If we thought Brat Summer was the next big thing in the world of pop culture and fashion, it’s time to take the “how to be demure” trend into consideration. After blogger and TikToker Jools Lebron posted a video on TikTok and Instagram about how she “did her makeup for work - very demure, very mindful”, the trend has now caught the attention of celebrities like Jenna Ortega, Jennifer Lopez, Penn Badgley, Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis as they jumped ship too. While the trend defines as being affectedly modest, reserved, or serious, it has become a social media sensation in no time.
Talking about doing makeup for a professional set-up, Lebron said, “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 at work.
See how I look very presentable? The way I came to the interview is the way I go to the job. A lot of you girls go to the interview looking like Marge Simpson and go to the job looking like Patty and Selma.” She later continued with the trend by teaching her followers how to be “demure” in recent social media posts.
Designer Lakshmi Babu says, “A far cry from the recent aesthetic of quiet luxury, the modest style is all about embracing minimalism”. After posting on August 2, the original TikTok video garnered millions of likes and she has since made many more videos in the same line, on how she handles daily situations, like how she dresses when going to work, how she dresses on a plane, visiting New York in a demure way, how to have a demure drink and so on. Gaurav Khanijo says, “Ideally, the trend has got to do a lot with style that is a balance of elegance and subtlety.
It often draws inspiration from classic or vintage fashion because it’s more on the conservative or timeless side. Makeup is more about less is more, subtle is classic and being elegant is the new thing, which is the need of the hour, after going all out and maximalism in the name of trend and streetwear.” Fashion is now shifting back to more elegant, classic style and that’s where the demure trend is possibly coming in.
It’s more about celebrating the feminity, believes Khanijo. “Demure was the traditional way of describing a woman who was quiet, reserved or modest in her manner, the opposite of standout and loud,” explains Babu. So what kind of dressing aesthetic can we expect from this trend.
Khanijo shares, “It is more approached to the kind of dressing with modest necklines, longer hemlines and more overall coverage of the clothing. Avoiding overly bold or revealing design so including more flowy dresses, blouses.” This new trend gives a great scope for workplace chic that is 'mindful’ of a professional setup while also being fashionable and cutesy.
Makeup artist Sanaya Dotiwala says, “The brat summer moodboard encapsulates a fun, loud, messy girl who is unapologetic and the life of the party. While, demure is all about being confident in a more gentle way of femininity and not on the face. It plays into the male gaze with a bit of ingenuity and innocence, with women knowing what the trend is about”.
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