did instagram kill the it-girl? 📱👀📰 

Jennifer Aniston had a point when she said social media is destroying "movie stars" and "celebrities" but i don't think it is necessarily a bad thing

Britney Spears deserves way more credit for being the IT GIRL of y2k in the late 90s, way before Paris Hilton was even relevant. Britney’s influence on pop culture from 1999-2004 BEFORE the Paris era in 2006 was INSANE. She was everywhere, in every magazine, we couldn’t get enough of her, the documentaries she did, she was all over MTV, VH1 etc

It's less Instagram, but social media in general. Everyone can be their own It girl because everyone can customise the perfect ideal in their head from a composite of their favourite aesthetics, styles and beauty looks without needing general media to tell us who is the It girl. There are just so many girls to pick from so we now make our own It girls!

Everyone in the comments are mentioning different people that they deem as modern"it girls" and they barely mention the same person twice, proving that there is not a consensus of someone who is really an it girl for our current times.

Honestly I think Lana Del Ray deserves “it girl” status for that mid 2010s tumble era. Everyone wanted to be her, and some people still do.

I always used to wonder what it took for someone to become an “it girl” but now I understand it’s a state of mind rather than a title bestowed upon you by someone else

Not in the entertainment industry, but Princess Diana was definitely an It Girl. She had this wonderously beautiful and honest soul, and her down-to-earth nature and rebellious side was completely out of the ordinary in the Royal Family. Even to this day, people are still infatuated with her, admire her and are inspired by her.

I feel like half the people in the comment section don't realize that just because you are a fan of someone, doesn't make them an IT girl. I'm a fan of Meg Donnelly, but barely anyone knows who she is which wouldn't make her an "IT Girl".

"Today they're sensible and end up with better health but we had more fun." -every generation after finding out that all the drugs they did in their 20s were terrible for them

I will say Kylie fashion from 2014 -2018 had girls in a choke hold the edgy tumblr style to the ig baddie with some edge to ig baddie with the “swag “ fashion to ig baddie and let’s not forget the amount of hair dye videos on RU-vid that teal ombre hair she had

I agree and I think it's a good thing because all these "it girls" seemed very depressed with the way they were treated by everyone.

I feel like Megan Fox was a huge 'it' girl of the 2010's era. Like, her image was EVERYWHERE, and everyone either wanted to be her or be with her. She also gave interesting interviews but stayed off social media during this period, which I think contributed to her allure...

The phenomenon of the it-girl in my opinion has disappeared because of the absence of fantasy. There's no rarity and the curtain has risen to reveal all the details of these people's private lives. For me no one can appropriate this title, it's something that never really existed

anya taylor-joy def a major IT girl rn, pap pics of her doing casual things like smoking or walking a street going viral, private but seems wholesome and poised in interviews. people have become fascinated with her more and more, and she especially has such a unique and standout look that an IT girl must have. she doesnt need to make 10 posts a day to keep people interested and most people generally know of her without being overly exposed to her, 100% an IT girl

Still confused on how ANGELINA JOLIE was not included her impact is insane

I think a lot of the commenters missed the part where the video stated that celebrity is not equal to "It". A famous person having fans and a following who wish to emulate them or dress like them can be Influential but "It" is a certain je-ne-sais-quoi that's not as easily replicated. Basically, if you can easily explain why their famous or what makes everyone crave them, they're probably not It.

I think the most fascinating thing about this video is how, growing up (and even still now), most of these women were not “It Girls” to me. It just really highlights how culturally specific “it” is and I think that’s so interesting. For me, it was Josephine Baker, Halle Berry, Grace Jones, Janet Jackson, Ciara, Destiny’s Child, TLC (especially Left-Eye), Lil Kim, Aaliyah, Lisa K Bonnet, Angelina Jolie, the Supers, etc. who were the It Girls and they really shaped who I view now to have “it.”

Would you consider Alexa Demie an it girl since she is so private? I mainly agree on the modern day it girls we have with Zendya,Bella,and Emma. I just feel Alexa is so alluring yet holds back on revealing herself and uses mystery as her advantage.

