These Are the 21 Best Bookish Beauty Finds of 2025

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.

I come from a long line of academics, who I like to refer to as degree collectors, so pursuing higher education with an almost obscene number of chunky wool sweaters, leather loafers, headbands, and classic tortoiseshell frames was part of the game plan. While I was raised with all of the key PNW traits (like appreciating a hiking trail over a sample sale), I also grew up hearing all about my parents’ love for their East Coast years spent studying at one of the top universities in the country praised for its nearly 400-year-old red-brick buildings and sprawling ivy. It’s no question why the hallowed halls of academic institutions continue to inspire aesthetic-loving individuals like myself, but there is something particularly enticing about the power collegiate settings have over beauty and fashion.

Drawing from the many influential subcultures and traditions of elite preparatory schools and Ivy League institutions, collegiate-inspired fashion and beauty have taken on a life of their own. By the time fall rolls back around and the school bells toll, my FYP is flooded with “get ready with me” routines dissecting the iconic style of some of this generation’s most recognizable preps that appeared on our TV screens, from Gossip Girl’s Blair Waldorf (and her modern reincarnation Monet de Haan) to Pretty Little Liars‘s Spencer Hastings. Most eyes would be initially drawn to the earthy tones and textures of their clothing, but for beauty enthusiasts, it’s all about the polished details that keep the aesthetic accessible for people from all walks of life.