Cottagecore has us yearning for a bygone era that never was
Acres of flower fields stretch into the horizon as you frolic in the amber glow of the afternoon sun. After foraging for an assortment of plants, you return to your secluded cottage to bake a crusty loaf of sourdough bread and sip on a cup of herbal tea.
The worries of the pandemic seem a world away from this fairy tale dreamscape, and yet for many people, it has become a welcome escape from the drudgery of lockdown living during the pandemic.
Cottagecore, an internet subculture that romanticizes historical rural living, skyrocketed in popularity during the pandemic, with millions logging into “Animal Crossing: New Horizons“to create their own virtual gardens and listening to Taylor Swift’s nostalgic album “Folklore.”
The Highlight, our home for ambitious stories that explain our world.
It feels like endless summer on the expanse of Seven Mile Beach, a milky-white crescent that skirts the western reaches of Grand Cayman. Azure waters mirror the sky to evoke the quintessential postcard panorama; at sunset, Seven Mile Beach makes for a prime perch to watch the sun gild the horizon as it dips into the ocean.
The Cayman Islands could be a prototype for a tropical paradise any time of year. In the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic, the British territory in the Caribbean might as well be another planet, an otherworldly utopia where masks are optional, bars are full, and vaccines are being rolled out efficiently to locals.