I want to run away and live my cottagecore dreams!

Cottagecore aesthetic is so lovely, I want to run away and live my off-grid farm life dreams in this gorgeous dress! But with no cleaning. Or cooking. Or caring for animals. Or mud, or bugs. Or farm work. Cottagecore is a fantasy version of country life in the past. But poverty play and romanticizing farm life are not new problems. Fashion history shows cottage core clothing is working class aesthetic without the working class, from the chemise a la reine to the pre-Raphaelites.

Is cottagecore problematic? Dreamy aesthetics like cottage core, cabincore, farmcore, and even dark academia are enchanting for many reasons. The cozy cottages and homesteads, peaceful off the grid living, flowing prairie dresses, and rustic farm life . . .There's a reason Little House on the Prarie is so popular! Cottagecore is not a new trend, either. It's the latest version of the "pastoral", a genre of art, literature, and fashion that dates back to Ancient Greece and influenced fashion history since before Marie Antoinette, William Morris, or the pre-Raphaelites made it popular. But before you dive into off-grid homesteading because it's pretty, you should know that cottagecore has a long history of romanticizing life on a farm, to the point of disrespecting the hard work of homesteading and the people that have done it.

The realities behind the cottagecore fantasy show it's always been just that : a fantasy. From the harsh conditions of historical farm life to the modern commercialization of this aesthetic, alternative living and cabin core are new versions of the pastoral utopia that historical literature called Arcadia, where the upper class could ignore the harsh reality of agricultural labor while enjoying the beauty of the countryside. It's this dream that led to ornamental farms like Marie Antoinette's cottagecore village near the Petit Triannon, and the iconic fashions like the chemise a la reine! Victorian cottagecore movements were less problematic in that way, but still made workwear poverty garments like smock frocks stylish by separating the beautiful style elements like smocking from the association with work or poverty. It's working class aesthetic without the working class people! The commercialization of cottagecore clothing is very familiar, and no matter what William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement may have intended, the Victorian era had plenty of it.

Eco-friendly cottage core and slow living practices like gardening, mending clothes, and using secondhand decor are legitimately sustainable. But nostalgia can be used to promote ideologies under the surface. There's a fine line between appreciating traditional skills and sliding into the "tradwife" rabbit hole. So how can we embrace the positive aspects of cottagecore while avoiding the problematic patterns of history? Make yourself a cup of loose leaf tea, cozy up in your chicest prairie dress, and let's have an honest discussion about the history of cottagecore. Can we cultivate the simple joys without falling into regressive traps? The aesthetic may be dreamy, but let's keep both feet firmly planted in the modern world while we enjoy learning from history.