Brands, celebs want to be ‘very demure’

A TikTok trend around the word “demure” is taking over social media.

Celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Kim Kardashian and big brands, including Dunkin Donuts, Lyft, Verizon, and United Airlines, are trying to attract consumer attention by branding themselves and their products “very demure.”

The term is all over social media after a viral TikTok makeup and dress-up video created by a beauty influencer who identifies as a trans woman, Jools Lebron, made a 38-second post describing her office look. In the post (shared on August 5), she says her look is “very demure” and “very mindful.”

The post has over 47 million views, and the hashtag “#demure” has been shared over 400,000 times on TikTok.

While the meaning of demure is “reserved or modest,” Lebron has redefined it as a mindful and considerate way of presenting oneself.

Brands want to hop on the “demure” buzzword bandwagon. But experts caution that this trend could be overused by brands that do not understand the cultural moment behind it.