Generation Money: How the look of the moneyed nobility became cool

Eactually, the men and women of the Kennedy clan were ripe for the history books. Just what should their lifestyle tell us today? Then came Tiktok. And then a new trend on this platform: #oldmoney. Pearls instead of bling-bling, tennis skirts instead of mini dresses, loafers instead of sneakers, tweed instead of jeans: young people who belong to Generation Z, which usually means those born between 1997 and 2012, put themselves in the world of the old moneyed nobility with their clothing style . They dress as if they have descended from a family dynasty, have inherited vast sums of money and spend their Sundays playing polo.

New old examples of a trend

Jackie Kennedy, Lady Di, Blair Waldorf from the American series “Gossip Girl”: They are the new “old” models of this style. While Jackie O. and Diana were already among the most inspiring women of their time, Blair Waldorf was initially not. If she were a real person, she would probably be celebrating this victory with champagne right now.

Money, parties, shopping, the character Blair Waldorf lives the carefree life in the midst of the New York elite in the series. When Gossip Girl came out in 2007, friend and rival Serena van der Woodsen quickly became the more popular with viewers. Serena is the prettier, more relaxed one on the show, and that infuriates Blair. She is the complete opposite. Pleated skirts, perfectly styled waves under the headband, flawless appearance: Blair loves it classic. Fans of the series never emulated this look—until now. Until this tiktok trend.

It’s at most superficially the champagne and polo games that these Gen Z’s get excited about. More likely that they actually long for the stability and security that this lifestyle suggests. The euro crisis, the refugee movement, terror, climate change, pandemics, the war in Ukraine: the world in which young people grew up has become fragile and the security situation unclear, says generation researcher Rüdiger Maas. The impact of the crises is getting closer, threatening life more and more directly. The trend reflects the innermost fear of many young people: that they will not be able to live the life they have been like for much longer. They flee from change. And the old moneyed nobility is the perfect environment for that. More than anything else, it stands for safety and a it’s always been like that.

What the Queen’s death means for the trend

It’s been a topic in pop culture for a long time: Lana Del Rey is a real connoisseur, singing about diamonds and cashmere in “Old Money”, “Young and Beautiful” and “Money, Power, Glory”. Lorde and Taylor Swift also describe this world in “Tennis Court” and “Champagne Problems”. And the young, feminist German rap is also about money and carelessness – such as in Nina Chuba’s “Wildberry Lillet”. In the song that knocked out “Layla” from number one, she raps about real estate, canapes, and “have, have, have.”

The fact that Queen Elizabeth II died fueled the trend again, says Rüdiger Maas: “Suddenly something that was always there is gone. That’s scary.” The British monarchy in particular represents the reliability that young people are looking for: “No matter how fast the world turns, how modern everything is becoming: everything has always stayed the same here.” This is exactly what distinguishes old money: standstill – not only visually. In times of crisis, people become nostalgic. It’s been like that forever.,

But the trend is about something else: convenience. Even in the previous generation, among the millennials, there was always talk of work-life balance. But this generation has also produced some of the richest people in the world with young billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg. And for their livelihood, these people had to slave and hump around the clock, work overtime, and take risks. Work was glorified as life-fulfilling and identity-forming.

Performance isn’t cool anymore

Gen Z saw live that this is not true. That such a life full of work and pressure might make you rich, but not necessarily happy. The role of free time is becoming more important again. More and more young people want to work part-time. Performance isn’t cool anymore.