Have you heard of the Hot Girl Walk? If you haven’t, let me fill you in on something great: You don’t have to feel hot nor must you identify as a girl to do it. The term, which was coined by TikToker Mia Lind and spread like wildfire across the internet over the past year, entails walking and feeling good, and that’s about it. Put on your favorite leggings, a comfortable pair of sneakers, slick your hair back in that Olaplex bun, and hit the ground, uh, walking.
You might be thinking, Is this not just a walk? You’re technically correct—any walk can be a Hot Girl Walk—but I like to think of it as a walk with attitude. For me, a Hot Girl Walk is one where I feel confident, proud that I took myself on a walk, and like I was able to get out of my head with intention. A crucial part of accomplishing all that, of course, is music.
In my opinion, walking music has a particular sound. It can’t be too slow or too fast. It shouldn’t necessarily make you want to have an all-out dance party—because then your walk might turn into a run—but if you were at a concert where said music was being played, you’d be doing a lot of head-bopping. It lifts your mood and makes you want to not stay still. Sometimes, it’s fun to pretend your Hot Girl Walk is down a runway. What soundtrack makes you strut?
For me, the answer is something that is largely girlie and contemporary. It would not be a Hot Girl Walk without some Olivia Rodrigo, for example. My selections are sort of middle school in nature—a little alt but nothing avant garde or too risqué. It’s peppy. It’s lightly emotional. It’s “my life is a rom-com and this is the opening scene.” Enjoy your Hot Girl Walk. I’ll see you on the street. Listen to the playlist on Spotify below, or keep scrolling for a complete list of the tracks.
Full playlist:
- “Feeling Ok,” by Best Coast
- “Something Good Can Work,” by Two Door Cinema Club
- “I Dreamt We Spoke Again – Louis the Child Remix,” by Death Cab for Cutie
- “On + Off,” by Maggie Rogers
- “Dreams,” by Fleetwood Mac
- “All Night,” by Chance the Rapper feat. Knox Fortune
- “Problem With It,” by Plains
- “Summer Girl – Amber Mark Remix,” by HAIM
- “Deja vu,” by Olivia Rodrigo
- “True Blue,” by Mark Ronson feat. Angel Olsen
- “Hey Mami,” by Sylvan Esso
- “Buttercup,” by Hippo Campus
- “Wasted,” by Tomberlin
- “Angel,” by Nice as Fuck
- “Glasshouses,” by Maribou State
Related: