What Is The 'Very Demure' Trend And Where Did It Come From?
As Brat girl summer comes to a close, it's time for the demure girl to take the spotlight – very mindfully of course.
Anyone who has been on social media in the past week has started hearing the phrase, "very demure, very mindful."
This trend seems to be a jarring reset from the edgy, messy, neon-green summer of 2024.
What is this trend? Where did it start? What does it mean?
What Is Brat Summer?
The idea of Brat Summer started with the release of Charli XCX's album 'Brat' at the start of the summer. The album sought to celebrate the messiness and confusion of party life, being a girl, and of letting lose. In a TikTok video, the singer herself explained what "brat" means.
"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. Think Courtney Love in the '90s, Amy Winehouse in the early aughts, and Ke$ha in the 2010s."
Since the release of the 32-year-old's album, it's been a summer of everyone embracing their brat.
"Very Demure"
@joolieannie #fyp #demure @OAKCHA @Paul | Fragrance Influencer ♬ original sound - Jools Lebron
Now, where did the emphasis on being demure begin? TikToker Jools Lebron posted a video on the platform captioned, "How to be demure at work."
In the video she speaks directly to the camera describing how she goes about being "demure" in a professional setting. "I do my makeup. I lay my wig. I do a little braid. Very demure, very mindful. Let's not forget to be demure, divas."
According to 'The Cut,' the original video was decidedly a joke, but has captured the internet's heart.
The Web Goes Demure
@sayessence be mindful why you have 20 min walk home #fyp #foryoupage #demure ♬ original sound - essence
Jools has since made several different videos that have determined what is or is not "demure." Of course, the rest of the internet has followed suit.
The phrase has gone viral as other TikTok users are determining what is and isn't demure for themselves.
Brat vs. Demure
Brat playfully uses the term to embrace the messiness of life. Demure, to laughingly discuss what is cute and quiet and traditional. However, both find their humor in using what would definitionally be classified under one as the other.
RELATED: 'Drag Race' Star Mo Heart Reveals How Charli XCX Impacted Her Coming Out Story
However, Very Demure IS Unique
While Brat Summer has been original, the aura of it — while iconic — is decidedly built upon from the past. From the early 2000s through the modern day, the cultural emphasis has been on embracing your own chaos. Living a brat summer is similar to doing things for the plot which, in a unique way, is an off-shoot of girl-bossing.
The new "very demure" trend strikes a slightly different note. Rather than the goal being to embrace the chaos, it is a trend that focuses on trying to be perfect and polite. It pokes fun at trying to be a people pleaser.
Is this the start of a new genre of internet trends? Time will tell where it goes from here.
