Infamous fashion blogging platform “Lookbook.nu” was the precursor to Tumblr, and Tumblr was the precursor to how we all turned out as adults.
It was a weird time to be on the internet between the years 2010 – 2014.
But if there’s one thing we know to be true, it’s that galaxy leggings, owls, mustache paraphernalia, and ukulele covers of pop songs done in the overly melismatic “seal”-singing style can all be traced back to one source: Lookbook.nu.
Lookbook, for the uninitiated, was (and still is, the website is, miraculously, still active) a user-generated image based website where thrifty, preternaturally stylish teens and tweens (mostly from Europe) posted style photos, long before doing it for the ‘gram was even a thing. What set the website apart from Facebook was that it was populated with photos that looked straight up *editorial* —these weren’t your straight-out-of-camera “Pr0m 2o1o <3!” photos, which were bare, unedited, and overexposed your bad hair and skin — these were high art! Or at least we thought so. These micro-fashionistas were using the burnt out, bokeh-littered filters long before Instagram hit the app store.
The looks most prominently featured on the website were your average Tumblr fare: florals, infinity scarves, ripped stockings, and big glasses with side-swept hair and undercuts. Basically, if you looked like an extra out of a La Roux video, you were probably trending on Lookbook.
Eventually, the lita-clad teens migrated over to Tumblr, and the rest is history.
Do you miss Lookbook? Would you rock any of these looks nowadays?