The Nevaeha Style
The fashionista of today’s article is senior Nevaeha Evans. Nevaeha defines her personal style as leaning towards more earthy boho (bohemian) and streetwear-based. She says she combines the two styles constantly and is almost always happy with the outcome. When asked what trends she bases her outfits on, she replied that crop tops and big pants (loose-fitting and baggier pants) tend to be her go-tos. Big sleeves on shirts (one of my favorite fashion features), bootcut pants, and flare pants are other staples of Nevaeha’s wardrobe.
Fabrics that make up Nevaeha’s wardrobe include cotton and polyester, which are found in almost everyone’s closet. Clothes from Goodwill and SHEIN comprise most of Nevaeha’s wardrobe. Nevaeha expressed her distaste for tariffs now imposed on clothes, leading her to thrift or buy online instead of buying from big companies in person. Fashion Nova is another store where Nevaeha shops.
Nevaeha wears a ton of pretty jewelry, which, of course, I had to ask about. Naveaha’s extensive bracelet collection is not well displayed in the photo collages of her outfits. Nevaeha said that she never takes off her bracelets and that most of her bracelets were gifted to her by her friends and family. One of the bracelets her mom got her was from a trip to Mexico! Rings, necklaces, and waist beads are other accessories that Nevaeha can’t live without.
Let me just add really quickly: It was so fun to finally interview Nevaeha, as I’ve spotted her amazing outfits all around school the whole time we’ve been in high school together. This interview really led to a fun rest of the article that pushed me outside my fashion comfort zone. I truly appreciate these interviews and the experiences I’ve had from The Accessory so far! Now, onto the rest of the article!
The Kidcore Style
The kidcore style, oftentimes called the “indie aesthetic,” relates to Nevaeha’s outfits based on the bright colors she always wears in school. (I know both outfits I photographed of hers have neutral colors but trust me, she wears bright colors all the time in school.) Almost all of her outfits include colors besides neutrals, which fits with the kidcore aesthetic’s color palette perfectly. But more on that later. If I had to pick a big umbrella fashion trend for this aesthetic to fit under, I’d pick streetwear since it’s most similar. Most items in this aesthetic are easily acquired, which is what streetwear is all about.
Motifs and Reasons
The most common motifs of this style include Lisa Frank, rainbows, frogs, and 90s/2000s cartoon characters. You’ll see these motifs in clothing, accessories, and pictures related to the trend. This trend in fashion is based on nostalgia for the 90s and early 2000s. If you didn’t get a big enough dose of 90s style last article, hopefully, today will fill your cup. The fashion 90s and early 2000s have come into play nowadays because of the 30-year rule in fashion which was explained in a previous article.
Kidcore is also based on the whimsy of being a kid/teen. Since it seems that teens stopped dressing like teens after the 90s, it makes sense that this trend focuses on that decade in particular. Kidcore embraces things like having braces and scraping your knee or having small acne spots on your face, even making wearing pimple patches into an everyday outfit accessory.
Color Palette
Fashion YouTuber Mariel says kidcore is “an aesthetic that centers around bright colors and rainbow colors.” She’s right. Upon researching this trend, I found that brighter colors were everywhere. I, along with many other fashion bloggers and YouTubers, have concluded that brightly saturated colors make up the palette you see for this aesthetic. The primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) appear the most as they are the easiest to style things with. Secondary colors like pinks, purples, oranges, and greens still appear, but an interesting amount less. Neutrals are rarely incorporated, which is a far cry from everything else that’s going on in the fashion world today. Even if you’re trying to “tone down” a kidcore outfit but still have color, accents of color tend to overshadow the neutrals. The reasons for this color palette are simple: they draw your attention. Much like the flashy and colorful toys you see down the kid’s aisle at stores like Target, this aesthetic is meant to catch your attention and make you remember the nostalgia from your earlier days.
