The Pop Culture Moments Influencing Our Everyday Style - From Charli XCX to "Very Demure"

0:00The following podcast is a Dear Media Production.

0:06Hi, guys. Welcome back to another episode of Let's Get Dressed. It's your host, Liv Perez. Hope everyone's having a great start to the week. By the time you're listening to this, I'll be back in New York City, back in New York groove during New York Fashion Week. I'm so excited to be there. I'm in LA now as I'm recording. I'm going to my friend Tanya's wedding in Montecito this morning and then flying straight from Montecito. Well, no, obviously, have to drive from Montecito to LAX. Thank God for Alex. Thanks God. Thank God for husbands. And then getting on a plane, going straight to New York and waking up the next morning and doing a photo shoot and a fashion show.

0:42So excited. I'm really looking forward to the next few weeks ahead. Also, have any of you guys tried a hatch before? This is not an ad, I promise, but I used one for the first time this morning and I have so much energy today. It's like a modern day alarm clock. It's very sleek and very chic. Mine's the Hatch Restore. It's like a woven boucle beige material that like goes perfectly with my room. And it's this alarm clock that has like morning and sleep meditations, light therapy, nature sounds. I actually got it because I hated that I would wake up every day and have to like open up my phone to turn the alarm off and then immediately like go down the spiral of the iPhone.

1:21And I wanted something that felt like an old school alarm clock. Obviously, I'm going to get on my phone eventually, but it like delayed the process just by a little bit. And my favorite part actually was that there's a light setting on it where you can actually customize like the sunrise or the sunset in your room. And last night we were going to bed and I was like, oh, there's like a Malibu sunrise setting. Let's try that. And I, it actually, so like the light goes on 30 minutes before your alarm goes off. So like it, it basically like mimics sunrise in your room. And I woke up like 20 minutes before my alarm went off to this like gorgeous golden glowy bedroom.

1:55And it put me in the best mood. I'm actually so chipper. I got out of bed. I worked out. I went for a walk. And just that tiny little shift of the natural warm glow light in my room made everything better. I don't know. Totally random. Totally off the cuff. But I had to tell you guys about my new morning productivity hack because it's making me feel so good. And it's like the morning coffee thing. I go to bed at night dreaming about my morning cup of coffee now. And now I'm sitting here dreaming about getting in bed and being woken up by my glowy hatch. Anyways, let's dive into all things fashion.

2:28I feel like I've been taking mental notes for this episode all summer long because I really love when pop culture blends into fashion and you can directly see the way that it influences it, the way that we see things out in the world and we choose to express ourselves through the way that we dress. And there has been so much of it this summer. I mean, from rat summer to Nara Smith style, there truly has been a noticeable shift in the pendulum of fashion. And what I like to think is the very stark departure of quiet luxury. As I like to say, everything in pop culture and fashion and entertainment really swings like a pendulum.

3:07So, you know, we have extremes on one side and now we're on the extreme of the other and it's quite different. So let's get into some of the moments and micro trends that are leading the charge in shifting fashion, what it means for your closet, and what it can mean for fashion long-term. Let's just call this episode Quiet Luxury Be Gone. Poof, we're in a new era, guys. Let's kick it off with Brat Summer. For starters, what an incredible marketing moment for Charli XCX. She was an artist that I honestly, I didn't really listen to much before because I feel like when she was coming up, she was like the pop, pop artist.

3:43I was really poppy. And now after Bratzummer, I'm a Charlie XCX convert. I love her music. I love her vibe. It's definitely become the music that I listen to when I need a little bit of a pump up. I'm loving that because I can tell that she's truly come into her own. She's not trying to be this person that maybe the music industry wants her to be. She's really fallen into the authenticity of herself. And I think that's why so many of us gravitated towards her this summer. She's so authentic to herself. And zooming out a little bit, we'll get into this a little bit more in the episode. I actually feel like that is what the ethos of like the entire summer has been.

