The It Girl - What Makes Her 'It' In Every Era

The “It” girl represents something indefinable — a quality, charisma, or spark that makes her stand out and captures something of her time. She’s an eye-catcher, fostering an aesthetic or set of values that epitomize her cultural moment. Throughout generations, the “It” Girl shares common traits with her predecessors: a daring fashion sense, a willingness to use her voice, and a persona that often overwhelms her body of work, sometimes making her seem famous for being famous. So what truly makes a generation’s It Girl?

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We are The Take (formerly ScreenPrism).

00:00 What truly makes an It Girl?
01:52 How that It Girl changes over time.
04:52 Yours App
05:52 It Girl backlash! The struggles of being It
08:14 Who is the It Girl today?
10:45 How the It Girl is a perfect mirror for our times

[Chuuzus]

Rihanna will never not remain THE ultimate IT girl. she had every girl wear the red hair, had people getting the hands tattoo, had girls shaving one side of their hair and leaving the other side. thats an IT girl, someone who has impact on people and can set trends without forcing it

[hpcfkfk]

i'd also like to mention how a lot of the IT girls have been crowned this because of their aura of mystery and privacy from the public, not revealing too much. alexa demie and anya taylor-joy are good examples of this as they don't post too much about themselves online and don't share too much about their private lives. emma chamberlain as well doesn't share too much about herself on the influencer side of things which is what sets her apart from all the influencers who overshare to the point of being irritating. zendaya also likes to keep interviews professional.

[killlamas]

Your editing made it seem like every person in Hollywood is an IT girl.

[mariapaz]

I dont know why people deny that zendaya is an "IT" girl. When she is recognized as someone who sets the standard in fashion. The only difference with past iterations is that it's not men who made her an it girl, but women. She is not the sexiest or cutest, but indeed the coolest.

[indigoechos]

Kim Kardashian is not self made lmao. She is famous due to the oj trial and her tape. She has a team of people doing things for her all the time: stylists, trainers, surgeons, aesthetician, makeup artists, etc...she doesn't showcase anything except grandeur.

[Denchor]

I'm not sure whether the "it girl" concept works in today's culture. Yes obsessive fandoms have only intensified in the social media age, but to me an "it girl" embodies a collective image of a generation. I don't think there is anyone that fits that mould today, nor do I think it is possible with the current landscape of selective social media feeds. Depends how you interpret it all I guess

[somethingcooliguess]

I never considered Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian It girls. I feel like they’re just very mainstream. I think it’s separate from being successful or beautiful since pretty much everyone in the entertainment industry is. I think of Chloe Sevigny, Alexa Chung, Rihanna. There’s a charm, force, and magnetism to them all and even if it’s not your “thing”, you get why they’re captivating.

[DreamingWithEyesWide]

I love how this generation's IT girls are so focused on social issues and social justice. It's super refreshing seeing these values be at the forefront of our society, compared to past times where the biggest values were more outward focused like consumerism and meeting ideal (and exclusive) beauty standards.

[jadoretoast]

I hate how everyone tries to be an it girl nowadays, everyone’s so obsessed on being different and quirky they all end up looking the same, it just seems fake. Alexa Demie, Anya-Taylor Joy and Zendeya are one of the few I actually look up to

[Ennahdee]

The IT girl where I work is called Suzy and there's no computer problem she can't fix

[Chuuzus]

LIL Kim is another IT girl that doesn't get talked about enough. she is the reason why hiphop and fashion go hand in hand today

[sashatheelf]

Most of the people mentioned here feel less like ''it girls'' and more like ''celebrities of the moment.'' Actual ''it girls'' rise to fame because of social connections and cunning, they're the people who are always celebrity-adjacent but not famous for a particular reason like acting. This video seems like a miss to me.

[juliadimayuga]

Wait… how did a video about it girls fail to include Alexa Chung? She literally wrote and published a book about her experiences as an it girl called It… I’m just a little surprised.

[ettena]

The trends move so fast now. The It-girl of our generation? More like the it girl of the year, if one is lucky.

[mcxo]

Sienna Miller and Lindsay Lohan were THE it girls in the early 2000’s. The press was obsessed with them. Sienna’s fashion was outstanding back then, the boho-rock chic style was kind of “invented” by her.

[nightwingman]

I vaguely remember an episode of a show called Hey Arnold where the character Helga became an “It” girl and hated it the attention the notoriety and people emulating her from her clothing to her willful/borderline bullying manners. Ironically what got her out of it was her being nice.

[jeu-de-paume]

I am surprised that you didn't touch at all on the meaning of "It girl" in the larger gender relations scheme of things. I mean, there is no "It boy" — why is that? Maybe because female cultural icons have always been defined by some undefinable magic quality that they possess and that every girl wants to possess if she hopes to have any value. Maybe because the "It girl" trope is part of the general patriarchal mindset that always viewed "femininity" as something radically different from *normal humanity*: obscure, mystical, chaotic, and therefore desired. Maybe we need to talk about the culture of disposable "It girls" as ITSELF A CULTURE (and maybe we want to get rid of it).
You two are among the smartest ladies that I know 'online', and your work is needed and valuable. Perhaps another video on this subject sometime soon?

[trinaq]

Please cover "Daddy's Girl", where a father and daughter have a special bond, and absolutely adore each other. Examples could be Eleven and Hopper, or Tony and Morgan Stark.

[sydandtaytum]

i blame paris hilton for where we are today. 'it' girls before her had mystery and charm and talent. because of paris, we have kim and the rest of the kardashians.

[Chamsiee]

I think the it girl term is very subjective and it can be different from a country/culture to anothers.
There is always something conventionally beautiful about the it girl. So this is the reason why most of the it girls in the past were white except maybe the few entertainers and models. Nowadays, it is slightly changing and we see more and more POC.
My it girl of this decade is Rihanna. Thanks to her sense of fashion, she is a trendsetter. And her make up line really changed the game. Also, I believe women can assume to be smart and to have it all whereas it seems like in the past the trope were very restricted to the physical appearance. SS I'm glad we can have it girl that can embody " beauty and brain" or not.