The Fun Part—The Fashion
There’s a lot for this section, so buckle up. First off, we’ll start off with the shirts. Collared shirts, baby tees, graphic tees (oversized or cropped—there’s no in-between), shirts with puff sleeves, baseball tees, crop tops, button-ups, colorful argyle vests/sweaters, and graphic sweatshirts comprise the upper-body section of clothing for this aesthetic.
Jeans and jean shorts are the main pants that you will see associated with this aesthetic. If they are patterned or have prints on them, you get bonus points for your kidcore outfit. Other pants/bottoms that you will see incorporated into this trend are colorful or fluffy PJ pants, mini skirts, patterned midi skirts, and high-waisted tennis skirts.
Outerwear you will see with this trend includes zip-up hoodies, crewneck sweaters, and knit cardigans in cropped and oversized varieties. (Again, there’s no in between of whether it’s cropped or oversized. I don’t know why, but that’s my observation from researching this aesthetic.
Patterns and Fabrics
The kind of patterns that you will find most associated with this trend are animal prints, argyle, stripes (especially colorful stripes), and colorful plaid. These patterns help break up the constant array of colors thrown at you for these outfits.
Silhouettes
The silhouette of how you want to look is pretty much between two styles. The first one is what I like to call “cutesy,” throwing a colored slip dress into a mix of fashion and casual. If you’re going for the more “cutesy” vibe, think of Bianca Stratford from the movie 10 Things I Hate About You. Her blend of 90s styles and colorful clothing mesh perfectly to create the cuter version of kidcore outfits. Even her micro bangs fit in with the aesthetic. For the more casual wearers, here is an outfit for you.
The Selection of Shoes
Worn-down sneakers are going to sell the kidcore/indie kid look the most for one simple reason: they look like a kid has been constantly running around on the playground in them. That’s the look with shoes, but I’ve observed some other shoes with the trend. Light up shoes, Heelys. Converse, Nike, shoes with colored accents—high and low tops, and Mary Janes are all acceptable shoes for this aesthetic.
Accessories
It wouldn’t be The Accessory blog without listing the accessories that resonate with this aesthetic. Striped socks, colored tights (especially layered on top of each other—you can find cool layering tutorials and examples on TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest), bandaids of all things, temporary tattoos, stickers or brightly colored pimple patches, bucket hats, bandanas, berets, butterfly clips, headbands, y2k inspired sunglasses, and colored shoelaces all help to pull the kidcore look together. If you’re looking for a bag, a backpack or a shoulder bag works perfectly.
Jewelry
Jewelry also plays a big part in finalizing the kidcore look. The type of metal you usually see on Pinterest is silver, but I only had gold to work with for the bracelet below. Using colorful beads and making homemade jewelry pieces helps create the feeling that a kid made the jewelry you’re wearing. Friendship bracelets, once a thing of our past, have come back into fashion with this trend. You can buy a variety of different friendship bracelets and necklaces from Hot Topic at your local mall, but the ones I’d recommend to fit this aesthetic are the My Little Pony sets. Slap bracelets and rainbow loom bracelets (do you remember rainbow loom?!) can also be used with this trend.
Where To Find These Pieces of Clothing
My go-to places for finding any pieces of clothing are, of course, going to be various thrift stores in the Northeast Ohio area since this blog is based there. Some of my and past interviewees of The Accessory’s favorites include Value World on Detroit, Flower Child on Clifton, and Common Threads on Lorain in Fairview Park. Of course, if you’re looking to buy clothes online, I have a few stores to recommend. Lucy & Yak is a very colorful clothing brand that is made sustainably. While I haven’t ordered from there before, I have heard nothing but good online reviews. Forever 21 often has collaborations with popular cartoons, which is perfect for this aesthetic. Recently, I’ve seen an uprising in Strawberry Shortcake (the 90s design) merch all over Forever 21 and other popular brands across malls.
Conclusion
As always, if you enjoyed this article, please contact [email protected] with any feedback or even for a chance to be interviewed for the blog!