Seems like the It Girl era was at its prime way back in the day. It’s also giving nostalgic vibes. Great analysis overall. We really do appreciate your consistency.

I hear the terms "it-girl" and "it-boy" being thrown around all the time in kpop circles. It's pretty annoying that people are constantly fighting over who's THE 4th gen it boy for example. Multiple people can have it-factor at the same time 💀

I also think it has to do with the slow, but noticeable shift towards diversity. All of the "it" girls that you can buy posters of tend to be white (Marilyn, Audrey, etc.). Notice that women like Janet Jackson, Grace Jones, and Dorothy Dandridge don't come immediately in the "it" girl conversations, when by their very nature (the fashion, cultural influence, media attention) they fit the definition. Social media allows people to follow a diverse set of people who have "it", but through different lenses. Traditional media tends to only present "it" through a Eurocentric one.

I think the “it factor” doesn’t exist. It’s just ppl who are chosen to represent this vague idea wonderment and intrigue in order to sell you something, drawing you in, but keeping you insecure enough to know you’ll never have “it” so you’ll keep buying into the fantasy. It makes us believe that Some ppl are inherently superior, but in reality they’re selling you a dream.

i agree with the king kylie analysis because you really can't deny she was everywhere esp when she dropped kylie lip kits or when people thought she was the lead singer of terror jr.

i still kinda want to know more about why we think of certain celebrities as it girls and others as not, despite being as influential as the it girls. beyonce, nicki, taylor, katy, they’re all people who are highly influential, but not seen as it girls. it’s such an interesting phenomenon to me

I remember when, in 2013, Barbara Palvin came out of nowhere and day to day was THAT girl, she was everywhere and I think part of her popularity came from wattpad fanfic, where she protagonist every single one

i think you can also spot it girls in your daily life, like when they have something that attracts you to them, let it be their style, their personality or whatever

Aaliyah, Zendaya, Naomi Campbell, Selena, Angelina Jolie & Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are the standouts for me.

definitely think bella has the current title - i don't think we can really consider influencers it girls bc their goal is to try to make us think that's what they are lol idk how to say it! but this was so good going through the history of the term!!

I think a massive mid-2000’s it girl was Sienna Miller. Her effortless boho style & love life was everywhere if I remember correctly

To me the "it" girl is a natural beauty, with lots of charisma, and has the unexplainable eletric magnetism. Women wanna be her and men wanna do her lol. With makeup, plastic surgery, and social media its easy for more ppl to be in this "category" of woman

This is such a fantastic analysis! I really agree that Emma Chamberlin is an It girl from the influencer sphere. I think her personality has remained so authentic and relatable despite her rise to fame and fortune.

When I think about this concept of "it girl" Alexa Chung is definitely the first name that comes to mind (maybe I spent too much time in tumblr during the 2010's). Great video as always!

I think 2018-2019 era Ariana Grande also deserves the "It Girl" title. Sooo many people where doing whatever they could to emulate her style from how she dressed during that time, to her hair, personality, aesthetic, some of her common phrases, ect. Starbucks even teamed up with her and came out with their cloud macchiato during that time. She was everywhere and so many girls wanted to be just like her.

bella is 100% the it girl. she helped sell sambas and solomons and really impacts fashion, dates hot and famous men, and it actually good at her job

Alexa Demie for sure. Her role as Maddy Perez has definitely influenced this, but she comes off very nonchalant and uncaring about her fame, while also being stunning, influential and intriguing. She barely posts, but she has 12 million followers on Instagram, and a clear impact on aesthetic and people are flocking to her posts. She seems to only post when she feels like it, but they all have at least a million likes (I live for Fairy Tales). No one actually knows how old she is. I feel like this all culminates into it girl vibes.

Thank you for including Chloe Sevingy, she was such an interesting and personable type of cool it girl. She was a once in a lifetime type of it girl

josephine baker was also and it girl in the 20s. Anita pallenberg and Marianne faithfull were also sixties it girls and I’m pretty sure Bianca jagger was a it girl of the 70s. And Grace jones was one in the 80s.

