‘Twee’— Zooey Deschanel’s signature style. Though she’s considered a Twee icon, she didn’t invent the fashion. It’s often wrongly credited to Deschanel from when New Girl first aired in 2011. Though she was part of the second Twee revival, the fashion actually started years before New Girl and the hipsters of the 10s, 60s, and 70s.

The niche’s name, ‘Twee’, originally meant sweet, dainty, and chic in the 20th century. The style can still be summarized using those words. Twee fashion in the 1960s and 70s (which was really ‘mod’ fashion) included oversized Peter Pan collars, colorful tights, cardigans, and blouses. A great example of ‘Twee’ or ‘Mod’ fashion in the 60s was Twiggy. She was a fashion icon of the time; the epitome of sweet, dainty, and chic. 

The fashion survived the 70s and continued into the 80s, supported by the rise of Twee pop. The music was simple and innocent, consisting mostly of catchy songs about love. Think of Dreams by The Cranberries and Kiss Me by Sixpence None The Richer.

The ever-resilient Twee survived again and made it to the late 00s. Just in time for Zooey Deschanel’s reign over Twee and Twee supporters. In 2008, Deschanel and M. Ward released their first Twee pop record as She & Him on Merge Records. Deschanel inaugurated the ukulele as an essential part of her take on Twee. You might recognize their song, Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? as the twee-revival anthem on TikTok. 

Creators have been pushing for this revival starting in 2021 with popular hashtags including ‘#tweerevival’. Most of the videos I see are against Zooey Deschanel-10s version of the fashion and lean more towards the 60’s ‘mod’ fashion. 

Twee seems to have a love or hate effect on people. Many promote the fashion, others never want to see it again. It might have not always been at the forefront of pop culture, but twee has always been around. Even if you hate its fashion, its supporters have kept it alive since the 60s. 

Twee has been present in music, movies, even children’s books. Some even call Mickey Mouse the first Twee icon! A well-known and loved director, Wes Anderson has also helped to keep Twee afloat. You may not realize, but Anderson’s style, especially in his films Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Isle of Dogs is quite Twee. 

Twee never really went away– today’s revival of Twee is just bringing it back into the mainstream.

Photo Courtesy of FLICKR