Normcore

The word "normcore" first appeared in a 2008 guest strip by Ryan Estrada for the webcomic Templar, Arizona.Friedman, Nancy (March 3, 2014). [http://nancyfriedman.typepad.com/away_with_words/2014/03/word-of-the-week-normcore.html "Word of the Week: normcore"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113050028/http://nancyfriedman.typepad.com/away_with_words/2014/03/word-of-the-week-normcore.html |date=January 13, 2015 }}, Fritinancy. Retrieved January 12, 2015.{{cite news|url=https://theeyeopener.com/2019/11/on-the-origins-of-normcore/|title=On the origins of "normcore", The Eyeopener|archive-date=August 8, 2022|access-date=September 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808170342/https://theeyeopener.com/2019/11/on-the-origins-of-normcore/|url-status=live}}

In 2013, the word was employed by trend forecasting group K-HOLE in a report titled "Youth Mode: A Report on Freedom".Williams, Alex (April 2, 2014). [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/03/fashion/normcore-fashion-movement-or-massive-in-joke.html "The New Normal"], The New York Times. Retrieved June 7, 2014.Duncan, Fiona (February 26, 2014). [http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/02/normcore-fashion-trend.html "Normcore: Fashion for Those Who Realize They’re One in 7 Billion"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303003109/http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/02/normcore-fashion-trend.html |date=March 3, 2014 }}, New York. Retrieved June 7, 2014.Cochrane, Lauren (February 27, 2014). [https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/fashion-blog/2014/feb/27/normcore-the-next-big-fashion-movement "Normcore: The Next Big Fashion Movement?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227225359/http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/fashion-blog/2014/feb/27/normcore-the-next-big-fashion-movement |date=February 27, 2014 }}, The Guardian. Retrieved June 7, 2014.Frank, Thomas (April 27, 2014). [http://www.salon.com/2014/04/27/hipsters_they%E2%80%99re_just_like_us_normcore_sarah_palin_and_the_gops_big_red_state_lie/ "Hipsters, They're Just Like Us! 'Normcore,' Sarah Palin, and the GOP's Big Red State Lie"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427220551/http://www.salon.com/2014/04/27/hipsters_they%E2%80%99re_just_like_us_normcore_sarah_palin_and_the_gops_big_red_state_lie/ |date=April 27, 2014 }}, Salon. Retrieved June 7, 2014.{{cite news|last1=Benson|first1=Richard|title=Normcore: how a spoof marketing term grew into a fashion phenomenon|url=https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2014/dec/17/normcore-spoof-marketing-term-fashion-phenomenon|accessdate=18 December 2014|date=17 December 2014}}Tschorn, Adam (May 18, 2014). [http://www.latimes.com/style/la-ig-normcore-20140518-story.html "Normcore Is (or Is It?) a Fashion Trend (or Non-Trend or Anti-Trend)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107044110/http://www.latimes.com/style/la-ig-normcore-20140518-story.html |date=January 7, 2015 }}, Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 4, 2015. As used by K-HOLE, the word referred to an attitude, not a code of dress. It was intended to mean "finding liberation in being nothing special".{{cite magazine |url=http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/19118/1/everyones-got-normcore-totally-wrong-say-its-inventors |title=Everyone's getting normcore wrong, say its inventors |magazine=Dazed |author=Gorton, Thomas |accessdate=November 18, 2014 |archive-date=November 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106123401/http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/19118/1/everyones-got-normcore-totally-wrong-say-its-inventors |url-status=live }}

In 2014, an article in New York magazine by author Fiona Duncan{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecut.com/2014/02/normcore-fashion-trend.html|title=Normcore: Fashion for Those Who Realize They're One in 7 Billion|date=2014-02-26|website=The Cut|language=en-us|access-date=2020-04-12}} conflated normcore with what K-HOLE referred to as "ActingBasic", a concept which involved dressing neutrally to avoid standing out. It was this misunderstanding of normcore that gained popular usage. That same year, "normcore" was named runner-up for neologism of the year by the Oxford University Press.

In 2016, the word was added to the AP Stylebook.{{cite web|title=AP style changes take effect with debut of redesigned Stylebook|website=Associated Press|date=June 1, 2016|url=http://www.ap.org/Content/Press-Release/2016/AP-style-changes-take-effect-with-debut-of-redesigned-Stylebook|access-date=June 3, 2016|archive-date=November 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161108004011/http://ap.org/Content/Press-Release/2016/AP-style-changes-take-effect-with-debut-of-redesigned-Stylebook|url-status=dead}}

