If you search #cottagecore on Instagram you’ll find 1.9 million posts. Take just a few minutes to look through them and you’ll find an array of gorgeous images, from blossom-filled landscapes, curated picnic set-ups, enviable farmhouse kitchens, and prairie dresses, among many other seemingly perfect country-themed photographs.
In real life, aside from buying a cute dress, who has the time and/or money to achieve such a perfect-looking lifestyle on a daily basis? Not me. My kitchen is around fifteen years old with a DIY facelift, and any picnics we embark upon are fun but they’re far from idyllic. (Thanks to the scattering of empty Ella’s Kitchen fruit pouches and unhealthy family size bags of Tyrrell’s crisp packets – always lightly salted, if you were wondering.)
That said, things have certainly taken a turn in the last year or so. Great jeans, cosy knitwear, and summer dresses are the mainstay of my wardrobe these days, and we happen to live five minutes from the countryside and beach. Despite our choice of snacks, life does tend to lend itself to the picnic lifestyle quite naturally.
Perhaps that’s why it’s so popular – because, actually, living the simple life really does feel as good as it looks. Throw in a straw hat, a wee basket, and a bit of gingham for good measure, et voila: you’re living the #cottagecore dream without even trying.
