I was with my sister the other day when she asked me if I’d heard of this new fashion trend because it reminded her of me. She said it was all about plain clothes and lot’s of t-shirts and that’s how I dress on a regular basis.
The trend she was talking about was Normcore, it was new to us but apparently we’re nearly a year behind the times!
In March last year Vogue Australia described Normcore as ‘a collective neutral blandness’ a style that was both ‘anti-fashion and anti-trend’ while at the same time being one of the biggest trends going around. Previously it was described by New York Magazine as fashion that ‘involved dressing neutrally to avoid standing out’. But original kudos is said to go to trend forecasting agency K-hole who gave Normcore a somewhat philosophical definition:
Normcore seeks the freedom that comes with non-exclusivity. It finds liberation in being nothing special, and realises that adaptability leads to belonging.
– K-hole
It’s also an easy, generally hassle-free way to dress on an everyday basis. So do I think it’s a trend? Yes, but for most I don’t think it’s deliberate or trend-conscious. It seems to be more a combination of simple trends… the basics section (e.g. Bonds or Cotton On), jeans (skinny, mum, boyfriend etc) and clothes you wouldn’t really associate with trends because they’re just clothes you’ve always had; tracksuit pants (aka trackies), jumpers, caps or plain socks.
When I googled images for Normcore to see if I my wardrobe had anything in common with the trend these are some of the images I came across and it’s safe to say this shares some similarities with my wardrobe.
My everyday wardrobe consists generally of four colours: grey, black, white and blue. That’s not to say I don’t have other colours and patterns hiding in there, because there are plenty of those. On most days you’ll find me wearing a t-shirt, a pair of jeans (or trackies) and depending on the weather either thongs or my vans.
But do I dress this way so as not be noticed, to avoid standing out or to avoid being fashion or trend focused; definitely not. As far as my everyday style goes it’s just simple, easy and comfortable but I guess Normcore is fashion at it’s simplest, so I can see where my sister gets her idea from.
And if you’re planning on taking on the Normcore style and you already own a lot t-shirts, jumpers and jeans like I do then your most of the way there. Otherwise Vogue Australia suggests you add these to your wardrobe:
- Birkenstocks
- Tracksuit pants
- Cotton jersey
- Grey marle
- Crocs
- Tevas
- Baseball caps
- White socks
- Turtlenecks
- Relaxed jeans
- Flannel shirts
- Bucket hats
And if you’re like me and you had to Google what grey marle or tevas were then I’m here to help out so you know for next time…
Grey marle (I’m wearing it right now) is that speckled looking grey that you’ll see in most grey t-shirts these days.
And Tevas, well there a brand of sandals that range form shoes your dad might wear with socks to sandals you might wear out to lunch.
Ronnie 