‘Brat’ summer is over. Say hello to ‘demure’ fall.

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.”
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.
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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.”
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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.
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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