# Cottagecore

> An internet-born pastoral aesthetic of cottage gardens, wildflowers, baking and slow rural life, circulated as mood boards, stickers, packaging, book covers and game art. Its link to Arts and Crafts is one of shared ideals (craft, rural simplicity, folk styles as a counter to industrial production), not a direct visual descent. It has been criticised for romanticising rural life and ignoring rural poverty, and for evoking conservative gender roles, Eurocentrism and heteronormativity.

- Period: 2018–present
- Where: Global / networked, North America, Western Europe
- Origin: Tumblr, 2018; spread to Pinterest and TikTok, with a sharp rise in spring 2020 during pandemic lockdowns
- Branch: Digital native
- Also known as: Cottage core, Cottagecore aesthetic
- Page: https://stylogeny.com/styles/cottagecore/

## How it works

- Draw on the countryside: put wildflowers, mushrooms, bread, animals and cottage interiors at the centre of the image.
- Keep the palette muted and earthy, with sage, cream, dusty rose and butter yellow lit by soft, warm light.
- Render images as gentle watercolour, gouache or soft-focus photography rather than crisp vector or hard photography.
- Wrap text and objects in floral borders, wreaths and repeated botanical pattern.
- Set type in warm serifs, hand lettering or occasional script that feels handwritten, never corporate.
- Evoke an unhurried, idealised past with a tone of calm and nostalgia.

## Its design choices

Defining choices make the style, characteristic ones are usual, occasional ones turn up now and then.

### Layout & composition
- [Central symmetry](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/central-symmetry/) (characteristic)
- [Organic flow](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/organic-flow/) (characteristic)
- [Framed panels](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/framed-panels/) (occasional)
- [Collage & layering](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/collage-and-layering/) (occasional)

### Space & hierarchy
- [Generous white space](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/generous-white-space/) (characteristic)
- [Measured density](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/measured-density/) (characteristic)
- [Single focal point](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/single-focal-point/) (occasional)

### Typography
- [Humanist & Garalde serif](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/humanist-and-garalde-serif/) (characteristic)
- [Hand-lettering](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/hand-lettering/) (characteristic)
- [Script](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/script/) (occasional)
- [Eclectic mixing](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/eclectic-mixing/) (occasional)

### Colour
- [Pastel](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/pastel/) (characteristic)
- [Earth & mineral](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/earth-and-mineral/) (characteristic)
- [Analogous harmony](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/analogous-harmony/) (characteristic)
- [Light ground](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/light-ground/) (characteristic)

### Form & shape
- [Biomorphic curves](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/biomorphic-curves/) (defining)
- [Naturalistic depiction](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/naturalistic-depiction/) (characteristic)
- [Rounded & pill](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rounded-and-pill/) (characteristic)

### Surface & texture
- [Paper & letterpress bite](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/paper-and-letterpress-bite/) (characteristic)
- [Grain & noise](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/grain-and-noise/) (occasional)

### Ornament
- [Floral & vegetal](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/floral-and-vegetal/) (defining)
- [Borders & frames](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/borders-and-frames/) (characteristic)
- [Abundant decoration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/abundant-decoration/) (occasional)

### Imagery
- [Painterly illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/painterly-illustration/) (characteristic)
- [Pattern & repeat](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/pattern-and-repeat/) (characteristic)
- [Straight photography](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/straight-photography/) (characteristic)
- [Line illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/line-illustration/) (occasional)

### Medium & production
- [Web & CSS](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/web-and-css/) (characteristic)
- [Pen, brush & ink](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/pen-brush-and-ink/) (characteristic)
- [App & OS interface](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/app-and-os-interface/) (occasional)
- [Textile & craft](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/textile-and-craft/) (occasional)

### Tone & intent
- [Nostalgic & retro](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/nostalgic-and-retro/) (defining)
- [Calm & contemplative](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/calm-and-contemplative/) (defining)
- [Warm & approachable](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/warm-and-approachable/) (characteristic)
- [Romantic & sensual](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/romantic-and-sensual/) (characteristic)

Avoids: Ornament-free, Grotesque & neo-grotesque, Fluorescent & neon, Dark ground, Gloss & highlights, Modular grid, Agitational & persuasive

Palette: #f4ecd8, #a9b79a, #d9a5a0, #e8c872, #7b5e4b, #4f6b4a

Typefaces: Italicised roman title lettering, described on Wikipedia as reminiscent of a Chronicles of Narnia scrawl (Folklore cover), Warm serifs and hand lettering (indicative, not tied to a named typeface or a design-press source)

Known for: Taylor Swift, Folklore (2020; artwork made in collaboration with photographer Beth Garrabrant; grayscale woodland photographs and italic roman title lettering; cited by W magazine as cottagecore); The Sims 4: Cottage Living expansion pack (July 2021; linked to cottagecore on Wikipedia's Cottagecore page); Tumblr, Pinterest and TikTok mood boards (a 150% rise in cottagecore posts on Tumblr, March to May 2020, reported by Sourcing Journal); Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020), compared with cottagecore in New York Times coverage; cultural context only, its cartoon look differs from the botanical principles

## Where it comes from, and what it’s close to

- Grew out of: [Arts & Crafts Movement](https://stylogeny.com/styles/arts-and-crafts.md) (1860–1920)
- Alike in its design choices: [Modern Calligraphy and Brush Lettering](https://stylogeny.com/styles/modern-calligraphy.md) (2005–present), 57% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Showa and Heisei Retro Revival (Japanese Packaging and Kissaten Graphics)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/showa-heisei-retro.md) (2005–present), 52% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Art Nouveau](https://stylogeny.com/styles/art-nouveau.md) (1890–1910), 50% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Slow-Living Editorial (the Kinfolk Look)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/kinfolk-slow-editorial.md) (2011–present), 49% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Mir iskusstva Book Art](https://stylogeny.com/styles/mir-iskusstva.md) (1898–1927), 49% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Italian Liberty Poster (Ricordi and the Stile Liberty Affiche)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/italian-liberty-poster.md) (1890–1914), 46% alike

## Sources

- Wikipedia, Cottagecore (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottagecore), for origin, 2020 rise, Arts and Crafts ideals and the critiques
- Isabel Slone, New York Times, 10 March 2020 (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/style/cottagecore.html), as cited on Wikipedia
- Rebecca Jennings, Vox, 7 July 2020 (https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/7/7/21315213/cottagecore-tiktok-dark-academia), for the conservative values and gender roles critique, as cited on Wikipedia
- Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 10 June 2020 (https://sourcingjournal.com/denim/denim-trends/gen-z-fashion-cottagecore-sustainability-edited-elfin-fairies-gigi-hadid-215061/), for the Tumblr 150% figure, as cited on Wikipedia
- Wikipedia, Folklore (Taylor Swift album), for the grayscale cover, italic roman title and Garrabrant collaboration

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From Stylogeny (https://stylogeny.com/), an atlas of graphic-design styles by Van Riel Online Services. How it is made: https://stylogeny.com/about/. Cite as: Stylogeny, “Cottagecore”, https://stylogeny.com/styles/cottagecore/