I’m gonna throw in Lily Rose Depp as an up and coming it girl. She’s all over Pinterest, mysterious and has a distinct look and style that I have already seen young girls on tiktok try to replicate. I think she definitely has It and I’m predicting that when ‘The Idol’ comes out in 2023 she’s going to skyrocket into a different level of fame

Because of Social Media, there's no MYSTIQUE anymore and if you have the drive ,you can create your own fame now.

i think an “it girl” who fits Elinor’s definition would be Alexa Chung, she never takes herself too seriously and doesn’t do things just to keep her in pop culture. she had a cool girl laid back vibe that makes her stand out to me

the king-kylie era was absolutely iconic; i was so close to dying my hair the same way omfg

I think Jennifer Lawrence was briefly/almost an it girl, but she leaned too hard into the nonchalance and ended up coming off as too inelegant to a lot of people. I respect that she just decided to take a step back from keeping up the very public celeb persona though, it's pretty toxic.

2:50 and that's part of how there really aren't any concrete "it" girls/boys. The air of nonchalance, the insisting you're not "It" is in fashion nowadays. Like it's in style to not care too much about anything, unless it's certain things, but even then not being too passionate about it, being casual is something that's been building over the last few years. The whole "we're all worthless sacks of meat on a dying planet lol 😆" attitude, that you don't care too much about anything, especially your fame and popularity. Being "relatable" is marketability, the "I'm just a regular Joe" is part of PR nowadays. So if everyone is insisting they're not "it" and not even to a genuine degree

Someone who is an it girl from the 2010s is ariana grande, not only her music but her fashion and personality was so popular, majority of teens were mimiking her style, like the first thing you think when you see a ponytail is her...

I disagree with the notion that the ‘IT girl used to be less manufactured’. The images of Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn were propped up by Hollywood Studios, who would pick two or three main actresses, and have them star in all the major movies they released. I think the lack of definitive ‘It girls’ goes back to the fact that the notion of popularity has changed. Hollywood studios no longer solely invest in two or three ‘It girls’ that they cast in all their movies so they no longer exist as the sole arbiters of popularity, and people no longer buy magazines en mass. Nearly everything is digital now, which means the average person can easily create their own public persona and no longer require the help, nor really face any significant competition from, major Hollywood studios (at least not enough to impede their own popularity). I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing.

Jordan Teresa just covered this topic really well too

Honestly this is a subject that deserves multiple parts. You can expand on this in so many different ways from decades, ethnicity, countries, different medias, etc… and honestly I would eat it up! Lol

In my opinion Alexa Demie has the title of the modern IT girl

I would argue that Lori Harvey, if she isn't already, has a legitimate shot at becoming an IT girl. Something she has that other modern-day girls do not is an aura of mystery. We very rarely hear about her personal life because she comes off as quite private. She single-handedly re-popularized Pilates at the 2022 Met Gala, wearing a black Michael Kors cut-out dress, showing off her abs. Essentially becoming the trendsetter for that sort of fitness in our modern era, it adds to the point in the video that most influencers aren't setting trends; they're just following trends that have already been proven successful. Lori has done something that the other girls haven't been able to do so far. Also, she was dating what some girls might consider one of the most attractive men of our modern era, Michael B. Jordan, and their breakup sent shock waves through the Internet. She has yet to even speak about the breakup, adding to her mystique. Her dating life is usually what draws most people in, but after dating someone, she rarely, if ever, speaks about them afterwards. Lori is regarded as a high-value role model by a subset of women on the Internet, particularly those in the femininity community. Any interview that she has done usually only serves to highlight her current career endeavors and talk about how other girls can, in a way, "level up" by taking her advice. If anyone deserves the "IT girl" badge of honor in the 2020s, I think it's Lori Harvey.

