Keeping up with Gen Z's lingo can be exhausting. We've barely gotten our heads around "rizz" (short for charisma which was the Oxford University Press word of 2023), now there's a new trending term; "baby girl".
It's not used to describe a real girl, or even a young woman - that would be too obvious. Rather, it is about a mature man with a certain attitude, appeal and style.
Those identified as babygirl (all one word, both an adjective and a noun) include Jacob Elordi, Harry Styles, Timothée Chalamet and Barry Keoghan. The bear Is Jeremy Allen White? So baby girl. Daniel Craig or Chris Hemsworth? Not so much.
So what makes a man a baby girl? It's a fairly elusive thing, but it's somewhere at the intersection of charming, cute and stylish in a quirky, individual way. He's the kind of guy that teens and twenty-somethings love, but so do their moms (a significant portion of Styles' fans are middle-aged women). In the context of acting roles, they're less action heroes, more tortured souls.
"Babygirl is a designation given when we find this person not only attractive, but also interesting; worth it," said writer and pop culture consultant Evan Ross Katz Vogue Business. "It's a word attributed to a man who is cute and who there is a general sense of acceptance in the culture... It's someone who we have more or less universally decided to love."
Its origins are vague, but somewhere in the depths of an internet chat room circa 2020, someone called a man a "baby girl," and it stuck. Its use has slowly grown since then, eventually surfacing on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. Fast forward to 2024 and the babygirl man has become a mainstream phenomenon.
It would be condescending if it weren't the case that babygirl men are content with this designation. Elordi's 'so baby girl' status was written into the introduction when he hosted an American late-night comedy show Saturday evening live last weekend.
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A certain confidence and flair with style is a key element of a baby girl's identity. Don't be surprised if you see them wearing a Gucci women's blouse under their suit, or a crossbody Bottega Veneta 'It' bag, or a pearl necklace around their neck. "The baby girl man doesn't walk around in rock T-shirts," says Hikmat Mohammed, editor at Fashion Trade Title Women's clothing everyday. "We see them in cute cardigans and sweet colors and more delicate pieces that our grandmothers, mothers or sisters would wear. It is the influence of the women they are surrounded by."
When I brought up this topic at a dinner party with friends, one man wondered if these celebrities were "wearing women's clothing as a publicity stunt." But to the baby girl, they're just clothes, and he has a blast putting his outfits together.
"It has something of a unisex, or flowing style, if we put a label on it," Mohammed explains. "I think people are afraid of the word liquid, but liquid just means doing your own thing without really caring about it, and I think that's what the baby girl guy does: he wears jeans with a crop- top."
Most celebrity baby girls work with a stylist, who plays an important role in directing their image. If they can turn this innate fluidity into something truly influential, there is the potential to land lucrative ambassador roles for luxury brands, and even their own labels.
Styles' stylist, Harry Lambert, is now a bold name in his own right. Lambert did a sold-out collaboration with Zara last year and has gone into business with Styles for a lifestyle brand, Pleasing. Meanwhile, Keoghan has recently set up Rarewolf Ltd, which is believed to be a fashion label. There's also Pharrell Williams, who was named creative director of Louis Vuitton menswear last year.
You don't have to look far to see their influence. British GQ 's Instagram feed is populated almost exclusively by images of baby girls, because they're the people who will set the men's style agenda for years to come. Even if you, or the men in your life, think the baby girl aesthetic is OTT, just wait a few years - the influence will sink in and eventually we'll start seeing glimpses of the baby girl aesthetic in the menswear departments of M&S and John Lewis . By then it might not seem so strange to you.
Alison Bringé, chief marketing officer at Launchmetrics, already sees that shift happening: "Today's leading men are redefining charisma and challenging traditional norms of masculinity," she says. "Thanks to their confidence and playful approach to fashion, people are drawn to them and look to them for style cues... We will continue to see a significant impact on consumers, especially as the men's accessories market continues to grow."
Can you be a baby girl at any age? Internet culture commentators are divided on this, but with the exception of Pharrell and Jared Leto, Mohammed doesn't think so: "You can embrace your inner baby girl if you're an older man, but it's more of a youthful thing. It's not for everyone. That's less of an issue for older men, because when they think of 'camp' it's usually more Elton John than Jacob Elordi."
Men's fashion has entered a new era and these are the men to watch.
Jacob Elordi
King Babygirl, Elordi, 26, is the man of the moment thanks to his roles in Salt burn, Euphoria and, most recently, as Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola's Priscilla. He loves a luxury handbag and has been seen with designs from Valentino, Louis Vuitton, Bottega Veneta and Celine.
Barry Keoghan
The Dublin-born 31-year-old starred in Salt burn and the new Apple war epic Masters of the air. He looks just as good on the red carpet in fluffy teal Burberry mohair as he does in his 'he-vague' clothes from Dolce & Gabbana.
Harry Styles
The One Direction breakout star, 29, now sells out stadiums around the world and has his own lifestyle brand Pleasing. His style is unapologetically fun and creative; in 2020, Fashion France called him the most influential man in fashion.
Timothée Chalamet
The French-American actor with cheekbones to die for starred in Call me by your name, Little women, Duneand most recently the title role Wonka. He wore a red, backless Haider Ackermann top on the red carpet with the same ease as most men in jeans.
Lewis Hamilton
The 39-year-old Formula 1 champion is as famous for his off-track wardrobe as he is for his professional success. Nothing is off limits, from Acne Studios to Ferragamo to the rare Raf Simons. He creates impact by wearing one print or color from head to toe.
Jeremy Allen White
The breakout star of The bear The 32-year-old has more coolness in his little finger than the rest of us combined. Maybe that's why he wears a sheer black blouse as effortlessly as Calvin Klein underwear in the brand's latest ads.
Austin Butler
For baby girls, Butler's red carpet style is more tailored and classic. However, he still experiments, with leather jackets and wide trousers in retro style. The 32-year-old received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Elvis in the 2022 Baz Luhrmann film, and also stars in the new series Masters of the air.