What does "edgy" actually mean?

I’ll never forget the first time I watched Grease.

I was in my childhood home in the small town of 6,000 people where I grew up (in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia to be exact) and nothing could have prepared me for when Sandy came out in the last 5 minutes of that movie in head-to-toe leather and red lipstick. I had never wanted to be someone else so badly as I did in that moment. She was undeniably cool. And I was suddenly aware that my colorful matching shorts set (probably from Limited Too) was not.

Ok, I probably still thought Limited Too was cool, but a leather jacket and red lips was definitely cooler. Something to aspire to later in life.

Sandy was my first cultural touchpoint with what I’ll call “edgy,” but she certainly wasn’t the last. Fast forward a few years and Avril Lavigne became my new reference point for what a cool, edgy girl was. Converse sneakers, stick straight flat-ironed hair, and lots of black eyeliner. I adopted those into my own outfits as many of us did in the early 2000’s, but kept the rest of my preppy, colorful uniform intact to fit in.

Then came pop punk/emo music. A slightly different, but still related edgy.

Then the discovery of Ann Demeulemeester, Tim Burton, and more. All different, but all… edgy?

AI told me that in slang, "edgy" often refers to someone who is intentionally provocative, controversial, or unconventional, either in their style, behavior, or opinions. They might be considered "cool" or "cool by virtue of being tough, dark, or badass". It can also describe something that is on the cutting edge, innovative, or daring.

It told me that Edgy style is a fashion aesthetic that embraces unconventionality, often incorporating darker colors, unconventional cuts, and unexpected accessories to create a unique and bold look. It's about breaking the rules and expressing individuality, while still maintaining a sense of cool and confidence.

Sandy from Grease, Tim Burton, Ann Demeulemeester, and Avril Lavigne ARE all “edgy” but the problem with using one singular word to describe all of them is that the interpretation can be wrong. My edgy might encompass all of these references together, with some parts more at the forefront than others, while someone else’s edgy might actually mean Stevie Nicks edgy. (see (ethereal witchy below)

In the effort of full transparency, this is something we realized was THE core problem at Fashivly over the last year. If someone came to us and didn’t have a fully fleshed out vernacular of what their style was, along with the corresponding visuals, (or what they wanted their style to be) we had a really hard time pinpointing it for them. Because the interpretation of edgy for me might mean red lipstick and a leather jacket, but for someone else it might mean lug sole doc marten boots, and for another it just means polished, structured pieces but in all black.

We’ve been really diving into defining what style words actually mean, but most importantly what the overlaps and venn diagram words connotate. None of us (well, few of us) are just one style type. Just like with personalities, DNA, and anything else that makes up who we are, we’re a completely unique mix of all our experiences.

I’m not just “edgy,” I’m more preppy edgy? Mixed with some minimal and polished. The looks that I feel the most “me” in are a true compilation of all of these things.

The MOST interesting thing to me about thinking of style in this way, is that it isn’t always about finding the specific brand or retailer in order to find your perfect pieces. Another full transparency moment, when I started writing this post I fully intended to end it with a “And here’s a list of retailers that you can shop from if you love edgy + blank style!” Sure, there are some more classically aligned ones like Doc Martens, Disturbia, Straight to Hell, All Saints, but one of MY favorite brands to shop is actually COS. I think if categorized on the whole, they would be considered a Minimalism type of brand. But so many of their pieces hit the exact type of edgy I’m looking for when paired with the right other pieces around it- like this dress I got recently. Some, not all, of their designs fit my own venn diagram.

The real, more complicated truth is that you can find the absolute perfect thing for your style in the most random of places. Like my favorite go-to lug sole lace up oxfords from Sam Edelman (now at Walmart?!). They’ve got just the right amount of polished or preppy bend to them that makes them work for me. It’s my perfect formulaic mix in shoe.

These Sezane ones? TOO preppy and/or polished. Only 5% edgy. Not enough edgy.

And these? Not enough polish. I’d feel like I was playing dress up in them. They wouldn’t quite fit with the rest of my wardrobe.

THIS is the specificity that we’re trying to pinpoint at Fashivly. It’s hard to quantify. Sometimes I feel like the scene in The Devil Wears Prada where everyone is agonizing over the 2 turquoise belts and Andy snorts under her breath, BUT THE BELTS REALLY AREN’T THAT DIFFERENT, OK?! And as much as everyone wants to laugh at that scene, or at my lug sole oxford example above, you all feel the same way with your own style and choices. The dress that you love, except it’s sleeveless so you’d never wear it. Or the top that ticks all the boxes, except the shade of green is just a bit TOO cool and you know it’s not going to pop on you like you’d like it to. Or the jeans that were on sale that you bought but you really don’t like how they fit around your waist so you end up never wearing them.

We all have a closet full of clothes we don’t wear, not because we love overconsumption or always having the newest thing (well, sometimes we do!) but because we haven’t actually drilled down to what it is that we love. Or in many cases, we’re trying to find it and we can’t so we just settle. And the cycle repeats.

I spent a bit on new clothing last year for the first time since 2019 really, (largely because HELLO startup life and I took my first minuscule paycheck last year for the first time!) and I focused on buying exclusively things that fit my ideal style aesthetic. Spoiler alert: almost everything I bought was black, and to be honest with you the things I bought that aren’t are the things still sitting mostly unworn. Will I always be this way? Probably not. We’re always growing and changing and taking in new experiences and influences. Will I ever want to wear a fun, breezy boho feminine dress on a girl’s weekend in Charleston? Yes! (P.S…. these are the types of things you should rent clothing for….something totally outside your normal lifestyle and style that you still want to have fun and experiment with for a weekend). For right now, I’m leaning into the fact that I feel my most confident, and powerful, and cool, and RIGHT when I’m in a slightly oversize, interesting proportion all black look that’s a little bit tailored and a little bit preppy or polished. That’s my version of edgy. I can’t wait to hear what yours is.