Tik Tok Brings The Twee Back To 2022

If one traces the origins of the English term "twee", the term is defined in the lexicon as early as 1905 as a child's pronunciation of the word "sweet" and basically described everything affected or overly dainty and tiny. Since then, the initial meaning of the word hasn't changed much either and was later used from a fashion aesthetic point of view since the 1980s to describe childlike, but at the same time feminine clothing.

However, the trend did not really boom until the early 2010s, when "New Girl" appeared on the screen. The hype surrounding Zooey Deschanel, who played sweet and naïve Jessica Dey, quickly caught on, mostly among young adults. In a "wild variant" it was also represented by funk pop queen Amy Winehouse.

Meanwhile, in the UK, Alexa Chung also established herself as an it girl, driving this aesthetic forward in Europe. The style included vintage dresses with Peter Pan collars and unique prints, which were combined with cardigans. Striking accessories with bows, flounced blouses, long colorful pearl necklaces, flat pumps, wide-rimmed glasses and mustache-tipped phone cases, the widespread mustache trend, were also popular parts of the aesthetic. 

Like everything in life, fashion is also cyclical and trends seem to circulate at high speed, especially in the industry. According  to trend expert Eyenie Schultz, the revival of twee seems to be due to the emergence of K-pop and Japanese kawaii fashion, whose aesthetic concept is also related to childishness and innocence. Furthermore, looking towards the catwalk, even the big designers seem to have predicted the trend's return even before the trend went viral on TikTok. Miniskirts, bows, houndstooth patterns and vintage looks from the 1960s dominate the spring 2022 collections from Dior, Coach and Miu Miu.