What Exactly *Is* The Brat Summer Aesthetic?
A guide to perfecting the art of “being really hot in, like, a scary way.”
Once upon a time, people across the internet strived for curation. The birds chirped on morning hot girl walks, fresh sliced fruit was added to Stanley water tumblers, and no pink look was complete without a slicked-back bun. Chaotic, it was not.
Summer 2024 was shaping up to be a similar season — until everything changed on June 7, when Charli XCX dropped her critically acclaimed album Brat.
Now, it’s all about brat girl summer.
Charli’s work reawakened a genre of messy fun and breathed life back into everyone’s inner party girl. The album makes you want to dance on a table as much as it makes you want to unleash your journal of secrets on a stranger in the corner of a party. The brat girlie follows in Charli’s lead and carries lip gloss, vulnerability, and a digital camera in a fabulous vintage leather shoulder bag.
Brat summer is more of a feeling or a vibe than a specific aesthetic look.
To tap into your own brat summer, you will need to unlock the desire to take a few risks. You can do so by wearing something you previously thought was out of your comfort zone, reaching out to that girl you always thought was cool, taking the aux cord at a party, or even just staying out past your 10 p.m. bedtime. Brat summer is more of a feeling or a vibe than a specific aesthetic look.
That being said, there are a few items you can use to help set the tone. Consider this your brat summer starter pack:
The Category Is... Brat (Slime) Green
To kick off your own brat summer, you’ll need two things: Charli XCX’s album Brat (this is an obvious one) and a strong showing of bright, slime green. Think of the shade on the album cover as your own personal paint swatch to transform your environment into a brat summer.
Whether you’re declaring yourself one of Charli’s Angels by wearing the new official Brat merch from her website or simply swapping to a slime green phone case, a pop of Brat green is a great way to set the spunky mood and signal to others that you’re participating in brat summer.
While you can totally spend the next few hot months having a brat summer solo, a Charli XCX-inspired summer is more fun with friends. Grab that digital camera you bought off eBay, charge your speaker, and host an epic bedroom dance party in fabulous ‘fits.
Shop Brat Green Styles
Handbag Must-Haves Worthy Of Your Next TikTok
The singer’s music isn’t the only audio going viral on the internet. A clip from a year-old British Vogue YouTube video titled “Inside Charli XCX’s Mugler Handbag” is one of the latest viral audio trends on TikTok.
Get inspired by Charli’s handbag contents and add a few Brat-coded items to your own. The items in your bag can be functional like sunglasses and a key ring, but should also bring playful energy and inspo to your day. Think: a notebook (Charli uses hers to jot down lyrics), a heart compact for touching up your smokey eye, and an eye-catching phone chain.
Pro tip: Make sure you have a bag big enough to carry everything you need. Depop, TheRealReal, and your local vintage store are all great places to score your summer bag. When you’re searching for that special piece, look for worn-in leather, studs, hobo shapes, or flirty tassels.
Shop Charli’s Bag Style
Mixing Edgy & Luxe Styles Is Peak “Girl, So Confusing”
Charli XCX and Lorde may have worked it out on the remix, but the essence of brat style remains purposefully confusing. To put it simply, a juxtaposition between luxe outfits and edgy environments, or edgy outfits and luxe environments, is the key to unlocking the brat aesthetic.
For example, while other Wimbledon onlookers were in collared dresses, pleated skirts, and logo-clad tennis merch, Charli XCX took an alternate approach to her spectator look. The star wore a sheer open-knit crochet set with knee-high lace socks, black heels, and tiny sunglasses. The look was a stark contrast to the tennis whites on the court and brought the brat summer edge to an otherwise buttoned-up event. She still looked luxe, but in a way that easily stood out.
You can get the look by approaching your outfit as a moment in itself. Mix a diamond necklace (faux or real) with a silver metallic bikini or wear a collared jacket with your best knee-high dancing boots.
Shop The “Girl, So Confusing” Style
The It-Girl Vibes Are Real
In the Brat universe, there is a roster of internet it-girl muses. Among those featured in the “360” music video are Chloë Sevigny, Gabbriette Bechtel, Quenlin Blackwell, Chloe Cherry, Emma Chamberlain, and of course, Julia Fox. (Fun fact: Fox is the inspiration for the “I’m everywhere, I’m so Julia” line in Charli’s song.)
No, you don’t have to be Julia Fox to live up to the lyric. In this case, Julia is an essence that can be captured through fashion, bleached brows, and an ability to be referenced everywhere while maintaining a level of mystery. It involves a level of risk-taking when it comes to personal style, unparalleled self-confidence, and networking.
In the music video, Bechtel declares that being an internet it girl is about “being really hot in, like, a scary way.” Though these fashion pieces may not be scary, they are certainly hot and will help you reach that “so Julia” lifestyle that is at the core of brat summer.
