What do beat–up Birkins, Clairo shade, and polycules have in common? Personally, I don’t really know, but they’ve all shown up in my feed in the past hour. Honestly, I feel like I’ve gotten whiplash from my For You page over the past couple of months. It seemed we were all just doing the “Apple” dance, and now we’re baking apples in order to emulate our inner Rory Gilmore. And yet, while chaotic, it seems like the 2024 internet has a place for everyone. Indeed, while the world may be wide, the self–acclaimed big backs are wider. It’s brat. And demure. And it can be consumed in over–or–under three bytes. No matter what you are searching for—from mukbangs to mommy vloggers—the internet really may have it all. Because we’re really just trying to find someone to match our freak, after all. So, without further ado, and with warm regards from our For You page to yours, Street would like to take you on a journey through our favorite internet trends of 2024.
– Stella Lee, Style Editor
Ballet Flats
One, two, three, plié. 2024 has been the year of the dainty, durable, and terrifically feminine ballet flat. After years of chunky Dr. Martens wedges and leather loafers, we’re embracing the resurgence of this timeless classic. Whether you’re dressing up jeans and a T–shirt or desperate to ditch your heels for date night, a trusty pair of flats are worth the investment. This year, your favorite fashion girls have been sporting ballet flats in every season—embellished mesh flats for the spring and summer months, red suede and satin in the fall, and black patent leather in the winter. My personal favorite are the Circus NY Zuri Strap flats, available in a whopping 21 color options. Who said ballet flats are for the barre only?
– Kate Ratner, Assignments Editor
Birkin–ifying your bag
Gone are the days when designer purses were tucked away in dust bags, only to be taken for a spin on special occasions—or at least it is for the girls following the Birkin–ifying trend. Jane Birkin, style icon and owner of the first Hermès Birkin bag, used her bags for functionality and style, often decorating them with charms or scarves while stuffing them full of all her belongings from lipsticks to cigarettes and journals. In 2024, the style of eclectic bag accessories caught on and “Birkin–ifying” your purse became the new it–style. Some internet influencers went so far as to break in brand new bags to make them look “lived in” despite being taken freshly out of the box. This style and purse usage was once intended to emphasize a slower consumption of fashion by using one’s purse day–in and day–out until the end of its lifecycle. However, of course, in the trend cycle of our modern age, this beat–up Birkin “look” and accessorizing style has become another means of overconsumption and unoriginality. While folks could be charming their bags with trinkets and ribbons already in their homes and closets, it has become an excuse to buy new accessories and to beat up perfectly good purses straight out of the box.
– Natalia Castillo, Editor–in–Chief
Polycules
I probably have, like, five total friends. But 2024 was the year I learned people were hanging out with 20 romantic partners (thank you, New York Times polycule profile). The questions are endless, but namely, how do you have the time? In the middle of the loneliness epidemic, it feels like there’s a select few people hogging up all the love. Once reserved for free–love hippies and utopian communes, polyamory has become increasingly mainstream, with polycules cropping up across the internet and in our suburbs (if you’re looking for secondhand embarrassment, check out the mom memoir that dropped this January, More: A Memoir of Open Marriage by Molly Roden Winter). With its own jargon (main, nesting partner, solo polyamory), even the most confused of us will be forced to consider the ways we conceptualize long–term relationships. As Tyler, the Creator said on Chromakopia, “See, monogamy, that shit not for me.”
– Norah Rami, Digital Managing Editor
Day in the Life videos
You know you’re old when you experience the old version and new version of a trend. For the 2016 YouTube girlies, you’d know that every major YouTuber had a vlog channel where they documented their life. Nowadays, we have “Day in the Life” videos. These routine–style videos have been a staple on every For You page (or Explore page, for Instagram loyalists). There is something so interesting about being thrown headfirst into a random Los Angeles single girl’s day off from modeling, a city corporate girl, or even a fellow Penn student’s life. As for why we don’t scroll away after two seconds, it may be an authentic, behind–the–scenes look at general life or aspirational lives, but ultimately, it always chucks down to the No. 1 rule of social media: Does it bring me some sort of entertainment or educational value? And these videos seem to always do.
– Valeri Guevarra, Style beat
Hear–Me–Out Cakes
If you thought that doing baby gender reveals through cakes was weird, what about exposing your deepest, darkest romantic desires instead? An innocently decorated cake is adorned with increasingly shocking images of celebrity—human or not—crushes. When it comes to the aptly named Hear–Me–Out cakes, literally nothing is off limits. Friends watch agog as certified hotties like Nick Wilde, Mr. Clean, and Gill the fish from Finding Nemo are added to the heaping mound of forbidden fantasies. The end result is a much–needed reminder that beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. So, bring your friends, a grocery–store cake, and cardboard cut–outs of the objects of your own ethically questionable desires. Even if your friends do judge the deepest fantasies of your id, at least it's presented in cake format. Nothing helps knowing that your friend is attracted to an animated fish like the edible consolation of a delicious dessert.
– Stella Lee, Style Editor
Clairo shade
Indie pop–star Clairo released her highly awaited third studio album Charm this July, smack between BRAT summer and election–anxiety autumn. Clairo shade is the nebulous idea that if you’re doing anything other than listening to, talking about, or supporting Clairo, aren’t you shading her a little? Charm was released July 12. The very next day, Donald Trump was shot at a rally in Butler, Pa., quickly displacing Clairo on list of trending topics on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter—massive Clairo shade. Barack Obama snubbing Charm off of his annual summer playlist—Clairo shade. Could Charm not save Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s marriage? Could Katy Perry be subliminally messaging Clairo to die? And isn’t the twink falling through the skylight at the Bushwick lesbian party on Clairo’s birthday the ultimate attention–seeking, Charm–distracting, icing–on–the–cake example of Clairo shade? Truly anything and everything could be Clairo shade. Street is no exception—we’re all shading Clairo a little right now, because why are you reading this round up instead of our very own review of Charm?
– Andrew Lu, Style beat
BRAT
I knew it was a BRAT summer when my 9–year–old sister asked me if I knew what the “Apple” dance was. I, like many others, had Charli XCX’s new album on repeat for weeks. For the first time in a while, it felt like the internet was collectively celebrating an album release: the iconic "360" music video, the riveting lore behind "Girl, so confusing," Addison Rae in "Von Dutch."
Yes, BRAT was Charli XCXs new album, but it became so much more than mere music. It was a cultural shift that advocated for messiness and chaos, away from the clean–girl aesthetic and quiet minimalism. My frizzy hair underneath black wraparound sunglasses, “I love NYC” baby tee, and black smudged eyeliner: so BRAT. The judgment–laden eye rolls when I wax poetic about the scorching heat or diet culture or misogyny: again, so BRAT.
– Zaara Shafi, Style beat
