What is Normcore?

Normcore popped up last spring as a term to define a style that was taking over the fashion set. And Pinterest expects it to be one of the top pinned trends going into 2015. But what the heck is it anyways?

What is Normcore Style?

Normcore style is about understated luxury. It is about taking normal dressing to the next level. Embracing basics and making them look anything but.

It is the trend that made Adidas pool slides, Birkenstocks, New Balance sneakers, mom jeans and the colour grey uber popular in 2014 and beyond.

The Normcore trend seems to have borrowed heavily from 90’s fashion but more from the suburban mom than the grunge or festival kid. The whole premise is standing out by dressing, well, normal. It is the anti Anna Dello Russo.

picture 1/picture 2/grey sweater/new balance sneakers/jeans/slides/jeans/birkenstocks

Here’s the thing, to pull off normcore like the fashion set are doing it it is about updating your basics. Mom jeans from the 1990’s were pleated in the front and tapered in a bad way (think about making yourself look like an ice cream cone) but modern high waisted jeans are cropped and flattering. In fact this trend is more unisex dressing than anything, so if anything you are wearing is overtly feminine than it is not normcore.

I read one fashion insider said about normcore is more about paying for luxury items that those in the know will be able to tell the Alexander Wang from the Zara. Now for the rest of us we can easily source the look a likes from fast fashion brands (like Asos, Zara and Mango). Even Gap’s dress normal campaign (even though it wasn’t embraced by the masses) was a nod to normcore dressing.

What appeals to me from this whole trend is that it doesn’t look trendy. And that even the fashion set has embraced comfortable, sensible footwear. It isn’t the end of the stilletto but it is a nod to the fact that even fashion types wear sneakers from time to time.

More normcore fashion:

What do you think? Would you embrace normcore? Or has this trend embraced styles that you were already wearing?