What happened to the It Girl?

Photo: Dave Benett, Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

The term "it girl" has been around for many decades now, in fact over a hundred years. One of the first times this term was used was in the 1927 film 'It', by writer Elinor Glyn and starring Clara Bow. She describes 'it' as, "that quality possessed by some which draws all others with a magnetic force, it can be a quality of the mind as well as a physical attraction". it can be a someone of either gender but this term is mostly associated with women, you'd rarely hear the term "it" used to describe a male figure.

Photo: Cineclassico / Alamy Stock Photo

One of the main aspects of an it girl, in my opinion is not being concerned about how the public perceive them. Those who have "it" don't insist that they do. They seem as though they don't care about public popularity, which adds to their it girl personality. They also have a sense of individuality an do as they please. In an 1950 interview of Clara Bow she said, "In my era, we had individuality, we did as we pleased, stayed up late, we dressed they way we wanted to. Now they're too scared."

Lastly and most importantly "it" is something which you either have or don't. and there are no exact set of rules one can follow to become one. But who decides who is considered an it girl? once "it" girls were big name movie stars, who had achieved great success in the film industry and have a certain "je ne sais quoi" about them. They were private about their personal lives and were occasionally part of scandals which added to their charm. Perfect example being Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn in the 50s and 60s [and still to this day]. They are both it girls, not by looking the same or doing the same things. Instead embodying different elements that is associated with them. 

REPORTERS ASSOCIES, via: Vogue

But slowly since the golden era, the power to decide who would be the "it" girl shifted to the journalists, magazine publications and paparazzi. The it girl became accessible and popular among more people then ever before. But it's not like only the most famous actresses were it girls. perfect example being Twiggy an Edie Cedric, who weren't or aren't as well known, but popular among smaller sub-groups. Also this varies from place to place, person to person. One who is considered and an it girl by someone, might not be in a different individual.

photo: Marina Garnie, via: Vanity Fair

The term it girl is everchanging as mentioned previously they don't necessarily have the same qualities or lifestyle. In the 1980s, socialites with rich husbands were considered it girls. In the 1990s, supermodels were all the craze, and the most successful among them made a huge amount of money, such as Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss, who are considered the it girls from that era. The early 2000s it girls were similar to the 1980s socialites, best example being Paris Hilton and Nichole Richie. They came from a wealthy family, hung out the biggest celebrities, attended the coolest parties, and were considered famous for being famous. But since then the lines have started getting blurry between who is actually considered and it girl by the masses and who is artificially created by the media to generate profit.

photo; David Benett

 

And nowadays with the widespread use of social media apps like Instagram and TikTok, Many are starting to argue that there are no it girls anymore. Because everybody wants to be or is trying to be an it girl. And that's if everybody is doing and following the same guidelines, then nobody is "it". 

photo; Dave Benett, Jeff Kravitz

Although the above argument is definitely not wrong that the saturation of influencers and celebrities has caused the term to lose some of it's elegance. But I think that an it girl can be whoever you want it to be and they might not necessarily be someone that everyone else would know. To me, Bella Hadid, Emma Chamberlian etc are the it girls of this decade and you don't necessarily have to agree with me on that.