4:23Like all of these personalities, whether they're influencers or artists, the overall theme has been that each of these creators comes to the table with a very distinctive sense of authenticity. And people are attracted to that. I think about Charlie. I think about Chapel Roan. I think about Jules LeBron, who we'll talk about later, the viral TikToker behind the Demir trend. Everything that we're talking about today is just grounded in showing up to the table completely yourself. And I think that that's being shown in fashion right now. Being yourself, wearing whatever you want, going against the grain a little bit.

5:00All of it is grounded in really unique characters. So let's get into Charlie's style a little bit. She's worked with stylist Chris Horn since 2017. And before that, as I was mentioning before, she was definitely pop girly, like way more fun colors, prints. But once she and Chris started working together, it really gave her this more, I'd say like high fashion, but also very like futuristic, dramatic London flair to it. she's always in a white tank. If you guys have seen the 360 music video, she's famously in just like a white tank top and a hot pant, which we love. I feel like those are two very like indicative moments of like the Charlie XCX closet.

5:42Like even going to her birthday party in LA, she was wearing the like tiniest hot pant I've ever seen. Like the shortest short could basically be underwear briefs, but she rocks it. She wears them with high heels and heeled boots. And it's just so, so fun. But also just I have to shout out really quickly that I'm so grateful that she didn't make like the brat green, like the slime green, the like color of the summer. Like, yes, it was the album cover. It was like the vibe, the energy. And that's what brat was like. It wasn't like, oh, we're green like Barbie pink and you're a brat. Thank God, because that color would have, I think, really killed me to see it everywhere.

6:18But it was more about like an ethos. It's more about a vibe. And that's why I say these like micro trend marketing moments are so interesting in pop culture to sit here and look at because so much of music and entertainment and fashion is built around how we market visuals. And her style matches that ethos. It's very early 2000s Tumblr girl. We've got like leather jackets back in high force. Like I'm seeing them everywhere right now. Knee highs, pleated skirts, the white tank. It is so pop girl coded in the best way, but edgy. And I love that for her. And I feel like, again, we're seeing so much of that out in the world right now, whether it's her, whether it's Addison Rae, like the reemergence of the pop girl and like pop girl style is ever present.

7:03I think what's been really fun to like step back and analyze about Brat Summer is going back to that idea of like the pendulum swinging. This feels like the polar opposite swing from COVID. And I know it's been three to four years removed, but I still think that post COVID, especially on social media, we were in this very like health conscious world. Not to say that we're not and not to say that that's not like absolutely crucial and all of us should still be following that and doing that and representing that. But I think what is fun about Charlie is she is kind of the polar opposite of that.

7:39Like she loves to be in the club. It's sweaty. It's smudgy eyeliner. It's like Ibiza and it's the boiler room and it is just like classic club fun. And I don't think we've seen that or like felt that from someone in popular culture post-COVID. Obviously, we had a few years where we were still very scared to be doing that and showing that. And she is just so in it. And I love it. I think we need a little bit of balance. I think it's important to show both of the things. But I love seeing the girlies have fun. I'm not one who goes out much, but Charlie really makes me want to go to a rave in Ibiza, which I've never been to in my life.

8:17So I actually don't know what that would be like, but she makes me want to. Charlie out here making me do things I've never wanted to do in my life. But that was the power of her marketing this summer. She's being purely herself. And I think that's why it felt so authentic and true to so many people this summer who also just wanted to be out there and have the time of their lives. And because of all this, I'm seeing such a dramatic shift in the way people are dressing. We're taking a sharp left, like the sharpest left physically possible from quiet luxury and fully following Brat Summer. and I know it's going to continue into the fall, especially because Fashion Month is here.

8:51And I'm so excited to see what shows she might pop up at. Historically, she's been at Balenciaga, she's been at Lueve, she's been at Prada. And I'm excited to see maybe those partnerships come to life again and maybe some new ones. I know that she is doing a massive H &M collaboration during London Fashion Week. She's the face of their newest collection that is dropping on September 12th. She's doing a huge party at the start of London Fashion Week. Jamie Xx is DJing. I heard it's like an open invite situation. They're going to be dropping more details soon. So if you're in London, definitely pay attention to that because she's going to be all over that and I'm sure will be so much fun.

