Gorgeous Gorgeous Girls Love Nursery Chic

Welcome to The Trend Times, a column that explores design fads in the age of doomscrolling.

Perhaps it has something to do with the threat of societal collapse, but some people have finally had enough of minimalism. They’re rejecting what they find to be an exclusionary and oppressive style that’s dominated private and public spaces for far too long—but their rebellion manifests in different ways. There’s Millennial Maximalism: ’70s vintage stuff like macrame, velvet curtains, and a hodgepodge of what you might consider "bohemian" all crammed into a 30-year-old’s studio apartment. With Grandmillenial, needlepoint, Laura Ashley, and wicker are crammed into a 30-year-old’s studio apartment. And my personal favorite, Goblincore, is like cottagecore, but with moss and throw pillows in the shape of mushrooms strewn about a 30-year-old’s studio apartment.

These aesthetics existed before anyone started sharing them online. But on TikTok, lifestyle trends proliferate so powerfully that in a matter of days it can feel like everyone’s home houses Frodo. A couple of months ago, I took interest in one particular sound that was making the rounds, especially among young women who were eager to share their spaces: "You know what I never understood when I was a kid? How adults had their own apartments and their own houses and they didn’t make it super fun and colorful and have swinging chairs and hammocks and trampolines," says creator Annika Hinds. "I’m an adult now and I decided to make my childhood dream come true which is why I live here and I have all those fun things." 

During the pandemic, many began to realize that the promises of adulting and girlbossery were empty, leading them to quit their jobs en masse and put more emphasis on the "life" part of "work-life" balance. It makes sense that women—who were hit hardest by the pandemic both at home and at work—would yearn for a time before they had to participate in the rat race (childhood). We’ve heard about how a form of regression can be seen in fashion in trends like the "nap dress," but I’m fascinated by how it manifests in the home, too. Why subscribe to having a "grown up" looking space when you get none of the societal benefits of being grown up?

For lack of a better term, nursery chic has popped up at this particular moment. Elevating what might be considered childlike is nothing new in design, especially as a reaction to minimalism. In the ’80s, a collection of designers and architects led by Ettore Sottsass called the Memphis Group said "fuck you" to the look du jour and starting making making postmodern decor inspired by Pop art and Art Deco. The result was abstract shapes, primary colors, and the use of materials like plastic and terrazzo. Now, when we see chubby couches, many people draw the line straight back to Memphis—some even calling this Fischer Price look "Kindercore" (Kinder means children in German).

Perhaps because it’s being driven by millennial women, the look I’m describing isn’t Boy Toddler At Waldorf Pre-K. It’s less garish, more feminine, pulling from the ’80s (when most millennials were kids), but with a kind of manufactured wonder that feels specific to late capitalism. In a grown woman’s bedroom, we see hand-painted murals of round, comforting shapes; cozy, uber soft textures; prints that look like child renderings of a daisy, and a clearly stuffed-animal inspired "fleecy lamp pillow." There are pastels, checkerboard print (sometimes both), wiggle furniture, and maybe a Ultrafragola mirror if they are rich. Blob candles are everywhere. And maybe there’s a disco ball, which, in my opinion, are mobiles for adults.

Though it has no concrete name, the look has become so prolific online, particularly in aspirational women’s spaces, it inspires comedy:  

"We’ve seen SO much of this trend that I kind of wish I could see it fading into the background a bit, because I’m ready for something new," says Anna Buckman, a writer for The Zoe Report who is on the forefront of every lifestyle trend, in an email. "But to be honest, I think it’s only going to evolve into other things that remain just as popular. Blobs will become splats, pastels will get brighter, etc. I guess, in essence, these childlike trends are turning into their teenage selves—and then, who knows what they’ll look like after that." 

If this means the early aughts are coming back in decor, god help us.  

Illustration by Kiran Joan.

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