Forget “brat summer,” it’s time for a “demure” fall.
According to Merriam-Webster, “demure” can be defined as “affectively modest, reserved or serious,” but TikTok users have given it a brand new meaning.
Following this year’s “brat summer,” the internet is adopting a new aesthetic. Known as “demure,” the trend is centered around being cutesy, clean and mindful, with an emphasis on productivity and confidence.
According to an article from USA TODAY, the use of the term “demure” as a new trend was popularized by TikTok creator Jools Lebron.
The trend took off after Lebron posted a video on Aug. 2 describing how she gets ready for work in a “demure” way.
"You see how I do my makeup at work? Very demure, very mindful," Lebron said in a TikTok video that now has over 40 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."
According to an article from The Dispatch, the video had received roughly 43.1 million views, over 4.2 million likes and 19,100 comments by Aug. 23. The trend has grown, with now thousands of other videos being posted on TikTok under the hashtag "demure.”
Celebrities have been joining in on the fun too.
On Aug. 15, Netflix shared a short video on Instagram in which actor Penn Badgley showed viewers his “very demure, very mindful” workout gear while wrapping the final episode of Netflix’s thriller series, “You.”
The following day — on Aug. 16 — the White House posted a photo of President Joe Biden on Instagram with the caption, “Canceling the student debt of nearly 5 million Americans through various actions. Very mindful. Very demure.”
Being demure isn't just an aesthetic, it's a lifestyle, and Lebron has since provided TikTok users with instructions on how to be demure while boarding a plane, responding to drama and ordering food.
On Aug. 14, Lebron, a Cuban, transgender woman, shared in a TikTok video that internet fame changed her life and will allow her to take the next step in her gender transition.
In an Aug. 16 follow-up video, Lebron said she felt “overwhelmed” by the attention she has garnered, adding, “But I’m living my f****** dream, b****.”
In an Aug. 19 interview with CBS Mornings, Lebron said she was able to find her community through social media and was grateful to have the opportunity to unify people.
“When I did start making TikToks, I found more girls like me,” she said in the interview. “I found girls who are plus size, who are trans, who are having the same experiences that come uniquely with that set of combinations.”
