The Tomato Girl takes up the aesthetic codes of Italian summer style. Photo: AFP
As the summer month approaches for certain countries, clothes are getting lighter and lifestyles are changing. Lately, more and more social media posts have been showing people dressed in linen dresses, a glass of wine in hand, sunbathing in Italy.
This aesthetic goes by the name of the Tomato Girl, A trend that involves channeling 1970s-style Italian summers.
TikTok is a hive of new fashion aesthetics. So, after the Vanilla Girl and the Chocolate Girl, now here's the Tomato Girl.
With some 23 million views on the social network, this trend is inspired by Mediterranean summers and the 1970s, drawing inspirations from films like Call Me By Your Name and Malèna, known for their romantic aesthetic.
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The Tomato Girl wears light makeup and loose, wavy hair. Her clothes and accessories are simple: dresses are linen, lace or printed with vintage motifs, and bags are woven in wicker.
On her feet, she wears simple sandals or heels, or monochrome sneakers.
Her pieces are often vintage, or borrowed from her grandmother's closet. Her outfits are accompanied by discreet details like subtle, thin gold jewellery.
Among the popular Instagram accounts conveying this aesthetic is one by @mexicanfaerie is full of refined, minimalist photographs, in which the user recaptures the codes of vintage Italian fashion while fusing them with Mexican religious culture.
This time, unlike other aesthetics, the Tomato Girl encompasses an entire lifestyle.
Here, it's goodbye to overly sophisticated or modern objects, like the Apple Watch or tablet. Her hobbies are reading, sunny walks and family aperitivo time.
The music, too, is vintage, with a soundtrack of Frank Sinatra songs and retro Italian music.
Another aspect of this aesthetic is food. Indeed, the name Tomato Girl is no coincidence. On the menu are fresh fruit and vegetables, feta cheese, good wine and fresh pasta.
A diet reminiscent of the famous Mediterranean diet, which has been very much in vogue in recent years.
So, where does this aesthetic come from? A first video from @bemusedbeanie on TikTok, totalling almost a million views, appears to have launched the Tomato Girl trend, but its origins remain unclear.
Nevertheless, since the pandemic, the numerous trips to Italy made by celebrities like the model Emily Rajatowski, have played up the aesthetic enormously.
Then there was the famous Kardashian-Jenner clan's trip to Italy last year, where a parade of Dolce and Gabbana outfits succeeded in bringing romantic Italian style back into the spotlight.
This has been echoed by brands such as Miaou and Mirror Palais with their lace creations and floral prints.
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Nevertheless, the aesthetic is the target of some criticism. Many comments mock the concept as just another TikTok trend named after random fruit and vegetables.
"Can you do 'onion girl', it's for a friend?," says one comment on TikTok.
Another comment pokes fun at all these fruit-based identifiers, deciding to identify as a Tomato Girl after seeing talk of the Strawberry Girl and the Cherry Girl on Twitter.
Plus, these trends are often fleeting in nature, often rising and falling with particular seasons, and disappearing altogether when these come to an end. – AFP Relaxnews
