Rare aesthetic TikTok trend tapping into childhood nostalgia

Posted on 5th September 2025

Thousands of people on TikTok this week are sharing video compilations of nostalgic childhood experiences with the caption "Rare aesthetic".

Many of the TikToks reflect life growing up through the 2000s and 2010s – and are the latest example of the way communities of people quickly come together on the platform to share relatable memories.

There are lots of examples of the trend in this Shooglebox:

People are saying "this trend is unlocking memories" as they reminisce about their school days – from the games they played at break time to the trips they went on and even what it was like when they had a day off sick.

This TikTok remembering the days of going to swimming lessons has had more than nine million views and two million likes – with comments like "Why is it so specific and why do I also have this memory?" and "I don’t have unique situations in my entire life".

People are sharing memories of shopping in their early teenage years on this TikTok  about being allowed into town on your own for the first time – including things like the £1.99 McDonald's meal vouchers you used to get on the back of bus tickets.

There's also more recent nostalgia on the trend from the last ten years – like wearing cat ears in 2015 when "Ariana Grande had us in a chokehold", Ikea flower lamps from 2017 and a craze for painting calculators in 2019.