on aesthetics and subcultures (amongst other things)

Let me preface this by saying I literally don't know what I'm talking about and feel free to disagree with me but theres something that bothers me so much about the way current internet culture, and more specifically tiktok, affects the mainstream view of subcultures and aesthetics in general. 

Like for example, while scrolling youtube I had seen a "2000s style" vlog. I mean, 2000s was IN THE TITLE. So of course I'm going to assume that it would be at least *somewhat* true to its name. But NO, it was a normal vlog, the person uploading it had the classic tiktok 2020s version of what 2000s fashion was and the main difference and was that they had just slapped a VHS filter over the video.. Seeing that really triggered something in my brain at it had made me notice a theme amongst both nostalgia and DIY based subcultures.

Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. is a cashgrab. On the side of nostalgia, they know that newer generations love to romanticize the past and they know older generations miss their youth. This creates a HUGE market for fast fashion and microtrends to appear and gain TONS of money from a TON of people. Then on the side of DIY, absolutely everything as been manufactured. I've genuinely seen people ask where they can buy "punk clothes" and what peoples favorite sites to buy "grunge fashion". The family recipes are being lost. You don't need to buy that 10 dollar patch, make it. You don't need to buy pre-distressed jeans for 80 dollars, buy some jeans from walmart and WEAR THEM! And for the love of god, you do not need that bag thats been covered in pins thats being sold for 95 dollars, buy a bag, and put your own pins on it. Please.

I get it, we yearn for a simpler time. I'm victim of it (clearly, im writing this on spacehey) but instead of just adopting the aesthetics maybe we could try adopting the culture around them as well.