Brat Summer

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About

Brat Summer or Brat Girl Summer is a slang term and play on the idea of hot girl summer that references Charli XCX's album Brat. Following the release of the album in June 2024, fans began posting on social media about having a "Brat summer," meaning a summer defined by the vibes of the album and by being a "brat." Many posts about Brat summer often include images of subjects colored in the same lime-green hue as the album's artwork. The definition of a Brat summer is loose, with Charli XCX saying during an interview that it can go "quite luxury" but also "trashy […] like a pack of cigs and a Bic lighter."

Origin

On June 1st, 2024, pop artist Charli XCX posted a collection of photos on Instagram^[1] captioned, "BRAT SUMMER BITCH GET READY," garnering over 211,000 likes in a month (shown below). This is the earliest known mention of a "Brat summer" by the artist. Brat is the name of her then-upcoming album.

On June 7th, the date of the album's release, BBC Sounds posted an interview with Charli XCX to YouTube,^[2] garnering over 69,000 views in a month (shown below). Around the 8:57 mark, the interviewer asks Charli XCX about the Brat summer post, specifically, what the essentials are for having a Brat summer. She says that it can be "quite luxury," but also "trashy […] like a pack of cigs and a Bic lighter and like a strappy white top with no bra."

Spread

Memes and posts about summer 2024 being a Brat summer became increasingly popularized throughout late June and July 2024. On June 20th, Fashion^[3] reported on Brat summer as it continued to spread online.

On June 22nd, 2024, Instagram^[4] user catherineannechiang posted a collection of Brat cover parodies using the term "Brat summer," garnering over 310,000 likes in three weeks (example shown below, left). On June 26th, The Everygirl^[5] reported on the trend, followed by People^[6] on June 28th. On July 3rd, the UberEats Instagram^[7] page posted a starter pack meme about Brat summer, garnering over 30,000 likes in two weeks (shown below, right).

On July 7th, X^[8] user @benvyle posted a photograph of a pharmacy with a green cross symbol and "365" written on it, which is the title of a song on Brat, writing, "brat summer," garnering over 119,000 likes in a week (shown below, left).

On July 11th, X^[9] user @colipher posted a photo of a subway train with a green "G" printed on its front window (the marker of the NYC G train line), writing, "This diva right here. She’s TRULY having a brat summer: not working, taking time off to vibe until labor day," garnering over 22,000 likes in five days (shown below, right).

On July 12th, 2024, X^[10] user @prodmelaudme posted a photograph of Kevin Jonas standing in a full green outfit during the "Disney Channel Games," writing, "Brat summer," garnering over 64,000 likes in four days (shown below). On July 16th, The Guardian^[11] published an article about Brat summer.