The proprietors of old money are the OG gatekeepers, renowned for working overtime to keep it in the family.Ĭontrary to what TikTok would have you believe, old money, especially in Britain, is associated with an unkempt, scruffy, and markedly unpolished exterior, supposedly underscored by a “nothing to prove” mentality. Pop-culture examples include the likes of Charlotte York’s former WASP husband Trey MacDougal in Sex and the City, Warner Huntington III in Legally Blonde, and the majority of Gossip Girl’s principal characters. In Britain, old money is often linked to the aristocracy, landed gentry, or the monarchy, all of which contributed to or benefited from colonization (as did the American gentry). Referred to as “robber barons,” they’re famed for their unethical business practices and poor treatment of workers. Ironically, given society’s respect for them, many old-money titans didn’t build their empires through wholly moral means. Some well-known American old-money-flanked families earned their wealth through oil (the Rockefellers), publishing (the Hearsts), or steel (the Carnegies).
They will have received or will eventually receive their inheritance or trust fund, have likely been bestowed a private-school education, and purportedly have the manners to match. “Old money” as an adjective characterizes people who possess passed-down generational wealth. What does the term “old money” even mean? Social media is a way of collecting my thoughts and interests around the topic of old-money aesthetics and classical taste that I have acquired through family influence.” The proprietor of one such profile (who requested to remain anonymous, but gave us his initials as D.W.) tells me that his personal family history was what galvanized him to create TikTok account “I am fortunate to have been born into a European family with a well-documented history.
Old money aesthetic how to#
The app is full of get-the-look tutorials, which show you how to re-create the “old-money” aesthetic.
Aperol spritz or red-wine-fueled European vacations are also abundant - Monaco and Lake Como are popular options, as are Tuscan vineyards - often set to Lana Del Rey’s dulcet tones. The majority of TikTok’s #OldMoney videos are slideshows of reference photos depicting these women, sometimes playing croquet on the grounds of English country estates, or young men in coats and tails at Ivy League college functions. Gossip Girl’s Nate Archibald is the key reference point for “ old-money boys,” who are tall and square-jawed with floppy, middle-parted hair.
Recurring #oldmoney icons are Scarface’s Elvira Hancock, Lily-Rose Depp, and Princess Diana. The women referenced are usually blonde, long-locked, and oh-so thin. The #oldmoney aesthetic is minimalist in fashion, usually paired with black loafers (preferably Prada), pearls (real, of course), and fur (sable, if you will). What exactly is the “old-money aesthetic”? I immediately asked myself, why are Gen Zs - TikTok’s primary demographic, famed for their leftist political ideology - obsessing over such an exclusionary concept? Together, the hashtags #oldmoney and #oldmoneyaesthetic have amassed over 1.3 billion views. After some digging, I discovered that the aspirational aesthetic is dedicated to the lifestyle that (allegedly) comes courtesy of generational wealth. While scrolling through TikTok under the guise of anthropological research, I happened to come across a slideshow of Scandi-looking girls in crisp white shirts, some posing beside a horse, others lolling against vintage convertibles. Photo-Illustration: by The Cut Photos: Getty Images, Shutterstock
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