1998’s Practical Magic Is a Crash Course In Whimsigoth Beauty, And I’m Taking Notes

May 30, 2025 / Swedan Margen /

Gen Z Says is a bimonthly column chronicling the latest trends in the fashion-and-beauty space through the lens of Who What Wear’s own Gen Z editors. Expect a download on the upcoming class of tastemakers, emerging designers, and shopping and style choices straight from the generation setting the trends.

There’s something so enticing about leaning into nostalgia, yet the prospect of feeling attached to what once was can sometimes pose a challenge. I don’t believe any of us truly feel like the past doesn’t trickle into our present and future sometimes, whether it’s planned or just happens to make an appearance when you least expect it. At the same time, nothing is stopping nostalgic tendencies from informing our thoughts and actions, transforming themselves into bittersweet memories. So, why not lean into it fully with the intent of adding a touch of whimsy to your lift as it is now? As a child of the 2000s and ’90s baby (also known as an older Gen Zer), I find myself questioning if the return of the recent meteoric rise in popularity of aesthetic-led style movements indicates a much larger shared desire to return to childlike whimsy.

Since there’s no way to transport our elder selves back to watching a movie for the first time with our younger selves, I’ve found comfort in the cozy movies and TV shows that are heavy on the late ’90s aesthetics. Even though I was a baby during the last chunk of that decade, I still find myself longing for traces of familiarity. For example, 1998’s Practical Magic starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock is without a doubt one of my most-watched movies I can trust to instantly deliver the childlike wonder I’ve always wanted to recapture as a 20-something-year-old. Of all the biggest beauty moments of the ‘90s I wish I could have witnessed, the “whimisgoth” aesthetic at its peak would have changed my brain chemistry. Practical Magic happens to be the very definition of it.

If you weren’t around in the years following the aesthetic at its height with popular shows and movies (or have just noticed a steady uptick in the number of TikTok videos you see using it as a hashtag in the caption), it’s being revived with sudden interest from my fellow Gen Zers. Whether its popularity could be credited to the POV videos circulating social media platforms or recent reboot and sequel announcements, whimsigoth is capturing the attention of older and younger Gen Z social media users. This time around, we’ll be taking a deep dive into the aesthetic as it pertains to beauty and how Practical Magic‘s Owens Sisters have inspired my take on the trend.

Finding Comfort in the (Somewhat) Familiar

When I’m asked why I’m so drawn to the movie, I run the risk of going off on several tangents rather than landing on the preferred short and sweet answer of “Stevie Knicks was involved.” Simply put, it has everything from the heavy use of crushed velvet in Gillian’s wardrobe to the fact that it was filmed on Washington’s Whidbey Island, 20 minutes from where I grew up. If I had to land on one thing I love about the movie, however, it would be the fact that it gives me a look at some of the most memorable trends of a bygone era in beauty. While you may not be sporting the razor-thin brows, matte lip combos, and ultra-textured tendrils featured in it, the matte skin and sneaky bronzer might win you over.

No matter how you feel about the fictional Owens sisters (sometimes I wake up feeling like a Gillian and go to bed a Sally), I can count on the movie to always make me want to try my hand at a few throwback makeup looks. The whimsigoth beauty we see in Practical Magic is arguably more wearable and able to be modernized than a lot of the other shows that led to the trend’s popularity as the 20th century ended. The movie took everything we had come to expect from the look of witches we had seen up until 1998, and gave it what I like to call the Nancy Meyers treatment: a sun-soaked coastal home, a memorable soundtrack, loveable supporting characters, plus two protagonists who you want to be when you grow up with elite styles and personalities.

With that being said, the movie is far from your average witchy, whimsigoth watch because it captures everything that makes living magical, scary, and downright confusing at times. Its two main characters—a pair of sisters who grew apart in their adulthood—are brought together again in a way that viewers can appreciate the similarities and differences between them. One of the most recognizable ways this is done is through the use of beauty. Gillian, with her scarlet tendrils and huge personality, leans into her sensuality more than Sally, who prefers to keep covered up (including her talent for magic). These traits are reflected in everything from their favored lipstick colors to how the hairstyles they started with change significantly by the end of the story.