Brat

Slangcultureartmedia

Etymology

From Charli XCX’s June 2024 album brat, whose lime-green cover and messy-confessional tone launched "brat summer." The older word brat (a spoiled, unruly child, of uncertain earlier origin) was reclaimed as a compliment.

  1. adjective · /BRAT/

    Describing a confident, messy, hedonistic, and unpolished style of femininity embraced as an aesthetic.

    What it names

    It names an aesthetic that rejects clean-girl perfection in favor of cigarettes, honesty, partying, and un-self-conscious mess. It gives permission to be flawed and loud rather than curated.

    Example

    The whole campaign leaned brat — grainy flash photos, smudged eyeliner, nothing airbrushed.

    Related idea

    Contrast the clean girl aesthetic (slicked hair, minimal makeup, wellness polish); brat is its deliberate opposite.

See also

CoquetteDemureEra