9:27If there's anything you should be adding to your cart from the Brat Eras because it's not going anywhere, I would say she's single-handedly bringing the leather jacket back. I feel like I haven't seen them in a really long time. I have one in my closet that I don't think I've worn in five years. I remember wearing it in 2020 and I haven't worn it since, so four years ago. And I think it's really one of those styles that comes in and out, kind of like the jean jacket. There's an era where everybody's wearing their leather jacket and sometimes it just goes away. I think the leather blazer really kind of took over its time.

10:01And I think people just really wanted a bit more of a tailored style, but I think it's going to come back. She's really bringing it back. She's always in like an incredible leather moment. And of course, the big oversized bitchy, but not really bitchy sunglasses. For sunglasses lately, I have been dying over Jacques Marie Maje sunglasses. Jacques, J-A-C-Q-E-S, Marie spelled normally, Maje, M-A-G-E. They just have the coolest shapes and colors. Devon Lee Carlson and her boyfriend were just in a campaign for them. So I feel like you guys have probably seen it and that might help you connect the dots, but they have really great oversized styles and just really cool pieces for fall.

10:41So definitely check them out if you're looking for big sunglasses. Okay. Another person who I feel like has leaned into that authenticity gene really hard is Sabrina Carpenter. I'm obsessed with how she's branded herself. She's like so cute. She's like a sour patch kid to me. She's like sweet, but then she's really sour. And I also really love that through her music and her wardrobe, she's really leaned into her sexuality and is 0 % ashamed of it. Like Bedkem, best song on the album. She is just so fun and creative and is another one of those women who like makes me want to be something I've never been.

11:17Like dye my hair blonde, cut my bangs, wear a corset with high heels, all the things. And again, I love that through her style, she's embracing that like feminine, sensual style that just feels really intentional as a part of her branding. I think between her and Charli XCX, there's a very big visual component to music that I think helps bring an audience together and create a moment. Like I think about Taylor Swift and the Arrows Tour and how everybody got dressed. I cannot tell you how many DMs I get frequently of people in our community asking me, what do I wear to the Arrows Tour? And I haven't been, so I have no idea, you guys, I'm so sorry.

11:54I really should go to the Aeros tour so I can tell you, but I have no idea. I would probably just wear like jeans and a really cute top and sneakers to be as comfortable as possible because if you know me, you know I have back problems. I'm an old person and going to a four-hour show would probably kill me if I wasn't as comfortable as possible. So that would just be my approach. And then of course, Beyonce's Renaissance tour, which I did go to in LA last summer about a year ago from now actually, and everybody had to wear silver and everybody looked fab. That was so much fun. But we're in a time right now where creating that visual component to your music creates a larger moment.

12:28It creates community. It creates something that people can actually physically get invested in and feel like they're a part of whatever you're doing. And I think Charlie did an incredible job of that this summer. And so is Sarita Carpenter. Stylist Jared Elner, who we all love, is so talented. He also works with Claudia Soliski, who was on this show. We talked a little bit about him on her episode. Emma Chamberlain, Lily Reinhart, Molly Gordon. So he definitely knows how to dress the it girlies and give them a very unique sense of style. I love seeing her out in like the high fashion world during fashion month.

12:59She was at Loewe earlier this summer. She's a Miu Miu girl. She's always in Miu Miu. She was at Louis Vuitton over the summer. So I'm excited to see where she will land with this season as well. I think we'll definitely see her at Miu Miu. She also did a lot of shows last year. I remember she was at Schiaparelli and Givenchy, and then she walked for Vogue World wearing Jacques Mousse earlier this year. So I think if there was one show that we're going to see her at this season that we haven't seen her at in the past, it's Prada. One, I think her aesthetic could line up really, really great with a little bit more of like the Gen Z take that Prada has been taking recently.

