If the clean girl is a crisp white T-shirt, the vanilla girl is a cream cashmere jumper that smells faintly of cake. The vanilla girl aesthetic, which spread across TikTok in late 2022 and peaked through the following winter, is all about softness: warm neutrals, fluffy textures, glowing skin, gold jewellery and, quite literally, the scent of vanilla.
What is the vanilla girl aesthetic?
Vanilla girl is a cosy, feminine, neutral aesthetic that covers clothes, beauty, home and scent. The palette runs from ivory and cream through oatmeal and beige to light caramel. Textures are soft: chunky knits, teddy fleece, satin, linen and faux fur. Make-up is fresh and glowy. The home is full of candles, throws, fairy lights and fluffy rugs. And the perfume, as the name suggests, is warm and sweet. If the clean girl is about discipline, the vanilla girl is about comfort.
Where it came from
Vanilla girl grew directly out of the clean girl trend, as creators on TikTok in late 2022 began to describe a cosier, more decorative version of the same minimal look for the winter months. It spread through “get ready with me” videos, room tours and perfume reviews, and soon inspired a whole menu of food-named spin-offs, from “strawberry girl” make-up to “cinnamon girl” and “chocolate girl”. In a sense, it is the latest version of a very old fashion idea, the all-cream, all-cashmere winter wardrobe, repackaged for a generation that loves a label.
The codes
- Clothes: cream and oatmeal knits, matching lounge sets, wide-leg trousers, satin slip skirts, oversized cardigans, Ugg-style boots, teddy coats.
- Colours: ivory, cream, vanilla, beige, latte and soft caramel. No harsh black.
- Beauty: glowing skin, bronzed cheeks, glossy lips, soft brows, a claw clip or loose waves, and a vanilla-based perfume.
- Accessories: gold jewellery, pearl earrings, a neutral shoulder bag, a fluffy scrunchie.
- Home: candles, cream bedding, chunky knitted throws, dried pampas grass, fairy lights, a vanilla latte.
See the mood
IMAGES: PINTEREST. TAP ANY IMAGE TO SEE IT ON PINTEREST AND ITS ORIGINAL SOURCE.
The references
People: Hailey Bieber, Sofia Richie Grainge and Matilda Djerf are often cited, along with the many creators who built the look on TikTok.
Labels and products: soft knitwear from brands such as Toteme, Arket and COS; lip treatments and glow products; a long list of vanilla perfumes, from niche gourmands to high-street body mists.
Why it caught on
Vanilla girl is the visual equivalent of a warm drink on a cold evening. It feels safe, gentle and calm, and it is very easy to photograph beautifully. It also turned scent, something you cannot share through a screen, into an identity you could, which made perfume one of its biggest sales stories. And like most “girl” aesthetics, it was easy to join: a cream jumper and a candle were enough.
The debate
The name caused discussion. “Vanilla” has long been slang for something plain or bland, and some commentators noted that an aesthetic built on cream skin tones, light hair and neutral colours could feel exclusive, especially next to the clean girl debate about whose style gets celebrated. Creators of colour responded by showing how the palette works on every skin tone. Others simply found the endless food-named “girl” aesthetics a sign of how quickly trends are now invented and sold.
Where it is now
As a named trend, vanilla girl peaked in the winter of 2022 to 2023. Its legacy is a durable love of all-cream winter dressing and the rise of gourmand, vanilla-heavy perfumes, which have stayed bestsellers. The pendulum has since swung towards bolder colours and louder looks.
Related aesthetics
Clean Girl · Quiet Luxury · Coquette · Coastal Grandmother
Learn more: hear from more voices
A style guide to the look, and a creator’s explanation of what the vanilla girl really is.
Sources: fashion and beauty coverage of the vanilla girl trend (2022–2023). Videos are embedded from YouTube and remain the work of their creators.
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