Question: What happens to the it girls of the past? What are they called now? The people who witnessed these women grow or even die would still call them it girls. Is it? You can't totally describe the it, it's just there, regardless. There are celebrities in the past before that were discovered by just strolling around malls, now I see most celebrities as manufactured. They don't have that real "it factor". Most of it we are just sold to. I think the last it girl existed pre-internet Era maybe the early 2000s. After that... Everything seems not organic. Just saying.

I feel like the idea of the “it girl” in mainstream , “household name” media, is very Eurocentric. So many amazing women from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds have pioneered trends and aesthetics while being unsung heroes of the fashion industry. Josephine Baker, Selena, and Sade come to mind. I feel like the it girl today is a collection of that embodiment with the most desired physical ideal. Amazing video !

You hit every point with so much accuracy and ease. Love watching modergurlz evolve as a channel.

One that I think of that the media really focused on in the 90s is Carolyn besette Kennedy. There was a fascination of her and jfk jr and how effortless their style was.

One of the main things that has come to really bother me about these videos when talking about influencers and beauty is how often black women, asian women or Latina women(if not white) are excluded. It girl is not dead. It’s just not white anymore. And I think this a constant problem with these videos because I can EASILY say the modern day it girl is Marsai Martin. It’s just insulting how commonly in these video you exclude poc women from the conversation. You named dropped 3 poc women out of the 10-15 white women you presented. “It” is just not white right now.

i feel like lily rose depp is an it girl as well, being a nepotism baby, pretty, somewhat mysterious and dating timothee chalamet at one point i feel like these are factors that makes her an it girl, also can’t forget when she wore the chanel chain dress in the met gala and everyone started trying to make a replica out of it lol

I definitely think at least for this generation Zendaya is THEE It Girl. From her fashion to being the star of being of blockbuster movies and the cultural phenomenon that is Euphoria, there’s no denying that she has influenced a whole generation of young people, most of which have watched her grow up to be the incredibly successful and talented young woman she is today. So if there were a top contender for it it’d for sure would be her.

Would say it began before social media, I would say the reality Tv show began the decline. Where similarly to social media anyone could become famous. This ambition for fame, popularity and money is what started it all. Going against the IT girl ideals where they don’t care about that. Since then, I feel that be it small scale like having lots of likes and followers, to large scale like fame and celebrity,

Yeah Bella, Alexa, Zendaya and Emma for current times and that’s it

I'd argue that Angelina Jolie is missing from this list. She had America in a chokehold with her wild child background and controversial relationships and contrasted this with her humanitarianism and family-orientation. Aniston was a sunny lovable girl, but Jolie was a FORCE.

To me, an It Girl is someone who will be remembered and referenced long after their time has passed as a cultural icon. I think it’s easier to figure out who those current people might be if we think about it through this lens.

Always love the historical breakdown. Thank you so much for your time and effort you put in.

just had a rant about this: 1) a lot of these girls aren't "it-girls" and just get praised for stealing from other cultures, fitting standards and being rich. people can't praise people who aren't original or cool and then get mad there's no original or cool people. like kylie stole her "king kylie" aesthetic from a black girl (not just the surgeries and adopting a "black look" but the fashion) and still got all the acclaim like that is not an it-girl. like these girls just follow trends 2) they still exist: rowan blanchard, ariana grande, doja cat + a lot of people who smaller on social media e.g. tiktok, twitter, ig, pinterest & shockingly girls irl. a lot of these girls we just don't know about, don't care about or aren't popular enough to be recognised as an "it-girl" or don't fit people's out-dated standards so they're ignored even if they're who everyone's copying. 3) the idea is kinda outdated (not finding other women inspirational or inspiring but the idea that there's an "ideal woman" and we should all just follow her example) but like the standards and rules that they should follow and how there can only be one like i'm not acting like misogyny etc. doesn't exist but i feel like we're just moving forward and the way women are looking at women is slowly changing. 4) a lot of these just reads as celebrity worship (i don't want to bother explaining this one because i don't want to deal with the drama, if anyone bothers to read this), especially with that jennifer aniston comment. tl:dr - the idea of one girl above the rest we should all aspire to be is kinda outdated and if you want to find original cool people look for them because they are out there

Just wanna say that I found your channel while looking up reviews for Craft Legacy and instantly was hooked. I love your deep dives into history related to fashion, social trends, status symbols. Keep it up!