13:32But two, when her new album came out, she did an ad for the Prada moisturizing lip balm, the astral pink one. That's actually blue in the tube, but when it goes on your lips, it is completely transparent and adapts to the pH of your natural lips. So it's this very like flattering pinky tone, but it's super glossy on and it went viral, has sold out and obviously also sold out when she posted it as well. It was also perfect timing because the blue really matched kind of the like blue music era that she's in right now. So again, she's kind of a marketing genius and is really, really good at pulling in these like fashion and beauty moments into her clothing.

14:11One of the things that I'm seeing a lot after the like explosive year that she's had is a rise in like the cutout crop top going out top. It's hard to think of an image of Serena Carpenter without thinking of her in that incredible corset with the heart cut out of it. And that's from the Ukrainian label Frolov. They've been working together since last year. And the little heart motif has been a huge motif in her tour and all of her show outfits. And according to an article in Vogue Business, that heart cut out top generated$22 million in EMV from her Instagram posts, which is absolutely crazy.

14:48So obviously people loved it. And I feel like that has been ever recently, especially with the rise of Widerhoft, which I'm sure a lot of you have seen in the bridal space. He's become very well known for these very, very teensy, tiny corsets, especially around the waist. Those like really suck you in. It's pretty crazy. Corsets aren't necessarily my go-to piece of clothing. I am someone who, like, if I'm even remotely uncomfortable when I'm, like, out in the world, my day is ruined. So I try to stay away from things that try to suck the oxygen out of me. But because of Sabrina, I feel like corsets are everywhere.

15:23I wouldn't be surprised if we see a lot of them this fashion month. Whether they have cutouts or not, a little heart shape, whatever it is, it's definitely giving short and sweet. Also, I am just so obsessed with her hair. I had bangs last summer and I got rid of them. They were like curtain bangs and nothing makes me want to get them back more than Sabrina Carpenter. She's got that like perfect Matilda Durf hair, makes me want to be blonde, makes me want to cut my bangs, neither of which I'm going to do. Bangs were just a lot of maintenance. Like they were so cute when I was out and about, like at events, at shows, whatever.

15:53But at home when I was working and I had to like clip them back or always have a headband on me, it was exhausting. And my hair gets oily really fast, like within day one of washing my hair sometimes. So the bangs were really just collateral damage. It was not fun. And now they've like, I think I haven't cut them since like December, January vibes. And they're like finally reaching the bottom of my chin, like they're growing out. So I can't go back, but she really makes me want to. Her hair is just so good. Like way to have a brand with a very defining feature. And that is Sabrina Carpenter's Now, I said earlier, very demure.

16:29And let's get into that a little bit because Jules LeBron, the creator, made this very demure, very cutesy, very demure-sy audio go viral about a month ago. And it is all I've seen on my TikTok algorithm. It was a video made in response to how to dress going to the office. There, I think, was a video of someone who was a little too sexy for the office. and Jules made a very funny clapback and it went viral, which we love. I seriously wish them all the best. I heard that someone tried to steal their trademark out from under them and I hope that they get it resolved because it crushed my heart to hear that.

17:05Like, I just think it's so hard to make it as a creator these days and to have something that feels unique to you and to have it get so much success and to have so many people support you and then have someone who like literally goes online and is like, oh, that's available. I'm going to steal it from that person. I hate that is like so not so not the vibe and like not the right thing to do From my own personal experience guys if you are like starting a business or a product trademark right away because people definitely tried to come for me or copy friend of a friend back in the day when I was in college And I was able to protect myself so fast with just an email No questions asked.

17:40So I highly recommend doing that. I know that it's expensive all the legal stuff in the beginning hurts. But if you do have the funds to invest into anything when you're starting a business, let it be that. I feel like the very demure trend is a very like perfect runner up to what we talked about in the beginning of the year, the coquette trend, really feminine way of dressing. And it's very obviously the counterpart to Brat Summer. I saw so many memes popping up being like, are you Brat Summer or are you very demure? And I was like, can I be a demure brat? Like, is there something in the middle that's like sexy, but also sweet?

