the very generic "flower market" prints are really interesting to me because they provide the illusion of what I think of as "corporate artisan." It seems vintage, authentic, maybe printed my a local artist or found on the wall of a small business- yet it's bought on amazon, mostly because it's trendy and cheap. I feel like it points to a general unwillingness to actually support local artists and compensate them a fair price for the work they made. People love art until they have to pay for it.
sitting here nodding my head FURIOUSLY!!! i have a lot of incomplete thoughts about the Etsy Art Print Industrial Complex and this succinctly captures the same sentiments
I love this article! I'm a designer and I've felt really annoyed by this expected 'cohesion'.
It's also interesting to me if you look up on Pinterest for example "dark academic lifestyle" you will now find not only things to wear or ways to decorate but also certain activities and hobbies you should have to fit the aesthetic (learning to play badminton, pressing flowers, writing letters). The idea that this concept of branding/cohesion has drifted into not just home decor and fashion but also how you are supposed to act...it's a bit disturbing to me.
Also, I knew another designer/influencer who used to hide books in the closet that she owned that didn't have the right color spines to fit into her instagram photos... -_-
Loved this take. I also have a similar take in the dissection of tik tok hustle perfectionism culture ruining our perception of what a normal day in the life should be in my substack below.
I agree, the decoration feels shallow and it’s so recognizable — probably because it’s in the background of their photos promoting people to “shop my home!” in their amazon storefront.
Maybe it’s just me, but there’s something about collecting and digging and sifting through antique stores for pieces that have been loved and will last longer than 3 years to put in my bedroom that is so hodgepodged with various thrifts it looks uniquely my own. Mass consumerism culture is so …… sanitizing. There’s no room for the mess that life naturally brings. Everything always has to be picture-perfect.
i HATE that every aspect of living is expected to packaged up into a flawless, mass-marketable brand. i like that you mentioned simulacra...sort of reminds me of the rehearsal, like you could walk out of one of these perfectly curated rooms and find out you'd been on a set the whole time.
Such a good read! I work in a vintage home goods store that also has some new items including the exact instagram products in the images you shared (ban.do). It's so interesting to observe how some people gravitate towards the new items over the vintage stuff. Also, referenced your article in my post today about consumer culture and social media https://gwengwen.substack.com/p/do-we-really-need-more-stuff <3
Loved this! Have been thinking about this style a lot and find it quite telling that many of the influencers selling this style end up making 'how to do this affordable' videos/posts in which they just blatantly tell people to print art and photography off of pinterest. Something extremely bleak in trying to appear down to earth by telling people to steal from unidentified artists lol.
A lot of these have lovely elements but the combination of them never fails to remind me of the 'trendy' refurbished section of my local hospital.
this might have been influenced by my earlier opinion of them, but i instantly felt a Little Off when looking at the photos of this style, and this feeling disappeared when I got to the photo you posted of your actual home! I truly believe we feel authenticity in our souls and you explained it so good here
incredible essay and very fitting timing, as i’m currently revamping my room!!! you verbalized my distaste for those “quirky” designs so well... it truly is trying to imitate having character and charm!
I take decor very seriously. When you decorate the way you genuinely want to with things you like, the space becomes an extension of who you are and what’s important to you. I think of my best friend’s room, with her threadbare floral armchair and strange paintings from antique stores and her ancient botany posters and beloved treadle sewing machine, interspersed with art made by her younger sisters and the century old photograph of a woman on the wall with a lightbulb over her head that made us laugh for hours when we put it up. I think of my own room, with the unfinished maps on the wall and and half sewn curtains draped on the armchair, the paintings that don’t really match the rest of the room but I put up because they were made by someone I love or they were my own failed attempt to capture something I love. To curate a room, making it Instagram ready, making it fit with a certain “style”, is to rob your home of what makes it yours. I can’t imagine that it wouldn’t feel like living in a museum or guest house.
I love this dissection. However, I do kind of like the Instagram store core in small doses.
the very generic "flower market" prints are really interesting to me because they provide the illusion of what I think of as "corporate artisan." It seems vintage, authentic, maybe printed my a local artist or found on the wall of a small business- yet it's bought on amazon, mostly because it's trendy and cheap. I feel like it points to a general unwillingness to actually support local artists and compensate them a fair price for the work they made. People love art until they have to pay for it.
