in everyday fashion. They will however be curated into their own, more modern, ways. Each style pattern that comes back won’t be the same but it will be similar. For example, middle parts will come back, just maybe not that dramatic swooped one that covered everyone’s entire face.
The Tumblr era is all about that grungy, genuine, fun kind of look. We are incorporating more and more of these things now. Each trend in media and fashion will be directed from that Era and come back in new an different ways. We are beginning to incorporate more casual posting, blurry photos, darker eye makeup, and the grunge look I’ve been talking about. I will be talking more about the fashion trends to be seen with this very soon so make sure to stay active with Khaurafab as to not miss out on anything !
XOXO,
-Khaurafab , Kharei Mnz💋
