Current:Home > StocksBrat summer is almost over. Get ready for 'demure' fall, a new viral TikTok trend. -Wealth Empowerment Zone
Brat summer is almost over. Get ready for 'demure' fall, a new viral TikTok trend.
View
Date:2025-04-19 17:24:18
Brat summer's been fun. But now, it's time to get "demure."
The internet has a new buzzword, aesthetic and mindset − and it comes in stark contrast to this summer's trend of embracing all things messy and brat. (And, if you understand every word of that sentence already, you should probably spend less time on the internet.)
It's called being "demure," an attitude that's now going viral in major part thanks to Jools Lebron, a TikTok personality with 1.2 million followers who's clarified what the trend means and what it stands for in several viral videos.
Basically, being "demure" is all about being cutesy, clean and mindful. It's not drawing attention to yourself. It's not being messy or loud. It's getting things done and going about your day with quiet confidence and gentility. Dressing modestly at work? That's demure. Patiently waiting to get out of your seat until the plane is ready to de-board? So demure.
"You see how I do my makeup at work? Very demure, very mindful," Lebron says in one video with over 10 million views. "I don't come to work with a green-cut crease. I don't look like a clown when I go to work. I don't do too much. I'm very mindful while I'm at work. See how I look very presentable? The way that I came to the interview is the way I go to the job."
What does it mean to be demure?
It's unclear whether the trend is sincere or satirical. Still, people can't stop talking about or embracing it, even if in an ironic way.
Bob the Drag Queen, for instance, posted a TikTok putting on outrageous makeup to Lebron's audio describing a demure makeup look in the workplace. Another TikToker said it was demure to take psychiatric medication.
"You see how I take my antidepressants every day? Very demure, very mindful, so I don't fall into a manic episode, depressive episode," the TikToker says. "Be mindful of why your doctor prescribed you an antidepressant. Very demure."
Being demure isn't just an aesthetic, but a way of life. Lebron has described how to be demure while boarding a plane, responding to drama and ordering food.
"I don't do too much. I do just enough," Lebron says in a video. "I don't go overboard. I don't go underboard. I'm not the basement. I'm not the attic. I'm where you live. I'm very demure."
Brands have gotten in on the trend too. "not standing immediately when the plane lands is so demure," United Airlines commented on TikTok. "vacation responder set to on, very demure," added Google.
Is 'color analysis' real?I put the viral TikTok phenomenon to the test − and was shocked.
Are you demure or brat?
The demure trend stands in stark contrast to the brat trend. Inspired by the Charli XCX album of the same name, "brat" is all about unabashedly embracing your messy side. This includes loud makeup, clubbing, partying and general chaos.
Esthetician Sean Garrette indicated a tide seems to be turning, declaring on X: "brat summer, demure fall."
In a TikTok interview, Charli XCX broke down her definition of the word "brat": “You are just that girl who is a little messy and maybe says dumb things sometimes, who feels herself but then also maybe has a breakdown but parties through it. It is honest, blunt and a little bit volatile. That’s brat.”
'Brat summer' is upon us.What does that mean? Kamala Harris is game for it.
Charli XCX fans aren't throwing tantrums like a badly behaved child; being a brat to them means indulging in pleasure and not concerning yourself with societal expectations. Rather than conforming to the status quo − on matters of aging, clean living or etiquette − brats focus more on having fun, embracing their community and unapologetically embracing individuality.
More:Kamala Harris is embracing 'brat summer.' It could be cool or cringe. It's a fine line.
It's "being confident, putting yourself out there, being out, being about, being the center of attention."
It's pretty much the opposite of demure, which has made some social media users excited for the switch-up. As one X user put it: "This demure lore is way more fun than the brat nonsense"
Contributing: Alyssa Goldberg
veryGood! (2272)
Related
- 51-year-old Andy Macdonald puts on Tony Hawk-approved Olympic skateboard showing
- Weary families trudge through Gaza streets, trying to flee the north before Israel’s invasion
- US military to begin draining leaky fuel tank facility that poisoned Pearl Harbor drinking water
- Jada Pinkett Smith Says Will Smith Hadn't Called Her His Wife in a Long Time Prior to Oscars Slap
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- How inflation's wrath is changing the way Gen Z spends money
- 2nd grand jury indicts officer for involuntary manslaughter in Virginia mall shooting
- US oil production hits all-time high, conflicting with efforts to cut heat-trapping pollution
- US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
- UAW strikes are working, and the Kentucky Ford plant walkout could turn the tide
Ranking
- 9/11 hearings at Guantanamo Bay in upheaval after surprise order by US defense chief
- 10-year-old Illinois boy found dead in garbage can may have 'accidentally' shot himself, police say
- AP PHOTOS: A week of war brings grief to everyday Israelis and Palestinians alike
- Cricket and flag football are among five sports nearing inclusion for 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
- Giants, Lions fined $200K for fights in training camp joint practices
- Want a Drastic Hair Change? Follow These Tips From Kristin Cavallari's Hairstylist Justine Marjan
- Proof Hugh Jackman and Estranged Wife Deborra-Lee Furness Are on Good Terms
- Russia mounts largest assault in months in eastern Ukraine
Recommendation
Former Milwaukee hotel workers charged with murder after video shows them holding down Black man
'Star Trek' actor Patrick Stewart says he's braver as a performer than he once was
In solidarity with actors, other Hollywood unions demand studios resume negotiations
At least 27 dead with dozens more missing after boat capsizes in northwest Congo
Elon Musk’s Daughter Vivian Calls Him “Absolutely Pathetic” and a “Serial Adulterer”
Chris Evans Breaks Silence on Marriage to Alba Baptista
Inflation has a new victim: Girl Scout cookies
Montana man to return home from weekslong hospital stay after bear bit off lower jaw