I mean anybody who’s skinny and well-dressed is an it girl for them 💀

i love your channel sm, your topics are always so engaging and the visuals are gorgeous always

To me, Chloe Sevigny is still "the coolest girl in the world." In my eyes, she's one of the very few true "It" girls. Cool, elusive, and started from humble beginnings. She was a girl from Connecticut who moved to NYC and hung out with normal people, then was "discovered" by taste-makers and forged her own path through many scenes over time. Her integrity has remained in tact, and from the looks of it, hasn't changed much since the 90s. She's the coolest.

I'm going to give Zendaya props for being the only person of colour on this list. That being said however, the fact that the it girl is always slender, relatively fair skinned and young is a worry overall.

Love how deep these deep dives go! Keep 'em coming

Edie Sedgwick was everything. It girl, “youthquaker”, and girl of the year. My all time fave

I think Anya Taylor joy and Florence Pugh are also it girls right now. They are so authentic to themselves and have a form of elegance in everything they do even when it’s a goofy selfie

I love your videos so much!! 😭😭 The interesting topic, the amount of research, your manner of speaking… perfection!!

Jennifer Lawrence was a good example of an it girl when she first came onto the scene

I think the more parts of POC cultures bleed into mainstream media all cultures would chose a different IT girl depending on their culture and rather the are involved in pop culture or prefer the cultutal eras of the 90’s. I’m Latina and into pop culture and I would say Alexa Demi and Kali Uchis are definitely it girls. I think in mainstream media would say there are no IT girls because IT girls are usually white women and exclude infamous black, Latina, and Asian women.

I like the fact that nowadays people can be "it" in their own niche social media circles. I never understood why people are all so obsessed with the same person, whether they are interested in what they do or not, just because they're popular. At least now the it girls I follow are people I'm interested in, and it doesn matter if people outside of their niches doesn't know them

This is such an interesting analysis, I thank you for all your hardwork in researching and editing :)

Audrey Hepburn / Anya Taylor Joy (elegant and graceful with a quirky side, unconventional girl next door, elusiveness in both acting roles and public persona) Marilyn Monroe / Sydney Sweeney (bombshell blonde, underused talent, over sexualized, controversial, misunderstood) Eartha Kitt / Zendaya (biracial but used as the face of Blackness, unique beauty, nonchalant cool girl, effortless charm, classy with an edge) I find that similar archetypes of “It girls” reinvent themselves.

But still...this is exactly the energy I wanna emulate.

Also since the rise of kpop .. there are tons of “it girls” that the media agree with and I think kpop idols have what it takes to be it girls

Yeah I miss the OG a girls from the 2000s no one could beat them

Love binge watching ur videos to see you've uploaded a new one😜

IT - a shape-shifting creature known as a Glamour, who is billions of years old. Although It lived on planet Earth for many years, It originated in a void/dimension outside the regions of space known as the Macroverse. Since It's true identity is unclear, due to its shape-shifting abilities and being from another universe, It's real name and species are also called Deadlights, but few know this, which is why it's referred to as IT.

Right now I think Anya Taylor-Joy and Florence Pugh have good chances of ascending to IT-girl status in the 2020s. Like if you were to ask people in 20 years who the IT-girls of the 2020s were those are my predictions. It is hard to know for sure obviously, but for me they both balance the line between down to earth and nice, yet also unattainable- and it seems effortless

The it girl has disappeared because the nature of celebrity is gradually becoming so fragmented. In the past, mass media and entertainment created universal celebrities that everyone recognised. Today, there are countless online spaces totally separate from each other. Some names may reach the mainstream, but unless you actively make the effort to engage with what that person is doing, you won’t care about them. Just because I’ve heard of Addison Rae or Emma Chamberlain doesn’t mean I care about their content. In the past, if they were promoted via the vehicle of mass media, EVERYONE would have known a lot about them and their work. Today, an ‘It girl’ in one online space will be a complete unknown in other spaces. There are also a lot more of them, because becoming a celebrity is easier than ever. This fragmentation just dilutes the public’s attention and makes real, universal celebrity a phenomenon that is dying out. Hence, the ‘it girl’ is dying out. And I really don’t think that’s a bad thing. I love being able to choose which people i follow and which to ignore. It wasn’t like the early 2000s where the same names and faces were shoved down your throat whether you liked it or not.

