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Joyce Manor - Derailed
Tumblrcore
posted December 1, 2025
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Again, this week’s fashion subgenre doubles as a trip down memory
lane (for me, at least). I’m revisiting my college years, specifically
around 2014—back to when I tried blunt-cut baby bangs, obsessed over
Tumblr, and listened to Title Fight on the way to class.
i need some kind of validation to prove i will be successful later in life bc right now i’m straddling the line of “future failure” or “awesome winner bitch”
I love how nothing has changed in however many years it’s been since 2014!
There were very few ways to outwardly signal that I made art and listened to Ceremony. It was probably a holdover from the art school in Brooklyn I’d just transferred from—my new university felt more populated and somehow more anonymous, like there weren’t five cute-ish guys all the girls were fighting over. There was “Metal Frat,” the hub where all the hardcore guys lived and hosted shows, and the band Pity Sex, who’d broken out with a tepid review from Pitchfork (HUGE).
It seemed like if you wanted to be a Tumblr-famous hardcore girl, there was a formula to follow, and one of the prerequisites was “blunt-cut baby bangs.” As I mentioned, I tried that. I could not pull it off. I could not pull off sharp winged eyeliner and full eyebrows every day, or wearing those oppressive American Apparel legging jeans (with the one measly button at the top). But god damn if I didn’t try.
After the bangs attempt, I followed the other parts of the visual formula:
These were all things I was naturally drawn to anyway. But at a certain point I started asking myself: would one of those cool chaotic girls on Tumblr with a username like ‘grrrl-brat’ wear this? Maybe if I kind of emulate her vibe it’ll pop off and get a bunch of notes… It sucks fantasizing about how much attention a picture could get before even taking it. But that’s precisely what we all did. And we still do, to some extent.
Those girls just made it seem so easy. They were so cool, and a little scary, like they switched between idealizing their lives and being vulnerable and depressive. They invited their followers to ask them questions, usually anonymously, knowing that their parasocial fans would be invasive and contemptuous. Like their patron saint, Molly Soda, their online presence was part of the performance art that is their life. They were equal parts guarded and secretive, even while spilling their guts out in crying selfies, and it was incredibly compelling.
I’ve always associated this style of girl with Philly or Baltimore—gritty/industrial places with strong DIY scenes. People want to say Brooklyn or LA, but I’m going to be honest, these girls are way more likely to live in a giant converted loft in Detroit than be a barista with five roommates. Plus she has tattoos to afford.
Here are some pieces that I feel are representative of this era. It’s a little bit skater, a little bit hipster, with the winking femininity of riot grrrl’s smeared red lipstick and combat boots.
i need some kind of validation to prove i will be successful later in life bc right now i’m straddling the line of “future failure” or “awesome winner bitch”
I love how nothing has changed in however many years it’s been since 2014!
There were very few ways to outwardly signal that I made art and listened to Ceremony. It was probably a holdover from the art school in Brooklyn I’d just transferred from—my new university felt more populated and somehow more anonymous, like there weren’t five cute-ish guys all the girls were fighting over. There was “Metal Frat,” the hub where all the hardcore guys lived and hosted shows, and the band Pity Sex, who’d broken out with a tepid review from Pitchfork (HUGE).
It seemed like if you wanted to be a Tumblr-famous hardcore girl, there was a formula to follow, and one of the prerequisites was “blunt-cut baby bangs.” As I mentioned, I tried that. I could not pull it off. I could not pull off sharp winged eyeliner and full eyebrows every day, or wearing those oppressive American Apparel legging jeans (with the one measly button at the top). But god damn if I didn’t try.
After the bangs attempt, I followed the other parts of the visual formula:
- Skinhead-adjacent fashion but in a Woke Feminist way (Fred Perry polo, Doc Martens)
- Skater/emo boy hoodies (Thrasher, metal bands, etc)
- American Apparel basics: circle skirts, striped crop tops, black turtlenecks, mom jeans
- Riot Grrrl-inspired pieces like vintage-style underwear, red lipstick, shirts with angry phrases
- Workwear/hunting gear (semi-ironic): Carhartt, Dickies, camo, neon orange
These were all things I was naturally drawn to anyway. But at a certain point I started asking myself: would one of those cool chaotic girls on Tumblr with a username like ‘grrrl-brat’ wear this? Maybe if I kind of emulate her vibe it’ll pop off and get a bunch of notes… It sucks fantasizing about how much attention a picture could get before even taking it. But that’s precisely what we all did. And we still do, to some extent.
Those girls just made it seem so easy. They were so cool, and a little scary, like they switched between idealizing their lives and being vulnerable and depressive. They invited their followers to ask them questions, usually anonymously, knowing that their parasocial fans would be invasive and contemptuous. Like their patron saint, Molly Soda, their online presence was part of the performance art that is their life. They were equal parts guarded and secretive, even while spilling their guts out in crying selfies, and it was incredibly compelling.
Muses: various Tumblr girls (Noorann, Bree, Molly Soda)
I’ve always associated this style of girl with Philly or Baltimore—gritty/industrial places with strong DIY scenes. People want to say Brooklyn or LA, but I’m going to be honest, these girls are way more likely to live in a giant converted loft in Detroit than be a barista with five roommates. Plus she has tattoos to afford.
Here are some pieces that I feel are representative of this era. It’s a little bit skater, a little bit hipster, with the winking femininity of riot grrrl’s smeared red lipstick and combat boots.
I never did end up popping off on Tumblr. I think it was because I couldn’t pull off those bangs.