Soft Girl Outfits: How to Get the Soft Girl Aesthetic

Soft Girl Outfits: How to Get the Soft Girl Aesthetic

Pastel knits, pleated skirts and blush-heavy makeup. Here is how to get the soft girl aesthetic, with outfit ideas, key pieces and celebrity looks.

I’ll be honest, the first time I saw a “soft girl” video on TikTok I assumed it was a joke. A girl in a lilac cardigan drawing a tiny heart under her eye with a brown pencil, then dusting about half a pot of pink blush across her nose. I watched it twice. By the end of the week I had bought butterfly clips.

That’s the thing about this look. It seems a bit silly until you try it, and then you kind of get it. It’s sweet and comfy, and you’d be surprised how much a pink cardigan can cheer you up on a gray Tuesday.

So if you’ve been curious, here’s how to actually wear it without looking like you’re on your way to a costume party.

What Is the Soft Girl Aesthetic?

Soft girl style is pastel, cozy and a little bit nostalgic. It grew out of TikTok and Instagram around 2019, and you can see where it borrowed from: Japanese kawaii culture, Korean street style, and a lot of stuff that was in our bedrooms in the ’90s and 2000s. Scrunchies. Hello Kitty. Those plastic butterfly clips everyone had ...