According to Architectural Digest:
"Cottagecore is a movement hearkening back to agricultural life, skills, and crafts. “As a concept, it embraces a simpler, sustainable existence that is more harmonious with nature. Aesthetically, it’s a nod to the traditional English countryside style, romantic and nostalgic,” says Davina Ogilvie, founder of Wovn Home"
That said...
Cottagecore (not a term I love but I am working on coining something else) is not just an aesthetic! It can be a way of life!
Any dwelling can be a "cottage". It's not just decor! It's a feeling...a way of living.
To me, cottagecore is a simpler way of life. Cooking from scratch, mending/repairing/junking instead of buying new, growing your own food or buying from local farmers when possible...even a Misfits Market subscription...all of these things are cottagecore to me.
Yes, you can be cottagecore in your Minion jammies. Yes, you can be cottagecore even if you don't have a place to grow your own food. Like all things in life, cottagecore is adaptable to your specific lifestyle. It's not appropriation.
Remember: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.”- Oscar Wilde
If you adjust your daily life to fit cottagecore and adjust cottagecore to fit into where/how you live then you can live cottagecore without buying a farm or living in prairie dresses (which I love, but some folks just can't do).
Let me know in the comments what you think cottagecore is or how you are adapting it to your lifestyle.
Also check out How to Cottagecore Your Life for a quick primer.
