If going all green is a bit too much for you, pair it with a neutral tone so it looks like a pop of colour. Photo: 123rf
"Brat girl summer" – unpick this trends and suddenly it is obvious why so many people are sporting lime-green this season. It traces back to the colour of British singer Charli XCX's Brat album.
She sings a song, 360 with the lyrics, "If you love it, if you hate it / I don't f******* care what you think."
That sums up the spirit of "brat summer", namely: do what you want, no matter what other people think.
The trend went viral and has hit the streets, as you can see from what people are wearing.
Beyond attitude, the look is a vibe somewhere between 2000s look and indie sleaze, which everyone is free to interpret.
So combine wide, relaxed trousers that might have previously been your stay-at-home clothes, paired with a party top and smudged eyeliner.
The official Brat Girls colour is bright lime green thanks to an album cover by Charli XCX. She is seen here in an outfit by German designer Wolfgang Joop. Photo: dpaThe look marks something of a counter-trend to the clean and highly styled, tasteful-but-never-crass aesthetic of recent years, some fashion commentators have argued.
And paying tribute to Charli XCX's minimalist green album cover, masses of memes and photos are showing up online with green backgrounds and the people liking them have bright green nails.
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Even former German chancellor Angela Merkel earned herself the compliment of being an "original brat" for having worn a shiny green outfit to the 2022 Bayreuth Richard Wagner Festival of opera music.
"Brat green is taking the world by storm," says Vogue.
US Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris' campaign team even coloured the campaign's X account light green after Charli XCX's supportive tweet “Kamala IS brat.”
Maybe it is time for you to see if you can get some brat green into your everyday life, whether or not you are an "original brat". Yet.
Bright green is a typical spring colour, if you ask colourist and style consultant Jasmin Link. The shade is "modern, vitalising and mood-enhancing".
It is also "creative, lively, expressive and a little rebellious and independent".
Bright green stands for new beginnings, for following your own rules, Link says. It "doesn't conform to anything, because it always stands out."
"Anyone who wears it is automatically in the eye of the beholder. That's why the colour matches the brat-girl attitude and statement."
The great news about Brat girl summer is you can wear whatever you like to take part. Some will argue bright green looks particularly good on people with red or red-blonde hair and green or brown eyes.
"But everyone, no matter what they look like, can wear it as trousers or a skirt," says Link.
She adds that you can match it with "yellow, orange and basic colours as well as brown". When combined with other bright or neon colours like royal blue and pink, there is "a lot going on visually".
You are safest avoiding colours that blend almost tone-on-tone into bright green and fail to form a contrast, she says. After all, they are the opposite of the "vibrant look of the brat girl".
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Link says to bear in mind that the "brat girl green immediately catches the eye". So it works best with other plain-coloured items of clothing. Your accessories will play a supporting role.
Don't bother with patterned items.
"I wouldn't combine unusual patterns with this, as the colour is already striking," she says.
"Our eyes find the repetition of colours particularly aesthetic," says Link. So pick up colours from your outfit in your accessories such as belts, jewellery, glasses, bags, rucksacks or shoes.
"Metallic tones or basic colours such as black, white and dark blue neutralize the overall colour impression in the accessories and calm down bright colours," Link says.
But as Charli XCX told the BBC, all you really need for the brat summer style is a pack of cigarettes, a BIC lighter and a strappy white top with no bra. – dpa
