2014 Tumblr is one of the biggest influences to the contemporary aesthetics movement. As an image-aggregating site, it allowed people to curate personal reblogs easily. The ability to create a customized theme for the blog also enhanced the aesthetic value of the website. This article focuses on 2014 (more broadly 2011–2018) because this was the era before -core suffixes existed, Tumblr was at its greatest cultural relevancy, and the aesthetic trend was at its infancy.

Around 2020, many 2014 Tumblr trends came back into style (often with slightly new looks due to different fashion trends), such as Morute , Pink Parisian , Delicate Sweet , and Pastel Goth . Nymphet regained popularity and along with Delicate Sweet and Pink Parisian formed the modern interpretation of Coquette aka Dollette .

Tumblr is a social media platform in the form of blogging. It was at its peak of popularity around 2011–2018; during this time, it was highly influential in many forms of internet and popular culture, including aesthetics. Several aesthetic or fashion styles, for instance Pastel Goth and 2014 Girly , were either pioneered or popularised by Tumblr users.

After 2018, the platform declined in mainstream popularity, mainly due to a ban on content containing nudity, which Apple required apps to ban in order to have it in the app store. Nowadays, Tumblr remains a popular platform for certain fandoms, pop cultures and alternative subcultures, but it is no longer as culturally influential as before. TikTok has since replaced it as the culturally significant platform.

Before the aesthetic community largely segmented itself off into aesthetic communities, people would "find" their aesthetic through tags which were based on adjectives and objects that described the photograph itself, rather than an entire community that comes with it. Of course, there are common terms that appeared, such as kawaii , hipster , and grunge , but the extent was not to the one in the late 2010s-2020s. From there, communities were centered around who was following who, without an established name that encompassed all the community.

For example, for Pink Parisian , one of the aesthetics on that site, people would tag it #pink, #old-hollywood, #feminine, #romantic, #vintage, #parisian, etc. This led to some variation on what appeared in the search bar. For example, the search term "pink" could bring up Fairy Kei , Morute , Delicate Sweet , and Pink Parisian . Because of this difficulty in finding terms with consistent aesthetics and users, "Follow Forevers" existed. These were lists of users that someone would compile after reaching a certain number of followers. In effect, these popular users were influencers who allowed their followers to find their sources of inspiration, which united the aesthetic further and created a more tight-knit community. An example of a Follow Forever could be found here.

2010s Bright Kawaii is an aesthetic that is a Western interpretation of Yume Kawaii and Harajuku fashion that is also influenced by anime and Soft Grunge trends.

2010s Soft Kawaii is an offshoot of the Kawaii aesthetic based on trends in the 2010s, especially on the website Tumblr. It is largely based on Japanese mascot culture, with the fashion elements being based on Himekaji and Girly Kei fashion trends of the time, as well as Korean fashion. There is also much overlap with 2014 Girly Tumblr.

2014 Girly Tumblr is an aesthetic seen in 2014 Tumblr . It centers itself around visuals that girly Tumblr bloggers found popular at the time. It embraces girly traits and colors, such as pale pink, white and mint, as well as brands, celebrities, room decor trends, foods, etc. that would be aspirational and overtly feminine.

Delicate Sweet is an aesthetic characteristic for its "handmade" and "homelike" girly appearance, with washed out colors of pink, white, and beige, lace motifs, ribbons, fabric textures, indoor environments/activities and everyday items related to comfort such as stuffed animals, baked goods, pillows, beds and vintage nightgowns.

The aesthetic originated on Tumblr from the mid 2010s. It co-existed and shared many visuals with the Morute community, except this one is entirely uninvolved in morbid themes. There is a lot of influence on the Babycore and Gloomy Coquette / Dollette aesthetics.

Rather, this aesthetic focuses on feelings of comfort, cuteness, and safety, the opposite of Morute which centers around trauma and mental illness.

Hipster is a broad subculture that is stereotypically composed of young adults who reside primarily in gentrified neighborhoods. It is broadly associated with indie and alternative music and genres, such as jazz, folk, indie rock, and electronic rock. Hipsters also frequently flaunt a varied non-mainstream fashion sensibility, wearing vintage and thrifted clothing; hold pacifist and green views; are often vegan; consume organic and artisanal foods, and craft alcoholic beverages; and live alternative lifestyles. The roots of the hipster aesthetic date back to the 1940s, but the modern-day version did not reach the height of its popularity until the late 2000s to early 2010s.

