The Cherry Aesthetic

What's with the cherry girl aesthetic? Why I love it and why I hate it.

If you know me personally, you know my go-to color when it comes to fashion or beauty is red. A red purse, a red shoe, a red lip, a red dress, yes yes yes. Much of this has to do with the fact that darker colors look better against my hair and skin tone, and pink is my favourite color; so red became a color that both looked good on my tone and fit my girly-girl aesthetic as it was like an extremely dark pink.

Today, the cherry girl aesthetic is trending amongst the beauty community and clothing stores. Fashion-wise, I am happy. I have so many options when I go to the mall now and I mean, it’s always fun to match with the other girlies! But the cherry motif is also freaking me out…

Some of the features of the 2025 Cherry-Girl trend:

• Cherry emblems on clothing and phone cases

• Cherry red beauty launches; blushes, lip gloss, nails, cherry-cola hair

• Cherry scents (Tom Ford, Kay Ali, Victoria Secret)

• Cherry drinks at cafes (Cherry Latte, Cherry Matcha)

• Music with the Cherry metaphors (Diet Pepsi - Addison Rae, Lana del Rey trending audios)

Unfortunately, politics follow us everywhere and ruins the fun. Nonetheless, it is important to notice the political nuances in this trend because, specifically as women, we need to see how our world changes as gender politics shifts. And yes, it is even demonstrated in our fashion.

I hope you can bear with me on this explanation because it may start off seeming like a stretch (as that is how marketers want it to seem) but you will see it very clearly by the end.

The Historical Pop Culture of Cherry-Red:

• Cherry Coke, Cherry Colas (Cocacolonization during WW2)

• 1940’s Patriotism Pallet (red lip theory during WW2, Rosie the Riveter)

• Red has historically been attributed to lust

• 1990s “Earthy Tones” Aesthetic: Beige, brown, terracotta, deep red, and green

• The Republican party is represented by a dark red color

• “Pop your cherry” phrase for virginity and the culture of female chastity

Trends always come in and out, but aesthetic trends are simply an accompaniment of societal and political trends resurfacing. And 2025 has a lot of similarities to the 40s and 90s. We are experiencing a recession, America has a republican congress, traditional gender roles are trending, people are getting married younger, women are being oversexualized in the media, 90s fashion is back in, being skinny is now “trendy” (bodies should never be a trend), and hyper patriotism is no longer seen as cringe.

And if you still don’t believe me let’s see the top-trending Super Bowl commercials (Poppi and Carl Jr.) both featuring influencer Alix Earle who has the very American aesthetic and the cherry-red color throughout the ad.

As I do in all my blog posts, I want to make it clear I am not throwing shade at the girls who participate in this trend or brands who have come out with cherry-red products or aesthetics (except Carl Jr., that was cringe, or anyone using sexist nuances).

The cherry red rhode products and Addison Rae’s new music are my vibe, as I mentioned at the beginning. Growing up, I even loved toying with the historical meanings of the color red but in a more satirical way. I was Rosie the Riveter for Halloween in middle school (I had the whole poster attached to my back, and walked sideways through doors). I listened to Lana Del Rey’s “National Anthem” for hours while eating up The Great Gatsby or Catcher in the Rye. I even did a middle-school debate competition on why Coke is better than Pepsi (from a cultural significance perspective). I wore red Converse to my graduation, I have been painting my nails red since high school, and have always loved anything associated with New York or as they say, the Big Apple.

But through loving this “cherry-girl aesthetic”, I learned about its political implications. I learned about how these trends were a reflection of moments in history and about how the political nuances of this aesthetic were far from good. This stage was also a time when I became radically feminist, because of my criticism and rejection of the notions behind this trend.

Meaning, that I was happy to live in a time when I could participate in the aesthetic without participating in the misogyny, over-sexualization, and male-gaze nuances of it. All my friends at school dressed in their own unique way, I never dressed for someone else, I did not have social media, and it wasn’t THE TREND that was going on, it was just a trend I liked.

Why the resurfacing of this trend in pop culture is concerning…. is because a trend is not a reflection of a preference when it is being forced within every aspect of our media such as beauty, music, or even Superbowl commercials. It is a reflection of our culture which demonstrates the misogyny, over-sexualization, financial inequity, and political instability of our current climate.

What are your thoughts? How do you feel about the Cherry-Girl aesthetic? Do you think we can like an aesthetic in a satirical and color preferenced way without supporting the political nuances of it? And how does that change when the political nuances reflect our current political climate?