TikTok 'Very Demure, Very Mindful' Trend Explained (In A Demure Way)

22 August 2024, 09:05

TikTok's very demure and very mindful meme has gone viral. Picture: @joolieannie via TikTok, Thiago Prudêncio/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

By Katie Louise Smith

TikTok viral trend explainers? Very demure and very mindful.

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New TikTok quote just dropped... Are you having a Brat Summer? Or are you having a Very Demure, Very Mindful Summer?

TikTok's 'very demure, very mindful' trend went viral thanks to Jools Lebron a.k.a. @joolieannie. The phrase started picking up traction in early August when Jools posted a video with the caption, "How to be demure at work".

The whole thing is admittedly a joke on Jools' part, but the viral phrase has taken off with Jools and other TikTok users now sharing how to be 'demure and mindful' in situations that get more and more ridiculous.

But what does 'demure' actually mean? And how does one go about being very demure and very mindful in their everyday life? Here's your full, very demure, very mindful trend explainer.

Who posted the original Very Demure, Very Mindful video?

What does 'very demure' mean?

In a follow up video to the original 'very demure, very mindful' video, Jools elaborates on the vibes: "You see how I do my makeup for work? Very demure. Very mindful. I don't come to work with a green-cut crease. I don't look like a clown when I go to work. I don't do too much. I'm very mindful while I'm at work."

"You see how I look very presentable? The way I came to the interview is the way I go to the job," Jools continues. "A lot of you girls go to the interview looking like Marge Simpson and go to the job looking like Patty and Selma. Not demure. I'm very modest. I'm very mindful. You see my shirt? Only a little chee chee out, not my cho cho. Be mindful of why they hired you. Here's your reality check, diva. What's the name you'd like me to make it out to?"

A modest amount of chee chee? Very demure and very mindful. Green cut-crease? Not demure and not mindful.

By definition, 'demure' means being reserved or modest. Someone who is described as 'demure' means they're quite "quiet and shy, usually in a way that you like and find appealing, and behave very correctly".

Clothing and make up can also be demure. Outfits that aren't too revealing are "demure", soft, subtle makeup can be "demure".

Being demure and mindful isn't just for job interviews and work place culture, though.

Per Jools' take on the vibe, you can demure and mindful in Vegas, you can be demure and mindful when ordering food, you can be demure and mindful when picking up your ID you left at the gay bar... You can even be demure and mindful when you're hungover and have to go to CVS.

Explaining the joke, Jools took to TikTok to clarify the trend following some comments from people who clearly did not get that it's literally not that serious.

"The way that the demure videos are obviously, to me, a joke, but people in comments are like: 'Well my job doesn't pay me extra to be demure! Sometimes they just get me when I just rolled out of bed!'"

Jools then explained that all of the 'very demure and very mindful' videos are literally just referencing moments in her own life.

So there you have it. Being demure and mindful is not a trend, it's a lifestyle x