Girl Mess
By Hannah Grace
Collecting things that I don’t really need but make me or the space around me look pretty is probably one of the things in my life that brings me the most joy. I think almost every girl I’ve ever spoken to or have seen on social media thinks the same way as me too.
This phenomenon is what a lot of people like to call ‘girl mess’. Laying our most recent hauls of clothes, makeup, books and trinkets around us in an artful way to decorate our spaces and make it more…… us. With inspiration all around us from the media to real life it’s hard not to become influenced to buy items and set them out in a way that appeals to our individual minds.
The most popular examples of this come from the early 2000s shows and romcoms. For example, the Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment from Sex and The City (yes, we know she was a shitty friend sometimes but her taste in clothes and decorative mess made her an icon in her own way). With art carefully placed around her space and clothes, makeup and magazines laid out for all to see it’s clear she was into the whole ‘girl mess’ vibe. Through this, we saw glimpses of her personality through her physical surroundings which perfectly encapsulates the whole idea behind why we feel the need to buy and place products around us, not only to beautify but also to acknowledge our own personal interests and character.
Tiktoker @acnugs describes this as ‘clustering’. With many of her videos depicting ‘how to cluster’ and arrange your items and trinkets in such a way that they look picturesque in their environment, it serves to make your life more romantic and give a purpose to all the little things that would otherwise be thrown in draws or dark places, away from yourself and others seeing them. However, the things we buy that bring us joy need to be celebrated and appreciated, regardless of whether they serve an actual, philosophical purpose in our lives or not. With adulthood and responsibilities looming over us, can anyone really blame us for wanting to cling on to these things that highlight the beauty and whimsy in our lives?
Although it is totally up to the individual what they chose to display, the most common themes for displays that I have seen and heard of include;
· trinket dishes filled with jewellery, perfume samples, crystals etc
· bouquets of flowers
· sonny angels/ sylvanian families/ monchhichi plushes
· books and art displays
· candles and fairy lights dotted around the room/decorated space
· vinyl records displayed artfully (and of course a record player)
· decorative picture frames to showcase all your besties
· a designated area (whether that’s a wardrobe or clothes rail) for your cutest clothes
Many people online have referred to this phenomenon as ‘going back to our hunter gatherer instincts’, with us hunting and gathering treasured items intended to be displayed around to allow us to feel more fulfilled in our daily lives. Although a mostly satire concept, some researchers admit there may be some slight evidence that the instincts within our DNA come to life through shopping and collecting that which we deem valuable.
Regardless of whether any of that is actually true or not, for now creating ‘girl mess’ is enough for us girls to feel at home and comfortable in our environments, making a once barren and underused area special to us in our own collective and creative ways!
