I was blindsided a few weeks ago by the question, “What’s a VSCO girl?” It was assumed that I’d know. I didn’t. So it’s finally happened. I’m officially so old, I need Gen Z to explain the latest pop culture phenomenon, or should I say meme. Replies from teens from Hong Kong to Europe to the United States came in rapidly in the form of videos or voice recordings. I suppose that generation is unaccustomed to typing anything longer than a social media post, and the VSCO girl lifestyle takes more than a few hashtags to describe. Let’s begin with something most of them missed. The term, pronounced “visco”, comes from a photo and video editing app with a social element; VSCO creates filters, has searchable profiles and allows messaging. Founded in California in 2011, VSCO has more than 30 million users. Although the app is a competitor to Instagram, the VSCO online visual identity is not app-specific. In fact, the VSCO girl was popularised on TikTok . A VSCO girl is unlikely to even use the original app, yet Instagram has more than 1.4 million posts tagged #vscogirl. That’s only the beginning of her contradictions. View this post on Instagram ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ᴏɴᴇ? • • • • #ootd #outfitinspo #pink #meangirls #explorepage #explore #game #grunge #ideas #aesthetic #vscogirl #vsco A post shared by (@pintreststylesss) on Oct 2, 2019 at 11:09pm PDT So what do VSCO girls look like? A commonly quoted Urban Dictionary definition describes them as “the Tumblr girls of 2019”. A VSCO girl wears an oversized T-shirt that is so long it covers her Nike shorts. Others go to the opposite extreme and wear tube tops. Accessories are key. Hair scrunchies are worn around a top knot or on the wrist, sometimes in multiples. She’s also partial to Pura Vida bracelets and puka shell chokers. The footwear of choice is Vans, although Crocs decorated with charms or Birkenstocks are also acceptable. Even her beauty regime is dictated, spritzing Mario Badescu facial sprays and applying Carmex lip balm. View this post on Instagram #vscogirl A post shared by vsco girl (@vsco_girl_p) on Oct 2, 2019 at 8:24pm PDT If it’s all too hard, a teen can just click to buy one of the many VSCO girl starter packs sold online. She is a marketer’s dream. Some of the brands she wears have capitalised on the exposure with promotions on Instagram. Endearingly, VSCO has not. VSCO girls also promote an eco-friendly image, vaguely. They carry Fjallraven Kanken backpacks and drink out of reusable metal straws and Hydro Flask water bottles covered in stickers. Chinos: there’s more to the menswear basic than beige cotton But they don’t seem to spend much time on special causes beyond shopping and looking good. “Save the turtles” is a repeated motto. However, you’re more likely to see a VSCO girl driving her Jeep to the beach to take selfies than witness her actually saving a turtle. View this post on Instagram #brandyusa A post shared by Brandy Melville (@brandymelvilleusa) on May 2, 2019 at 3:10pm PDT She has confounding catchphrases, too. “Sksksksksk” expresses excitement. Its origins lie in exuberant typing known as a keyboard smash, where letters are repeatedly pounded. A 16-year-old boy in Hong Kong told me, “It literally sounds like hissing.” Then there is, “and I oop”, which is used when something takes them by surprise. That was appropriated from a viral video by drag queen Jasmine Masters in 2015. Was Katie Holmes’ cashmere bra a well-played publicity stunt? None of the teens I spoke to were impressed. The numerous parodies that have emerged over the summer indicate a backlash, not least because VSCO girls are mostly white, skinny and wealthy enough to buy all those branded products. Wouldn’t you know it? By the time we’d heard of them, VSCO girls were already on their way out. Some things never change. Now, hands up who knows what e-girls and e-boys are?