Loved this article!
sitting here nodding my head FURIOUSLY!!! i have a lot of incomplete thoughts about the Etsy Art Print Industrial Complex and this succinctly captures the same sentiments
gag
yet another banger ❗️
You’ve explained exactly why this style has always rubbed me the wrong way. Amazing article
I love this article! I'm a designer and I've felt really annoyed by this expected 'cohesion'.
It's also interesting to me if you look up on Pinterest for example "dark academic lifestyle" you will now find not only things to wear or ways to decorate but also certain activities and hobbies you should have to fit the aesthetic (learning to play badminton, pressing flowers, writing letters). The idea that this concept of branding/cohesion has drifted into not just home decor and fashion but also how you are supposed to act...it's a bit disturbing to me.
Also, I knew another designer/influencer who used to hide books in the closet that she owned that didn't have the right color spines to fit into her instagram photos... -_-
Loved this take. I also have a similar take in the dissection of tik tok hustle perfectionism culture ruining our perception of what a normal day in the life should be in my substack below.
I agree, the decoration feels shallow and it’s so recognizable — probably because it’s in the background of their photos promoting people to “shop my home!” in their amazon storefront.
Maybe it’s just me, but there’s something about collecting and digging and sifting through antique stores for pieces that have been loved and will last longer than 3 years to put in my bedroom that is so hodgepodged with various thrifts it looks uniquely my own. Mass consumerism culture is so …… sanitizing. There’s no room for the mess that life naturally brings. Everything always has to be picture-perfect.
https://open.substack.com/pub/denisemasiel/p/is-how-you-spend-your-days-really?utm_source=direct&r=1edg1p&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
i HATE that every aspect of living is expected to packaged up into a flawless, mass-marketable brand. i like that you mentioned simulacra...sort of reminds me of the rehearsal, like you could walk out of one of these perfectly curated rooms and find out you'd been on a set the whole time.
I know exactly what u mean and it all reminds me of this—which is one of my fave culture crit pieces ive read https://www.thecut.com/2020/03/will-the-millennial-aesthetic-ever-end.html
I've spent the last few weeks trying to figure out why this look bugs me so much—thank you for putting the jumble I couldn't sort out into words!
Such a good read! I work in a vintage home goods store that also has some new items including the exact instagram products in the images you shared (ban.do). It's so interesting to observe how some people gravitate towards the new items over the vintage stuff. Also, referenced your article in my post today about consumer culture and social media https://gwengwen.substack.com/p/do-we-really-need-more-stuff <3
Loved this! Have been thinking about this style a lot and find it quite telling that many of the influencers selling this style end up making 'how to do this affordable' videos/posts in which they just blatantly tell people to print art and photography off of pinterest. Something extremely bleak in trying to appear down to earth by telling people to steal from unidentified artists lol.
A lot of these have lovely elements but the combination of them never fails to remind me of the 'trendy' refurbished section of my local hospital.
this might have been influenced by my earlier opinion of them, but i instantly felt a Little Off when looking at the photos of this style, and this feeling disappeared when I got to the photo you posted of your actual home! I truly believe we feel authenticity in our souls and you explained it so good here
incredible essay and very fitting timing, as i’m currently revamping my room!!! you verbalized my distaste for those “quirky” designs so well... it truly is trying to imitate having character and charm!
I take decor very seriously. When you decorate the way you genuinely want to with things you like, the space becomes an extension of who you are and what’s important to you. I think of my best friend’s room, with her threadbare floral armchair and strange paintings from antique stores and her ancient botany posters and beloved treadle sewing machine, interspersed with art made by her younger sisters and the century old photograph of a woman on the wall with a lightbulb over her head that made us laugh for hours when we put it up. I think of my own room, with the unfinished maps on the wall and and half sewn curtains draped on the armchair, the paintings that don’t really match the rest of the room but I put up because they were made by someone I love or they were my own failed attempt to capture something I love. To curate a room, making it Instagram ready, making it fit with a certain “style”, is to rob your home of what makes it yours. I can’t imagine that it wouldn’t feel like living in a museum or guest house.