Normcore: will you be wearing it this season?
Normcore is a word that is spreading fast around the fashion scene for the upcoming season but very few people know or understand what it means.
According to Wikipaedia, Normore is defined as “A unisex fashion trend characterized by unpretentious, average-looking clothing. “Normcore” is a portmanteau of the words “normal” and “hardcore”. The word first appeared in webcomic Templar, Arizona, and was later was employed by K-Hole, a trend forecasting group, in an October 2013 report called “Youth Mode: A Report on Freedom”.
As used by K-Hole, “normcore” referred to an attitude, not a particular code of dress. It was intended to mean “finding liberation in being nothing special.” However, a piece in New York magazine that began popularizing the term in February 2014 conflated it with “Acting Basic”, another K-Hole concept which involved dressing neutrally to avoid standing out. It was this sense of “normcore” which gained popular usage.”
Urban Dictionary: “A subculture based on conscious, artificial adoption of things that are in widespread use, proven to be acceptable, or otherwise inoffensive. Ultra-conformists.”
It’s a simple nod to functional fashion — clean lines, solid colors and wearability.
So, essentially wearing normal, unisex clothing is abnormally on trend. New York Magazine calls it “embracing sameness deliberately as a new way of being cool.”
Who would have thought? It all sounds very hipster-esque, doesn’t it?
If you’re a ‘basics’ dresser (like myself), you will embrace the normcore styling. This trend is all about wearing your clothes, instead of the other way around. It’s appearing like you have better things to do with your time, which you probably do.
What exactly does the Normcore style consist of?
Think long coats, longline sleeveless vests, oversized tees, roll neck or turtleneck knits, man style blazers and jackets, wide leg or man style pants, boyfriend or relaxed jeans, canvas shoes, sneakers, brogues, Birkenstocks and baseball caps. Colours consist of grey marle (which is THE colour of the season), black and navy.
Where to get it:
From what we have seen around shopping centres, the main high street fashion stores to embrace normcore for the AW15 season are Trenery (see below) and Witchery.
Trenery Clean Tux Jacket, Textured Ovoid Top, Front Pleated Pant and Loren EVA Derby shoes.
I have bought the Tux Jacket and Pleated Pants and have found they have very quickly become a staple in my wardrobe. The jacket can be worn over just about anything and the pants can be worn with a simple tshirt for warmer days or dressed up for work meetings or nights out with heels.
What do you think of the normcore trend? Will you be wearing it? Maybe you already do?