Indie Sleaze is a tongue-in-cheek aesthetic that was prevalent from roughly 2006 to 2014. It is a style originating from the mid-late 2000s party scene that grew in popularity on sites like Tumblr and MySpace.

Trappings of this aesthetic include high-flash photography, electro-rock dance halls, imprecise eyeliner, old American Apparel ads, mussed up hair and side-swept bangs. Indie Sleaze has many influences from a variety of time periods and mediums: Brooklyn Hipster fashion, '70s/’80s electro-rock music, Pop Art , and Superflat Pop . The rise of Indie Sleaze came to fruition as the McBling and Surf Crush aesthetic were declining and it is often seen as a counter culture reaction to the economic climate of the recession.

Nymphet , also sometimes referred to as Coquette or Vintage Americana Coquette , is an aesthetic based on a character trope originated by Vladimir Nabokov in his book Lolita , published in 1955 and its movie adaptations from 1962 and 1997. Nymphet is an illusion created in the mind of Humbert Humbert, the (unreliable) main character and narrator of both the films and book. The term means "sexually precocious young girl," and was used by Humbert as a way to justify his predatory actions towards 12-year-old Dolores Haze, his victim.

By around 2014, on Tumblr , young women took on this trope for themselves, as it was an aesthetic surrounding femininity, finding beauty in tragedy, as well as adolescence and burgeoning sexuality. Contemporary pop culture involved a lot of content relating to teenaged girls' shedding of childhood and being involved with risqué behavior, with it both being highly romantic and exciting but also traumatizing and dangerous. Lana del Rey and her album Born to Die is a main inspiration in the aesthetic that depicts these.

Morute , a name combining the words "morbid" and "cute," is an aesthetic created in the early 2010s that expresses the dichotomy between the hyper-femininity and softness of a childhood/girlhood in the past with the darker imagery of true crime and Regional Gothic elements. In the community, users often use it as an outlet for expressing trauma, especially those surrounding eating disorders and child abuse. The community largely developed from the music of Nicole Dollanganger and influential photographers such as Jess Woods and milliedollgraves, who have since deactivated.

Pastel Goth is a fashion style that combines traditional Goth elements with pastel colors and the Gurokawa (Creepy Cute) aesthetic. It gained popularity in the early 2010s on platforms like VK.com, Lookbook, and Tumblr . It also spread in popularity in Japan for a brief period thanks to DJ Juria Nakagawa, whose style is influenced by Tumblr trends. The style was initially met with criticism from the Goth subculture.

Pastel Grunge is an aesthetic that rose to prominence on Tumblr and Lookbook in the early 2010s. This aesthetic takes the edgier, more rough side of Grunge and other more hardcore aesthetics, and combines them with the softer, more romantic and feminine aspects of styles such as Pastel Goth . It is also influenced by the Heroin Chic style of the 1990s, and, as the name implies, Grunge .

Pink Parisian is an aesthetic that takes influence from mid-twentieth century Paris and similar cities, luxury brands, and Old Hollywood movies that is largely collected on Tumblr blogs that have a pink theme. The participants emphasize the importance of self-care, romanticizing small pleasures in life, and cultivating a sophisticated and kind personality. While it does resemble other luxury-based aesthetics such as Boujee , its hyperfeminine presentation, vintage lifestyle elements, and lack of necessity to actually purchase luxury items distinguishes itself from others.

Quality Tumblr is an aesthetic originating from the eponymous website circa 2012. It shares elements with Basic Girl and 2014 Girly and has an audience primarily consisting of teenage girls. Quality Tumblr's specific visuals are brightly colored images of certain products and branding that were popular amongst the demographic . Additionally, other trends of that era, such as certain films and novels, quotes, and different fashions are included.