Normcore wearers are people who do not wish to distinguish themselves from others by their clothing.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2014/jun/22/end-of-the-hipster-flat-caps-and-beards |title=The End of the Hipster: How Flat Caps and Beards Stopped Being So Cool |work=The Guardian |author=Ferrier, Morwenna |date=June 21, 2014 |accessdate=July 8, 2014 |archive-date=July 9, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709032822/http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2014/jun/22/end-of-the-hipster-flat-caps-and-beards |url-status=live }} This does not mean that they are unfashionable people who wear whatever is easiest, but rather that they consciously choose clothes that are functional and undistinguished. The "normcore" trend has been interpreted as a reaction to ever-changing fashion trends, as normcore clothes are generally seen as timeless and unaffected by trends.{{cite news|last=van Rooijen|first=Jeroen|title=Trendthema "Normcore": Die Mittelpracht|url=http://www.nzz.ch/aktuell/panorama/die-mittelpracht-1.18312015|accessdate=May 31, 2014|newspaper=Neue Zürcher Zeitung|date=May 30, 2014|archive-date=May 31, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531014622/http://www.nzz.ch/aktuell/panorama/die-mittelpracht-1.18312015|url-status=live}} Normcore clothes are unisex and are usually casual items such as hoodies, T-shirts, polo shirts, short-sleeved buttoned shirts, sweatpants, chinos, jeans, shorts, and sneakers; items such as suit jackets, ties, blouses, boots, and dress shoes are avoided.

The characters featured on the sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998) are frequently cited as exemplifying the aesthetics and ethos of normcore fashion.{{cite web|title=Normcore: 'Seinfeld' look turns bland into fashion trend|date=March 5, 2014|first=Eun Kyung|last=Kim|work=Today.com|url=http://www.today.com/style/normcore-seinfeld-look-turns-bland-fashion-trend-2D79317923|access-date=May 22, 2015|archive-date=June 11, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611141948/http://www.today.com/style/normcore-seinfeld-look-turns-bland-fashion-trend-2D79317923|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/06/normcore_n_4912788.html|title=The Real Meaning Of Normcore, The Fashion Trend That Went Oddly Viral|work=The Huffington Post|date=6 March 2014|access-date=May 22, 2015|archive-date=June 11, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611084318/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/06/normcore_n_4912788.html|url-status=live}} Clothes that meet the "normcore" description are mainly sold by large fashion and retail chains such as The Gap,{{cite web|last1=Franzen|first1=Carl|title=Watch David Fincher's normcore ads for The Gap|url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/28/6079587/watch-david-finchers-normcore-ads-the-gap|website=The Verge|date=28 August 2014|publisher=Vox Media|accessdate=6 September 2014|archive-date=August 29, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140829202256/http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/28/6079587/watch-david-finchers-normcore-ads-the-gap|url-status=live}} Jack & Jones, Uniqlo, Jigsaw, and Esprit. They are generally cheaply produced in East Asian countries.{{fact|date=January 2025}} Many other retailers such as Marc O'Polo, Woolrich, Desigual, Closed, and Scotch & Soda produce normcore-like clothes combined with individual design ideas.

A variation on this concept for women has been called "menocore" from menopause. It is loose and comfortable clothing, usually in light or neutral colors, that fits a variety of informal social situations. The style suggests that the wearer is mature, self-confident, and not seeking attention from men. Designer brands associated with this style of dress include Eileen Fisher, J. Jill, and Donna Karan.{{Cite web |last=Ross |first=Harling |date=2018-06-08 |title=Menocore is the New Normcore, and It's a Lot More Comfortable |url=https://repeller.com/menocore-fashion-trend/ |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=Repeller |language=en-US |archive-date=February 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202175750/https://repeller.com/menocore-fashion-trend/ |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |last=Burger |first=Kevyn |date=2018-11-14 |title=With 'menocore' style, middle age is all the rage |url=https://apnews.com/article/57c58276907c480e8fc2b1ab93cb79b2 |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Bernstein |first=Sara Tatyana |date=18 October 2017 |title=Dressing Older Is About Wealth |work=Racked |publisher=Vox Media |url=https://www.racked.com/2017/10/18/16453412/menocore-wealth-age-eileen-fisher |access-date=2017-10-21}}

Columnist Sara Tatyana Bernstein has said that the style suggests that the wearer has leisure time and wealth, giving it class connotations, and that it can be stereotyped as the style of a woman who is middle-aged or older and already wealthy enough that she does not need the kind of job that would require more formal clothing. The style may also be adopted by women outside the stereotype as an aspirational style to suggest that they wish to eventually attain the financial security, leisure, and other lifestyle elements available to older and wealthier women.

{{Portal|Society}}

• Anti-fashion
• Plain dress

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{{Spoken Wikipedia|en-normcore-article.ogg|date=2014-10-03}}

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• {{cite journal|title=Meet Norma Normcore|date=21 March 2014|first=Aimee|last=Farrell|url=http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2014/03/21/normcore-fashion-vogue---definition|journal=Vogue}}

{{Fashion}}

Category:2014 neologisms

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Category:Core aesthetics