18:15We need options, obviously. But I think a very defining thing of the very demure trend is I think a lot of people were like, oh, the demure is very quite luxury. It's like minimal, but it's not. It's not. Quiet luxury is minimal for sure. But I think that demure is a little bit more based in being modest and elegant in my mind. I think very demure. You can literally be in a gown with the most incredible hair and glam and still have it be demure. But I wouldn't necessarily call that quiet luxury. So I think that's the very distinctive difference. What I'm loving right now about everything we've talked about so far is, again, this complete pendulum swing from very minimalist dressing to complete maximalism.

19:03You've got Charlie XCX in the hot pants. You've got Sabrina Carpenter in like the heart bustiers and pumps. You've got Jules talking about being demure when you're going to the office, which, you know, feels super elegant to me and not like quiet, I would say. Like demure to me doesn't feel quiet. There's like definitely a hint of like sass to being demure. So I think we're in this era of maximalism and I'm excited to see all these micro trends that are existing now. I'm excited to see them cement a little bit further. And maybe what we're going to see this month during fashion month. If there's anyone who I think is a great example of like very demure style, it's Nara Smith because sure, while she might be vocally quiet, her outfits are not quiet luxury or like minimal in any way.

19:51She's someone who I adore. I love to follow her. And I think her whole vibe and her family life and what she's putting out there in the world is really beautiful. And I love that she is like walking down those stairs, getting ready to cook at night in a full look. She's in a sequin dress. She's in a Rodarte dress. She's in a full Chanel runway outfit. Like she is putting on a show for us. And I love that. I think that she also has done a really good job of cementing her brand through a visual aesthetic. She's doing it through cooking, unlike Charlie XCX and Sabrina Carpenter. But it's a visual reference that anytime any of us see on our TikToks or Instagrams, we know that it's her.

20:32I feel like there are so many things that feel very Nara Smith coded. Maybe it's like an amazing white collar or obviously her bob. And then, of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up the incredible Marc Jacobs ad that she did where she made a Marc Jacobs bag from scratch, which I loved. I think it's fun to see how someone in her position who is, you know, marketing different recipes to us on a day-to-day basis has integrated herself into the fashion industry. She opened those doors for herself by wearing incredible clothing while she's getting dressed every day. And I think even just that little bit of visual that we're seeing every day, and of course, amongst her popularity, is making me want to get dressed up more.

21:08And not just in, again, a tee and jeans. I want to get dressed up. I want to wear this incredible black sequin dress that she's wearing while she's cooking dinner for her husband. I want to wear all these incredible outfit she's wearing. Okay, my final pop culture micro trend moment that I have been loving to watch unfold is the one and only Chapel Roan. I am such a fan of hers. And I will say I'm a new fan, like probably so many of us. I feel like I started listening to her a little bit before Gov Ball. And then when the Gov Ball moment happened, and there were just a million fans there, I was like, oh, this is bonafide pop star status.

21:42But for those of you who don't know Chapel, she sings Good Luck, Babe, Hot To Go. She's so good. Go follow her and listen to her music right now if you don't know who she is yet. What I love about Chapel is she's acutely aware of this idea of creating a visual personality that isn't herself. Chapel Rowan is her stage name. Her real name is Kaylee. And she makes a pretty conscious effort to keep those two people very, very, very separate. So much as to recently go out on Instagram and say that she doesn't like when people come up to her in public when she's not Chapel and that she really wants to create that boundary between her and her fans.

22:16That was met with like a lot of discourse and a lot of people didn't love it. But I respect the boundary and I respect people's privacy. Anyways, I love that she has two different personalities. I love that she is incredibly intentional in the visual experience that she's building alongside with her music. So much so that actually, if you go on her website right now, every song actually has a mood board. And I think she's creating a strong brand image. It's very maximalist. It's very couture inspired. I even saw her say that so much of her performance is dedicated to honoring her inner child, playing dress up and just letting herself explore that.

22:52And I think that that's what for me, that's what fashion's always been about. It's finding different parts of your personality and different parts of who you are. It should never be the same. It should never be confined to like this one singular style that you eventually find. It's all about self self-exploration. And she does that so well. And I also think that she has a big purpose to the look that she presents on stage. She said in an interview that, you know, she's from the Midwest. And when she's at these big shows, especially when she's in metropolitan cities, she always wants to represent the queer people from the community that she came from, who might not be able to fully be who they are, where they're from.

