WTF Is a Sardine Girl Summer?

Call it a recession indicator or simply a kitschy souvenir from the past, but sardines are officially trending. Off the back of previous TikTok-fuelled trends like Cottagecore, Clean Girl and Tomato Girl, it seems that a new obsession is beginning to emerge.

Introducing "Sardine Girl Summer," the latest trend to dominate our FYPs and feeds. The rise in sardinecore sits under a trend that Pinterest actually predicted back in 2024, dubbed the Fisherman aesthetic. Within this, sits an increase in popularity surrounding fisherman sandals, cable-knit jumpers and stripes, but since then, we've seen the trend manifest in a few different ways, with sardines emerging as a core status symbol. In fact, according to Pinterest, searches for sardine tattoos are up by 80%, suggesting that this obsession with the tinned fish may be longer-lasting than a typical trend.

Similarly, according to Google Trends, searches for "beaded sardine bag" have increased by 300% in the last year, while searches for "sardine dress" have doubled in the last month alone.

Harking back to our favorite holidays, sardines, and particularly the tins they come in, have seemingly become a symbol of a simpler time. According to CNN (and of course, TikTok), the rise in tinned fish is somewhat of a recession indicator, and it's not without merit. "Searches for 'tinned fish' on Google spiked to the highest levels around the holiday season in 2024 and have maintained an uptick since then. In the past 90 days, searches for Nuri's Portuguese sardines in spiced olive oil skyrocketed 2,750% and Brunswick sardines in olive oil jumped 4,000%," CNN reports.

Though it's important to note that just because people are buying and searching for it, it doesn't actually mean that what's inside the tin is being used. Tins of fish do happen to have a certain aesthetic to them, and it's that aesthetic that people are likely buying into, as opposed to the fish itself.

Whether we're actually consuming it or not, tinned fish has made its way into our lives through our clothing. Aside from tattoo inspiration, we've spotted indie labels like Fruity Booty and Damson Madder using fish-inspired visuals as prints on their clothing, appearing in recent summer campaigns shot at desirable holiday destinations.

Speaking about the inspiration behind it with Fruity Booty, founder Hattie Tennant tells us: "Sardine Girl Summer made me laugh - I'm kind of obsessed with it. The whole fish motif came from a love for that Italian pescheria aesthetic - those beautifully tiled fish illustrations you find on ceramics, menus, and beach towels all across the Mediterranean. There's something both nostalgic and chic about it. Once we dipped our toe in, we couldn't stop."

The rise in tinned fish could also go hand in hand with our rising obsession with protein and macros, something that, while it doesn't scream fashion instantly, does take influence from current attitudes towards fitness and wellness.

Whether you're a tinned fish stan or simply just a fan of the aesthetic, it seems that the Sardine Girl Summer trend is a pretty harmless way to enjoy vacation vibes from afar.

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