Chances are, you’ve seen LA cool girl. Better yet, you know a LA cool girl. Or, best of all, you Are An LA cool girl.
She supports the community and is involved with the city’s cultural roots. If you know a good Thai or burger place, she’s your girl. He doesn’t take himself very seriously He knows the metro bus routes and may still be living with his parents in his 20s. If nothing else, he himself is informal.
Vanessa Acosta outside the subway station at Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights.
(Maria Tugger / Los Angeles Times)
At the very least, that’s according to LA County natives who are frustrated with how the so-called LA Cool Girl has recently been branded on TikTok.
The term can be found in a string of satirical TikToks that describe the LA Cool Girl lifestyle based on different neighborhoods. Combined with the filtered images, they follow LA Cool Girl’s fashion, dating life and daily routine for the beauty of West Coast Gossip Girl.
A tick of “LA Cool Girl, Eastside Edition” presenting pictures of Ritzy blonde women in Los Feliz struck a nerve, so much so that the original producer, who is from LA, stopped commenting on the video (it has been viewed more than 670,000 times. ). Although the video included the Los Feliz and Silver Lake hashtags, much of the criticism focused on gentrification and privilege throughout LA, opening up old wounds in an ever-evolving city.
The satirical version of LA Cool Girl – a no-brainer for Crystal enthusiasts drinking coffee next to celebrities and horseback riding in Anguilla – is endearing to many who grew up in LA, and those locals have returned to TikTok to take it back. Title.
Sign of LA Cool Girl # 1: She Speaks
When Raquel Santizo saw the original LA Cool Girl TikTok, she immediately created her own series of videos designed for a very diverse audience.
(Maria Tugger / Los Angeles Times)
In the seven-story building in CorreaTown, Raquel Santizo once shared a one-bedroom apartment with two sisters and her mother. Any lack of privacy was offset by a strong sense of community – she knew the names of her neighbors, the children watched movies on the floor, and she always felt safe walking down the street.
Now 25 and living in San Francisco, things are not what they used to be when she returned to her hometown. Community and love are still there, the streets don’t feel familiar.
Raquel Santijo in Korea Town.
(Maria Tugger / Los Angeles Times)
As a child, she watched Echo Park’s “lightning-speed” lightening. Now she feels that she is coming to Korea.
“It’s hard to see a change in what you like,” Santizo said. “I hope the residents who have been there for more than three decades, like my mother, can still call home and feel safe and not be pushed out.”
When Santizo saw the original LA Cool Girl TikTok, she was quick to create her own series of videos designed for a very diverse audience. While the original depicts a rich lifestyle, Santizo presents the life of Fleming’s hot cheetah and art exhibition.
She’s not an expert on the subway, but she can find her way, Santizo details on TikTok. He probably likes gold jewelry, wearing neutral (but not in a boring way) and has a favorite tank truck in the gas station parking lot. Chances are, LA Cool Girl is working-class.
“If we’re real, LA has a majority,” Santizo said. “Most of us are first-gen Americans, so I think there’s some kind of pride in that and inevitably starting your own American story, community, identity within the city that’s very diverse and wonderful.”
Sign of LA Cool Girl # 2: She Represents
Amanda Tower, 26, outlines the criteria for being a LA Cool Girl in Tic Tac Toe, being careful not to include things that require money.
(Maria Tugger / Los Angeles Times)
When these women modify LA Cool Girl, they want to make sure they are accessible. Too often, being a re-imagined cool girl just boils down to being a decent human being.
“She shares resources. She doesn’t getkip. She supports others. She doesn’t try hard because she knows who she is. She respects culture. Resident Amanda Tower said.
Amanda Tower on Silver Lake.
(Maria Tugger / Los Angeles Times)
Tovar, 26, outlines accessible criteria for being a LA Cool Girl on TikTok, being careful not to include things that require money. Like many Angelnozs, she struggles to pay her rent beforehand and cannot always invest in a valuable lifestyle. Her philosophy of LA cool girl doesn’t need a heavy wallet.
More than that, she doesn’t want LA Cool Girl to wipe out the diverse community here. Tovar grew up watching Britney Spears, Mandy Moore and Cinderella – all of whom were white despite being popular. Tovar is a Mexican-Korean, and when he came up with the doll line Bratz in the early 2000’s, he felt like he saw himself in a really popular personality. She refuses to let the children who are watching the LA cool girl do the same.
“I don’t want young people to grow up thinking that this is a way for you to be a pretty girl when you can be yourself,” Tovar said.
Signs of LA Cool Girl # 3: She’s worried about gentrification
Vanessa Acosta outside the J&F ice cream shop in Boyle Heights.
(Maria Tugger / Los Angeles Times)
Before the Alote man was priced from Highland Park and returned to Mexico, his loyal fans came to say goodbye, said 32-year-old designer Vanessa Acosta. They gathered on Figueroa Street to buy their last allotments and wish him well – and were worried that, one day, they would have to leave.
Acosta, known as Highland Park, Boyle Heights and Eagle Rock House, at one point or another, has seen street vendors disappear, modern new shops evict mother-and-pop stores and families of color evicted by transplants. Before the epidemic, she and her fianc frequented a small plant shop owned by Latina’s mother and her family. When Acosta returned after easing quarantine restrictions, it was gone.
Vanessa Acosta at Boyle Heights.
(Maria Tugger / Los Angeles Times)
“White transplants who have a lot of that generation’s wealth are coming in and taking away these businesses, retail outlets and even homes,” Acosta said. “It just seems hopeless. The people of this community and these communities have fought and struggled to keep this stuff, but it’s just a tough fight.”
The battle has been raging for decades, but LA Cool Girl has encouraged new activism.
Katherine Braxton, a 26-year-old LA County student with a BA in Sociology, knows that there is more to life than meets the eye. While some homeowners may be happy that people are moving to LA to increase their property value, she said long-term tenants are frustrated by rising prices.
“I just hope that people who move here, with that kind of unconsciousness, will respect where they’re moving and think about what they’re doing,” she said.
Catherine Braxton knows that LA Cool Girl in Tiktok can be found in the conversation.
(Maria Tugger / Los Angeles Times)
If nothing else, LA Cool Girl has opened these conversations on TikTok – or at least bundled them up in hashtags. Braxton has seen the controversial beauty drive important discussions on a platform that doesn’t always look deep.
Catherine Braxton in Old Town Pasadena.
(Maria Tugger / Los Angeles Times)
“The biggest thing I don’t think people understand is that she started the trend of me and other people of color who are reclaiming LA Cool Girls for themselves,” Braxton said.
Sign of LA Cool Girl # 4: She has crowds
Authentic LA cool girl is being reborn from satire. And like Los Angeles, she’s multi-layered. LA’s socio-economic diversity means she sees it all differently, Braxton points out.
No one wants to be a real LA cool girl – she’s already a Los Angeles woman.
“When I think of LA Cool Girl, I think of diversity,” Acosta said. “There’s a lot of pockets in LA. There’s that pretty girl in East LA, there’s that pretty girl in the South Central, there’s that pretty girl in CorreaTown or the Valley, or there’s that pretty girl in Glendale. They’re everywhere, and they’re all diverse and different and their own. Are unique in manner.