Confessions of a COTTAGECORE WANNABE
It sounds idyllic: escaping to a cabin in the woods to crochet by a fire, sipping herbal tea made from foraged raspberry leaves and eating oven-fresh sourdough. Welcome to cottagecore: the TikTok hashtag, social media movement and way of life that embraces a romanticised cottage aesthetic trademarked by wholesome pottery crafts, baked treats, wispy fringes and prairie dresses. It is not to be confused with grandmacore (baking cherry pie wearing a vintage apron with a rescue cat at your feet) or fairycore (cleansing your crystals in an enchanted field filled with mushroom figurines).
The off-grid-but-make-it-cute trend began in 2018, grew on Tumblr, and blossomed like a daisy flower crown on TikTok this year. The cottagecore hashtag has garnered more than 3.9 billion views (and counting) on TikTok and there has been a 541 per cent increase in likes of cottagecore content on Tumblr since the beginning of COVID. But it really hit the mainstream in late July when Taylor Swift dropped her album, which saw her frolicking
