Used to identify the vibe/aesthetic/impression of something: "it's giving [descriptor]." "It's giving Pinterest 2014." "It's giving old money." The speaker is reading the aesthetic out loud and naming what it resembles.
"It's giving" is vibe-reading vocabulary — naming the aesthetic impression something produces. Usually harmless; sometimes shallow. The Christian note: Scripture consistently presses deeper than surface impression. "Man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart" (1 Sam 16:7). A person can "give" holy vibes and be a whitewashed tomb; another can give unimpressive vibes and be a saint. Read aesthetics all you want; never let the aesthetic substitute for the substance.
Aesthetic-reading vocabulary. Harmless; shallow by design. Never confuse what someone is giving with what they actually are.
"It's giving [X]" makes the aesthetic explicit — the speaker names the impression and invites others to confirm. It is a way of calibrating shared perception of style. The theological caution: Scripture is unrelenting that appearance lies. Saul looked like a king; Saul was no king. David looked like a shepherd boy; David was a king. Pharisees looked holy; Pharisees were tombs. "It's giving saint" does not mean someone is a saint. Read aesthetics, then look past them.
1 Samuel 16:7 — "For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."
Matthew 23:27 — "You are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness."
2 Corinthians 10:7 — "Look at what is before your eyes. If anyone is confident that He is Christ's, let Him remind Himself that just as He is Christ's, so also are we."
Read the vibe, then look past it. "It's giving" names an aesthetic; God names the heart. Scripture privileges the second reading.
“The way she arranged those flowers? It's giving grandma at Thanksgiving.”
“Man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”