She puts on her matcha face mask, goes to Pilates class, only drinks water and is in bed by 9 p.m. Her life is so put together to the point where everyone else attempts this lifestyle. Suddenly, everyone is following the “clean girl” aesthetic, and suddenly, everybody goes to bed early.Â
This is a direct result of how social media has influenced us into feeling like we need to constantly be improving ourselves, and sure, it’s great to want to care about your presence and looks, but it gets to a point. A point where life no longer is fun and free, but instead becomes a how-to guide.
“How to live a longer life,” “How to eat correctly” and so on. Yes, these things can be important, but how is life worth living when you’re just worried about your next step and if you’ll be awake for your yoga class in the morning.
Living an effortlessly perfect life has become extremely exhausting, as people fear getting a stain on their Brandy Melville top. Instead of taking care of ourselves, it seems wellness and being clean is more about whether or not we’re desirable to others.
Luckily, the “party girl” renaissance is now possibly replacing the clean girl with a messier and more indie sleaze girl. Just like the flappers of the 1920s, we’re rebelling against the clean girls and reviving the 2010s millennial era of dancing the night away with your girls till the sun comes up.Â
We’ve seen this revival slowly happen as people became nostalgic for 2016 and obsessed with pop artists like Charli XCX, Troye Sivan, Adela and Slayyyter, refreshing the typical club playlists for some new tracks to dance to.
To me, I’ve always enjoyed dancing all night with my friends, getting food afterwards and walking home debriefing the night, knowing that you have plans the next day. Being young and in college gives you the excuse to both be productive and still have fun because when are you ever going to have that energy again?
When “party girl” comes to mind, Charli XCX is always the first person I think of. She’s shown us what it means to be a true “party girl,” and has taken the persona shown in movies into so much more. When she released “brat,” it birthed a whole new culture as the summer of 2024 was declared as “Brat Summer,” influencing everyone to take risks, dance more and think less.
The album starts with the easy-going track, “360,” then goes into “Club Classics,” which is simply a dedication to the classic songs we always hear when in the club. Though you can definitely dance to the album, a lot of the tracks have an underlying meaning, like “I think about it all the time,” where XCX contemplates whether or not she can become a mother.
“Am I less of a woman if I don’t have a kid? Will I feel like I’ve missed out on my purpose in life? I know we’re not supposed to say that, but it’s this biological and social programming. There’s a lot of pressure on women to not talk about that stuff super openly, especially not in pop music or in music generally; we’re supposed to be sexy and free and fun and wild.” XCX said in an interview with Rolling Stone.Â
The final song on the album is “365” a song about literally being a “365 party girl” all year long. This track immediately following “I think about it all the time,” has always seemed so raw and vulnerable to me. XCX normalizes that we can want multiple things in life, we don’t have to fit into one mold and you can be a “party girl,” while also considering motherhood.
The “party girl renaissance” isn’t simply just about partying; it’s about bringing out every layer that you have to offer. From dancing on the dance floor to yearning after motherhood.