Sadboi (also written as Sad Boy ) is an aesthetic and specific masculine archetype that emerged online in the early 2010s. Its name is derived from the "Sad Boys" music collective founded by Swedish rapper Yung Lean and producers Yung Gud and Yung Sherman in 2012. The aesthetic is defined by the open expression of loneliness, anxiety, and sadness, primarily communicated through a fusion of hip-hop and trap culture with digital nostalgia and lo-fi or Vaporwave imagery.

Sadgirl (also written as Sad Girl ) is an aesthetic and feminine archetype that emerged in the early 2010s, defined by the expression and romanticization of melancholy, anxiety, and loneliness through specific visual and literary elements. It is a highly curated style that turns personal pain into a shared aesthetic, often reflecting an ambivalent relationship with mental health and traditional expectations of feminine happiness.

Soft Grunge or Pale Grunge is an aesthetic based on simple photos with a color palette primarily consisting of white, grey, black, green, and blue.

Swag is an era and aesthetic that was most popular in the late 2000s and early 2010s. It was popularized by the song "You're a Jerk" by the New Boy'z, as well as hip hop street fashion.

Twee is an aesthetic that first emerged in the 1980s as a reaction against the increasing harshness in the post-punk music scene. The term derived from the British slang for "sweet," reflecting the aesthetic's emphasis on the delicate and a childlike innocence. Though the term became derogatory, it was reclaimed by the indie pop music scene in the UK and US.

Visually, the aesthetic involves out-dated habits that become novel because of how unique it is in comparison to mainstream trends. Idiosyncrasy and eclectic blends of color and vintage objects are the most popular indicators of Twee.

Vaporwave is a retrofuturist aesthetic and music genre that branched off from Hypnagogic Pop in the early 2010s. Characterized by its nostalgic and surreal atmosphere, Vaporwave blends electronic music with chopped and screwed and samples, while also featuring a distinct visual style that pays homage to bygone eras of popular culture (typically the Memphis Design , Y2K Futurism , and more recently Frutiger Aero eras). Vaporwave overlaps with and is often confused for Synthwave , a related aesthetic/music genre which often features heavier beats and draws more exclusively on 1980s culture (with Vaporwave drawing from not just the 1980s but also 1990s and 2000s).

Tumblr was one of the primary platforms for people to learn about and view images relating to Japanese alternative fashion subcultures from the 2010s. Also known as Harajuku fashion , these aesthetics are formed around certain groups of teenagers and young adults who dressed in ways that deviate extremely from typical Japanese culture, often as a form of rebellion. These "style tribes" often revolve around certain motifs that originate from a boutique brand with a specific vision. (For example, Angelic Pretty for Sweet Lolita , and Grimoire for Dolly Kei .)

Users would repost photos from Japanese social media, store pages, and magazine scans. A notable part of Japanese fashion culture is "street snaps," which are photographs of what people are wearing out in the street that catch a photographer's interest. These often go viral on tumblr.

Because of this, many users published guides for how to dress in the style, sometimes creating differences with the original Japanese style because of the limitations in accessing Japanese goods from overseas.

The fashions that appeared on the site at that time include:

Fandom aesthetics are mood boards, playlists, and edits done based off of the aesthetic of a piece of media with a fandom. Users would take distinct visuals, colors, and attitudes associated with the setting of the work or a distinctive character design. These images would be arranged into either a square grid of nine photos or two columns that can span for however long the user sees fit.

For example, a fan of Harley Quinn would make a mood board that has an image of a playing card, smudged lipstick, a quote about toxic love, and a strong use of the color red. One of the most popular examples, and arguably a precursor to Dark Academia, are the Harry Potter mood boards, which were very popular due to the diversity of themes such as Hogwarts Houses or important buildings.

The people who create these fandom mood boards were expressing their love of the fandom and both the aesthetic community and the fandom would reblog their work. The presence of fandom mood boards have diminished in the following years, largely because of the rise of aesthetics that are unaffiliated with fiction, the general loss of fangirl enthusiasm (see the section on Dashcon for a better explanation), and migration to other websites.

This also applied to other subjects, such as MBTI types , zodiac signs, and colors. Users often sent requests through asks, and the person on the blog would create their own interpretation. For example, "I love your blog! I am Slytherin, INTP, and Libra." The user would then combine all of those elements into one moodboard like the one to the right.