The latest fashion trend in San Francisco (normcore) is actually quite antifashion and perhaps not even really a “trend” as the wardrobe of a “normcorer” is seemingly unchanging and entrenched in the basics of comfort and functionality; quintessential American dressing, according to some.
It is argued that the casual trend originated on San Francisco’s streets and names such as Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, and Mark Zuckerberg best encapsulate the normcore style. The debate is on as to whether it’s a good or bad thing, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“Unfortunately, that look has earned the Bay Area a negative reputation for generally lacking style,” said store manager Alan Maramag of the popular, custom-made men’s clothing store Beckett & Robb. Normcore usually includes “baggy, straight-leg jeans; simple T-shirts (mock turtlenecks, even); white sneakers; nylon windbreakers or the supremely utilitarian fleece pullover,” notes the Chronicle. The Chronicle also says that experimenting with the look will most likely go unnoticed in the Bay Area since it is so “second-nature” there.
Go-to destinations for those who sport normcore style are places such as Gap, Levi’s, Dockers, Patagonia, and North Face, the Chronicle writes.
Simon Doonan, a man who is at the epicenter of fashion and its latest trends through his position as Creative-Ambassador at Large for Barneys New York sums it up like this: “Normcore is about dressing like a mild-mannered mental patient or a bewildered Icelandic exchange student circa 1984.”
Digital fashion writer at Lucky Magazine, Alison Syrett Cleary does not see it in quite the same way: “I think that normcorers care a great deal about their appearance. Although, yes, they’re working with plain, middle-America mall clothes, they still put everything together in a way that’s not only flattering, but distinctive.”
So is this a joke? Or is it for real? Mira Picket, founder of high-end fashion boutique Mira Mira, told the Chronicle she’s not quite convinced normore is legit. “I’m not altogether sold on the idea that normcore is actually a real thing quite yet… It’s almost like an inside joke for the fashion set.”
Individuals curious to see if they fall into the normcore category, can check out these two quizzes provided by the Chronicle and another by Buzz Feed.