Everyone mentioning, that "girl A" is an it girl you forgot to mention. Don't forget that there are it girls tied to different niches, lana del ray is tied to the 2014 tumblr sadgirl niche. Yes, jennie and wonyoung are it girls, but their niche or influence is a lot more on kpop It girls are not only about being mainstream, it's also about influencing groups outside the mainstream.

I love seeing the different “types” of celebrities or the category they fit in like Americas sweet heart is very different to a it girl imo American sweet heart would be someone like Taylor swift back in 2013 or like the main pop girls (Britney, Ariana etc) are there own category or even like the under dogs who aren’t really under dogs in the industry (SZA for example) It’s interesting how there’s categories for celebrities with a certain image that’s what I’ve seen to see anyways 🤷‍♀️

With multimedia... there are many IT girls. 💡

Just want to point out what a great job you did of really diving into where this moniker came from and how it's evolved, for better or worse, over the years!

I’d say Zendaya is the current it girl.

I feel like Ruby Rose could be considered a 2010s It Girl, and perhaps even Lana Del Ray. As for modern It Girls, I agree about Zendaya and maybe even Anya Taylor Joy could classify as a rising one. Edited to add that I think Mia Goth may also be a newly rising It Girl, especially after her recently released movie, Pearl.

Chloé Sevigny was such an IT girl in NYC in the mid-90's and most people that didn't know her in real life did not understand why. I presume she has something in person that we can't see because I still don't get it. I guess she has a cool sense of fashion and something unnamed that doesn't translate through the camera.

Learned the definition of it-girl! Thanks for teaching me, something I can understand in conversation irl

Fascinating! Thank you for this deep dive ❤

If I had to name “it girls” today I would say Lori Harvey who popularized the Pilates era we’re in now, I would say Zendaya, Bella Hadid, Alexa Demie, Lily Rose Depp, and Jennie Kim. They have an air of mystery and are always copied I see them everywhere. I think it girl is not just popularity but influence, aesthetics, and mystery, a type of privateness to them but some how people create whole narratives about you if that makes sense.

u always kill it with these videos! i rlly love ur channel sm

Social Media cheapens fame

Such a good topic! I think you touched on important nuances like nonchalance and authenticity. I would also add style setter versus trend follower - they set a style and the trend follows, but they don’t “follow” trends. And I think because authenticity is so easy to fake or get wrong with social media, it’s also harder to pinpoint genuine it girls now. And harder to set a style vs just another trend follower.

I think Jennie from blackpink became an "it" girl in the kpop community once the shift in allowing idols to have "personal" instagrams took off. She got the brand deals, and yet still remained mysterious. Dated and was rumored to have dated some of the top korean celebrities of the time. Has the known personality of being sweet, loving and kind by other top dogs in the industry. But plays up the superficial girlcrush persona of being a bad bitch who doesnt need a relationship (eventho theres nothing wrong with being a relationship type girl but i digress). The paparazzi are constantly wondering what shes up to and everything she wears makes heads swivel in that industry/community. As for longevity, still too early to say but as of recent she's still one of the it girls in kpop

Social media can create a false reality of being the “IT GIRL” but you cannot fake it IRL. There are still it girls you meet in person who cannot fake that special quality.

I'm glad you mentioned the socialites- first time I saw It Girl was Brenda Frazier, debutante in the 40s who was followed by photographers...also Gloria Vanderbilt as a young debutante

this video is like, so well done. i loved every part of it