23:29I love that she has a mission. Her Her clothing is very drag inspired. It's really fun. It's big tool skirts. It's a heavy makeup, very euphoria, like sequins and dark eyeshadow. There's so much like Betsy Johnson, like inspiration in there that I love it. I grew up, I feel like in the Betsy Johnson era. And she actually did wear a Betsy Johnson dress for her NPR Tiny Death concert. And I felt like that was such a good moment to pay homage to her because it is just so fun. And Betsy Johnson also is really about, you know, paying homage to her inner child. So I love when talent who are doing that get the notoriety and credit that they deserve because I think it influences people and it strikes a chord and it almost like gives someone permission to do the same thing.

24:12I actually got served a video on my TikTok the other day of the first day of school at FIT in New York last week and all the new students and what they were wearing. And it was so chapel coded. It was like she's opened the floodgates for so many young people to dress how they've always wanted to dress. with no limitations. There were so many big skirts, so much tulle, so many corsets with a mini skirt under it. It was like being at a Chapel Rowan concert. And I love to see it. I immediately went into the comments because I knew that people were going to be saying it. And I think that that is the power of fashion and that's the power of imagery and having the foresight to create that visual experience for your community that also impacts them in their day-to-day life.

24:56Chapel's so smart. She's been doing this for 10 plus years, waiting for this incredible moment to happen for her. She's very smart about her marketing. The cover for Good Luck Babe is that incredible red dress that she's wearing with the pig nose that she actually wore on the red carpet of a Grammy's after party and got quite a lot of press for. So then, you know, knowing that she was kind of on the come up to then put that moment on the cover of an album to create that brand recognition and like reinforce her visuals. She was wearing like a prosthetic pig nose, I think is very smart. She very much committed to this very freeing aesthetic.

25:32And again, I think we're on the really opposite side of the pendulum of quiet luxury here. We're talking about pig nose prosthetics here, guys. But it is so much fun. I, again, have been wanting to do this episode for a really long time because I remember a year ago saying to you guys on the podcast, when are we going to be out of this quiet luxury area? And look, I loved it. It really, I think, gave people a moment to look in their closets and say, what is my base wardrobe? Like, what do I have every day to make me feel good that's, you know, tailored well and is the foundation for my wardrobe?

26:06But it was never my thing per se, because I love exploring myself through fashion. I love wearing really bold, fun things, whether it's like a big skirt or an amazing jacket. And I think that's the fun part about fashion. And if you limit yourself just to this like very minimalistic wardrobe, you really miss out on so much self-exploration. So it's been really fun this summer to see so many different personalities in pop culture pop up who have then gone on to create these like micro trends in society, whether it's Charlie XCX Brat Summer to dressing demure and elegant and even Chapel Rhone, who's just so embracing her inner child and dressing however she wants.

26:47I'm loving it and I'm not surprised it's coming from so many incredible female artists out there in the world. This was such a fun episode to do. It's been a while since we did a pop culture inspired style episode. So I hope that you guys loved it and learned something new. I'm off to Fashion Week. Cannot wait. Oh, we didn't talk about where I think Chapel Rowan would be at Fashion Week. I hope she shows up somewhere. I would love to see that. I feel like I'd be surprised if it wasn't in New York. I feel like because of her style, I'd see her at a great indie New York brand. She's always in the blondes.

27:16I could see her at Sandy Lang. I think that would be so much fun. And especially because she is so fashion-centric in her work, it would be great to see her engage in the fashion community as well. Okay. Anyways, I'll be in New York this week. I'll be in Paris in two weeks. I'm so excited to take you guys along with me and talk more about fashion and the trends that I'm seeing while I'm there. So again, if you don't follow me on Instagram, go shoot me a follow at Liv Perez with two Vs. And I will see you guys next week for a new episode. Have a great week, guys.

27:52Thank you.

28:21Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.