From this summer's look to its catchphrase, check out the peak millennial summer.
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The drink: hard seltzer
In The New York Times, writer Sheila Marikar described seltzer as “the drink of summer 2019”.
Yet it’s hard seltzer that really kicked off this summer, thanks to young millennial men who identify as “bros”.
At barbecues, on beaches and at fraternity parties, legions of men have suddenly been signing the praises of hard seltzer.
At barbecues, on beaches, and at fraternity parties, legions of men have suddenly been singing the praises of hard soda water
The leader of the pack? White Claw. “It’s ridiculously good. If I’m at a party now and someone offers me an IPA [beer] or a White Claw, I definitely take a White Claw,” said Ben Shea, a producer in Santa Monica, California.
It has proved so popular that alcoholic drinks brands Four Loko, PBR and Natural Light all made moves to join the hard seltzer industry this summer.
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The food: anything CBD
The rise of CBD in the US took off last year, but it really peaked this summer. It has caught on everywhere in the country, from San Antonio to New York and Los Angeles in the form of things such as CBD lattes, CBD-infused doughnuts.
An active ingredient in marijuana, CBD doesn't get you high. Millennials love it for the anxiety relief and calmness it is said to provide. But they are not the only ones – boomers are fans of it, too, according to Jean Ban of Supermarket News, the food retail and grocery news website.
Up to 75 per cent of chefs named cannabidiol and cannabis-infused food as a hot trend in 2019
Up to 75 per cent of chefs named CBD and cannabis-infused food as a hot trend in 2019, CNBC reported, citing a US National Restaurant Association Survey. While the US Food and Drug Administration has prohibited adding CBD to food and drinks, some restaurants are selling CBD-infused products to meet demand, Ban said.
Regulations surrounding CBD are a grey area in the US, and local regulators have been cracking down on its use this summer, CNBC reported.
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The look: the leopard-print midi skirt
It's almost impossible to go a day without spotting the leopard print midi skirt on the streets in the US – or during an Instagram scroll.
Look no further than the parody Instagram account @leopardmidiskirt to see just how the silk bias-cut leopard print midi skirt has become a classic summer staple – particularly in New York, as Jess Bergman points out in her tweet: “Did every woman in Manhattan wake up one morning and decide to buy a leopard-print midi skirt?”
It’s certainly versatile, having been paired with everything from vintage T-shirts and leather jackets to sneakers.
As Claire Valentine of the New York independent magazine Paper wrote: “Animal prints contain multitudes, from self-aware playfulness, self-serious sexiness or that renewed favourite, camp.”
The book: Normal People by Sally Rooney
Technically released in American bookstores in the spring, Normal People by the 28-year-old Irish author Sally Rooney was such a hit that it was still being buzzed about by the time summer rolled around. It quickly became a book-club staple and was recently optioned into a Hulu US subscription television series.
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Kathryn Lyndsay, of the women’s entertainment and news website, Refinery29, described carrying a Rooney book “a new Instagram status symbol”.
In Normal People, Rooney – lauded as “the first great millennial author” by The New York Times – explores the complexities of millennial romance and young adulthood in a subtle, genuine way by following the on-again, off-again relationship of Marianne and Connell.
The song: Old Town Road
You could not walk into a bar this summer without hearing the American country-rap duo of Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus in your ear.
Rapper Lil Nas X's Old Town Road originally caught on when featured as the soundtrack to a compilation of social media video app TikTok's #YeeHawChallenge and eventually attracted the attention of celebrities such as singer Justin Bieber and actor Mark Ruffalo, according to Thrillis, the food, drink travel and entertainment website.
Lil Nas X’s remix of Old Town Road with country music singer-songwriter Billy Ray Cyrus equalled the record for the longest-running No 1 hit on the Billboard 100 of all time in July
Lil Nas X then released a remix with country music singer-songwriter Cyrus in May, Vibe, the entertainment and music magazine, reported
In July, the song equalled record for the longest-running No 1 hit on the Billboard 100 of all time, it said.
Millennials find it catchy and fun – unofficial requirements for every year’s song of the summer.
The catchphrase: ‘Hot Girl Summer’
Who's having a “Hot Girl Summer”? One social media scroll, and it's not hard to find the hashtag #hotgirlsummer.
You can thank American rapper Megan Thee Stallion for that – she started the trend with the first lyric of her song Cash Sh*t (Real hot girl sh*t) and album cover art, Kathryn Lindsay of Refinery29 reported.
Since its release in late May, the catchphrase has been hashtagged on Instagram more than 511,000 times. It has also made many an appearance on Twitter.
The catchphrase ‘Hot Girl Summer’ has been hashtagged on Instagram more than 511,000 times since late May. It has also made many an appearance on Twitter
The rapper discussed the phrase with the Afrocentric online magazine The Root, saying: “It’s about women and men being unapologetically them, just having a good-ass time, hyping up their friends, doing you.
“You definitely have to be a person who can be the life of the party and just a bad bitch.”
In August, she released an eponymous song named after the catchphrase.
The travel destination: Lisbon, Portugal
Earlier this year, travel-planning site müvTravel named Lisbon, Portugal’s capital, the most popular travel destination for millennials in its Top 30 Millennial Travel Destinations for 2019 list, which analysed the top bucket-list destinations of müvTravel's millennial users.
It was clearly on to something. Photos of Lisbon, as well as other cities in Portugal, have been cropping up all over Instagram. The city has more than 8.5 million hashtags on Instagram to date.
Photos of Lisbon, as well as other cities in Portugal, have been cropping up all over Instagram. The city has more than 8.5 million hashtags on Instagram to date
Located on the coast, Lisbon is also close enough to beaches and resort towns for a day trip – and millennials love it for its architecture and neighbourhoods that charm by day and buzz at night.
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