On LI, some tweens and teens embrace the 'VSCO girl' trend
Twins Regan and Bria Baker, 10, of Islip, say they embrace the VSCO girl trend. Credit: Mecca Baker
If you hear tweens or teens talking about being a VSCO girl, here’s what the lingo means: a girl who wears oversized T-shirts, scrunchies around her wrist, seashell necklaces, Pura Vida bracelets, and Crocs. She cares about the environment, so she’s likely to be carrying a Hydro Flask — a brand of reusable water bottles — covered with “Save the turtles” stickers.
VSCO — pronounced VIS-co — is an app for sharing images, and it was on that app that the VSCO persona was born, brought to life by girls posting photos with the beachy, laid-back vibe and specific brands of products. It’s spread through other social media sites such as TikTok and Instagram. Some of the products can be pricey — a standard 18-ounce Hydro Flask retails for $29.95 — while others not so much — Amazon sells a package of 45 scrunchies for $9.99.
“I had to buy them a whole bunch of scrunchies, Hydro Flasks and shell necklaces. I’m that mom,” jokes Mecca Baker, 43, a banking executive from Islip who has twin 10-year-old daughters, Regan and Bria.
On Long Island, at least one girl has become a mini-entrepreneur because of the trend. Lilianna Gannon, 9, a fourth-grader from Bethpage, says she’s not a VSCO girl herself, but that she is sewing custom scrunchies and marketing them on her mother’s crafting Facebook page for $3 or $4 each, depending on the fabric (for instance, tie-dye is $3, she says).
Online, there have been some parodies and memes noting the trend. But Lili O’Donnell, 10, a fifth-grader from Sayville, says this of being dubbed a VSCO girl: “It’s not a compliment or an insult. It’s like a fashion kind of thing.”
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
