Charli XCX is having a banner year, to say the least. Her green flag is infiltrating the culture like a microplastic. When culture shifts, one of the first places we see a reverb is in style. And Brat Summer is undoubtedly changing how everyone dresses. Gone are the days of clean girl to make way for the summer of the mean girl. But to know the future is to know the past, and to understand the Patron Saint of the Brat’s return to form is to understand where she came from. In Charli XCX’s outfits throughout the years, we see the girl she’s always been, and simultaneously we see her become herself.
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Charli’s rise to fame has been over a decade coming, and this album, one of the most critically acclaimed albums in Metacritic history, is the culmination of that taste, that vibe, that sound, and those ideas coming to head. Back when her first album True Romance came out in 2013, she was a Tumblr darling and a member of a class of musicians making “indie pop,” as we referred to it back then. It was pop by sound, but not necessarily always by popularity, and it was sometimes experimental and ahead of its time.
Charli XCX, at this point, has a few hits under her belt, namely “I Love It,” with Icona Pop and “Fancy” with Iggy Azalea. She’s dressed in a uniform—leather jacket, mini skirt, see through tights—that we saw a lot on Tumblr during this era.
Charli was giving real Wednesday Addams in 2015, and TBH I miss this. It was so good to be young in this era because this was legit just how young stylish women dressed. Fishnets, long socks, a mini skirt, a sweater, and a takeaway coffee, which is part of the outfit.
This is such a good look on Charli because in the 2010s, we were very into all black and minimalism, and Charli was a popstar. Brat green shoes, pink fur trim, don’t even worry about it.
It was truly the era of the mini skirt and boots. Charli wore this blue fur trim coat and striped blue mini skirt to BBC Radio in 2015.
This orange beret and plaid skirt and ankle boots is Charli’s poet persona to me. She’s literally not a word girl as much as she is a sound girl, but in this fit, you would be none the wiser.
Real festival fashion happens in the UK, and Charli’s mini shorts and tee at Glastonbury take it home.
So this is kind of an anthropological case study on how girls dressed casually in the 2010s. A graphic sweater a la Rachel Berry with ripped faded skinny jeans (black was still in, but we were getting a bit casual again).
Charli’s career has lasted over the course of countless swings between maximalism and minimalism, and thank god because she has really owned every single one of them.
This black and red lace dress is that perfect balance between delicate and edgy that makes her the perfect rebel.
Charli had a whole era where she rocked this bob with pink tips, and the world was never the same. This is also around the time that she started working with SOPHIE, and the influence to her style and music was palpable.
Striped trench, green shorts, can’t lose. This outfit is a perfect example of what personal style can look like because it’s not really how anyone dresses. It’s not an “aesthetic” or a uniform or something you’d find on a mannequin somewhere, meaning it’s all her.
Okay, we took a break in this timeline because of the pandemic, but now it’s 2022, and Charli grew out her hair. An all black look with strappy green heels…BRAT was coming!
Charli wears this iconic emerging fashion brand Chopova Lowena, known for these edgy patchwork deadstock pleated skirts. This is all during her promo cycle for her 2022 album Crash.
Ah, yes. This iconic look. “They don’t make statues out of critics,” says her shirt. Charli spent her whole career at war with metacritic ratings, and frankly that’s valid because she was so ahead of her time.
Green and pink remain an elite party girl color combo. By now, Charli has introduced what I like to call the TikTok bleached bangs. This was very much of the time, as seen on Zoey Deutsch’s character in that strange, but kind of amazing movie, Not Okay.
This is one of Charli’s greatest. She was in shape from touring, and fashion-wise, she was getting back to her punky party girl roots.
This is such a classic outfit. Charli looks like the lead singer of a band. These green jeans with black spray paint plus leather vest and cropped tee and a Coach bag. Just…gorgeous.
Well, if we’re going to talk about iconic, we have to talk about this. Charli wears a cropped white shirt that says “REAL WINNER” to the BRITs after party. This is, by the way, after the BRIT Awards changed their Male and Female Artist of the Year Award categories into one single Artist of the Year Award to be more inclusive of gender-nonconforming artists like Sam Smith, only to then only nominate male artists for the award. So this tee is a statement about that.
Charli came back in 2024 to start promoting BRAT, and despite her storied history of looks, she is serving outrageous levels of c-word I can’t say at work. This sheer skirt/dress situation and the soft, plush quarter zip sweater and satin pumps—it’s spilling from the brim with luxury.
Charli wears a Katy Perry Prism tee and skirt, blue suede boots as she pulls up to the Bowery Hotel. Also her hair is giving lion’s mane, and it’s the best it’s ever looked.
Charli’s casual errand looks right now are so good. This is not complicated or special, but it IS! Ugh. I am relentlessly googling street style, model off duty, personal style inspiration, just to look for anything that hits like this all.
Once again, her street style is amazing right now. These boots are so good. She looks so timeless and iconic.
What to say? The wavy fades in these jeans and the cropped leather jacket! It’s BRAT SUMMER! All I know is I’m bumpin that.
Charli XCX wears Jean Paul Gaultier couture and Bucherer Fine jewelry.
