I’m Raising a VSCO Girl… And I’m OK With It

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It started innocently enough…. my almost-9 year old was suddenly ok with wearing her Crocs again.  Honestly, I was thrilled.  We buy a pair for each kid every summer because they are great in an out of the water and hold up well.  She was happy to wear them again for the first time in months, and my Disney-obsessed heart immediately sang “When She Loved Me” from Toy Story 2, as my child slipped on her hot pink Crocs and went to play.  It was like watching Jessie reunite with her kid all over again.  Then she was into chokers.  Not the Goth-Emo ones of my youth (shout out to other late-90s girls – we were OG VSCO), but rather, these new ones were rainbow patterns.  Honestly, they were pretty cute, but why the sudden interest?  Ok, fine – ordered a bulk pack online and she has worn them nearly-daily for MONTHS.

In the background, I keep hearing this phrase online… VSCO Girl.  It’s a major hot topic on blogs I follow and there are LOTS of videos and memes about them, but what are they? 

As far as I can tell, the VSCO Girl Starter Pack includes:

-Shoes (Birkenstocks, Vans, or Crocs are a must!)

-Necklaces (Either chokers or Puka shell will work.)

-Water bottles (Hydroflasks covered in adorable stickers)

-Scrunchies (Yeah, those.  Like the ones I forced my mother to finally throw away a few years ago.)

The rest of the items can vary by the girl (latest iPhone, messy bun, reusable straw, love of Sea Turtles and strong desire to save them, little backpack to store VSCO treasures in, etc), but the 4 on top are all VSCO GIRL REQUIREMENTS.  Basically, it’s a movement among tweens, teens, and girls in their early 20s who are basically would-be environmental stewards crossed with Cher from Clueless, but in an Instagram filter-friendly way.  There are also a few really annoying phrases they say, but I’m hoping those don’t make their way into the vernacular of my children.

VSCO girl

Next up came the wish list for Christmas, which included a pair of pink checkerboard Vans.  Huh?  I’ve never even owned Vans (I was not that cool), but she was very serious about it and was really specific.  I’m a bargain shopper to the max, so off I went to Kohl’s and cashed in some Kohl’s cash on these Vans since the brand rarely goes on sale.

Now, I’m starting to get suspicious that I may have a VSCO Girl in the making living under my roof.  So, I asked her if she knows what VSCO means.  We live in a small town and I like to think that a lot of these trends take their time getting here.  Well, she knew right away about it and described it in detail.  Apparently, her friends at school have embraced it.  The boys tease them about it, but the girls seem to dig it.

Then it happened.  My friends, prepare yourselves for this next sentence.

SHE ASKED FOR A HYDROFLASK FOR CHRISTMAS.  Apparently, her friends at school have them now.

Sweet cheese, pray for me.

Like a dutiful VSCO Mother (I guess I’m embracing this now), I search them online to find the best price.  Nope.  No reasonable prices were to be found – these things start at $25 each, and the one she wants is (of course) way more.  Well, that’s not happening.  So we talk it over and I make her choose what’s more important – Vans or Hydroflask.  I silently pray to the VSCO gods that she chooses the shoes, since I already bought them, and honestly, they are pretty cute… and she does.  Phew – crisis averted.  We discuss alternate water bottles and settle on a cute one elsewhere to put on her list for Christmas.   If I’m being honest, I think she’s secretly hoping that Santa will bring the Hydroflask.

So I think a bit about what it means to be the mom of a VSCO Girl-in-the-making.  At first, I want to resist… I generally try to encourage our kids to buck trends and do their own thing, but my resistance is futile.  So, if being a VSCO Girl means my kid prefers reusable water bottles to disposable, she wants to wear decent casual shoes, she takes an interest in helping the environment and animals, and she is more aware of plastic consumption, I guess I can learn to be ok with it.  As a tween, I was obsessed with Leonardo DiCaprio (before Titanic, thankyouverymuch), and having him as my celebrity crush made me more interested in the environment.  As long as her intentions are good, I guess we have to live with it.

HOWEVER…..

So help me, if she starts up with “and I oop” or “sksksksk,” I will take away her Vans and scrunchies quicker than she can say “off-brand Hydroflask”.

Now, if you will excuse me, I am off to add “cute waterproof stickers” to my cart as stocking stuffers for my VSCO Girl.

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