It girl

Or it girl

noun

1. a young woman with sex appeal and a magnetic personality.

2. an extremely popular and attractive young socialite or celebrity.

It girl

noun

1. a rich, usually attractive, young woman who spends most of her time shopping or socializing

Word History and Origins

Origin of It girl¹

The nickname given to the sex symbol Clara Bow, subject of the 1927 novel and movie It , written by Elinor Glyn, who popularized the concept of it ¹ in the slang sense “sex appeal”

Word History and Origins

Origin of It girl¹

C20: from _it , in the sense: sex appeal

Example Sentences

If every era gets the It Girl it deserves, then the 1960s surely deserved Jane Birkin.

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That Birkin went on to have a solid career in film, music and theater, outlasting the short shelf life of a typical It Girl, is a testament to her talent, ambition and enduring allure.

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As Marisa Meltzer writes in her sympathetic biography, “It Girl: The Life and Legacy of Jane Birkin,” “she maintained a fierce dedication to her own aesthetic that has charmed and inspired for decades.”

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“It Girl” is dutiful in giving Birkin credit as a serious actress and singer, but it never brings her fully to life.

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“It,” employed in this way, first appeared in a 1927 novella by Elinor Glyn, which became a silent film starring the red-haired flapper Clara Bow, arguably history’s first “It Girl.”

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