Bumpin' That: Your Guide to the Ultimate Miami Brat Summer

Hot girl summer, meet brat summer.

In case you've been living under a rock for the past month, English avant-pop provocateur Charli XCX released her new sixth album, Brat, in June, and the whole world has been obsessing over it ever since.

The album has become synonymous with its tacky neon-green cover art and unfiltered aesthetic, bringing back full-out 2000s indie sleaze and rave for the season. And, per the neon green sludge that flooded the Miami International Airport earlier this month, it's safe to say that brat summer has officially kicked off in the 305.

But what exactly is a brat summer? Quite frankly, it can be anything you envision it being — as long as you do it unapologetically. As Charli XCX explained in an interview on the BBC podcast Sidetracked With Annie and Nick, it can encompass the luxurious qualities of life or the trashy, off-duty "it" girl idea characterized by "a pack of cigs and a Bic lighter and a strappy white top with no bra."

That's the point of being a brat — where it once meant being a spoiled human being; it's now having a rebranding moment for club kids, feminists, and just about everyone willing to participate.

Miami is quintessentially a brat city if you think about it. It's a place where you'll find everything from wealthy transplants with "fuck you" money to Latina women who always know exactly what they want. Slinky bikinis, bandage-wrapped post-op faces, and the excess of nightclubs playing EDM have come to define this town, meaning the release of brat summer is our time to shine.
That said, there are a few things to keep in mind if you plan on fully realizing your brat summer adventures in South Florida.

First, take a trip to Sweat Records or Technique Records and brush up on your literacy of club classics, as Charli would say, or grab a copy of the album if you're someone who still appreciates a good, tangible alternative to music. Also, go digging for the music that helped build the House of Brat, music by artists like Sophie, Uffie (really, anything Ed Banger), and Britney Spears.

Then, to really get in the spirit, get ready to rave, rave, and rave again. Club Space not being open over the summer does put a damper on maximizing your bratty potential, but plenty of alternatives fall even more in the vein of brat culture. Parties at Domicile or those hosted by collectives like Perreo del Futuro, Stamina, or Un_Mute give a more brat summer feel. An astronomically expensive table and bottle service at LIV or E11even courtesy of your brat summer sugar daddy isn't a bad idea either.

Also, do yourself a favor and get a pair of sunglasses so that you can twin with Charli. The 31-year-old often sports designer sunglasses by Bottega Veneta, but being a brat also means finding a good pair of knockoffs.

What else does your brat summer look need? Anything of your choosing, sure, but to really fit into the album's lore, things that evoke the Southern Italian imagery of "Everything Is Romantic" or a gold-cross necklace to finger, like the protagonist in "Mean Girls" does, is a good place to start.

Thrifting will always help you find that one-and-only flair with unique pieces, and some honorable mentions of where to start locally are Miami Twice and Peachtree. The latter was recently deemed a Best of Miami pick because of its strong Y2K influence.
Of course, between partying and looking the part of emerging "it" girl, it wouldn't be a full-circle brat experience without some real time to re-evaluate your life and sift through your existential thoughts. Since some obligations slow down in the summer, it might be worth prioritizing new career goals as Charli does on "Rewind." ("I used to never think about Billboard/But now I've started thinking again.”) Or, maybe it's time to revisit the age-old question of when to start motherhood or birth control. (See: "I Think About It All the Time.")

Picking up a nice glass of wine from Lagniappe or the Sylvester with friends is also quite brat in nature. Speaking of friends, if you have any beef to squash with someone who used to be close to you, perhaps consider taking a play out of Charli and Lorde's "Girl, so confused" playbook and working it out on the remix. But if it isn't worth sorting out, keeping it to yourself is pretty brat, too.

Quite frankly, any trashy late night on Biscayne Boulevard or upscale rooftop bar date night seems to fall perfectly under the bounds of what Charli calls for on her album, plus bonus points if you take Instagram pics in front of a neon green wall. From getting new ink at a random tattoo parlor to asking your sugar daddy for a new Louis V bag from Bal Harbour, the sky is truly the limit in the Magic City in terms of being Charli-approved.

Of course, all of this will culminate into the climax of the year when Charli XCX stops at the Kaseya Center on October 5 to lead everyone into an indie sleaze-inspired rave alongside co-headliner Troye Sivan as part of the Sweat Tour. (UK club queen Shygirl will be the evening's opening act.)

But even if all you do is stay at home, lock yourself in your room, and engage in "bumpin' it" on your Bluetooth speakers as though you were in the club with Charli herself, you're still doing brat summer correctly. There's no right or wrong way to celebrate the neon green season as long as you do it all with your full chest — natural or otherwise.