FASHION Magazine

By now you’ve probably heard about #Normcore. If not, you’ve likely been living in some kind of very basic cave. The Internet-at-large became aware of Normcore as a thing a week or so ago, when New York Magazine ran an article on the anti-trend trend. Young, hip New Yorkers were eschewing fashion trends and labels in favour of a pared down, muted look called Normcore, all light wash denim and sneakers at the bar. It was Larry David meets your dad in circa 1994. Or the combination: Jerry Seinfeld. I, a vintage lover with a weakness for 1950s sundresses who just figured out how to make crop tops happen, met the news with some concern: I couldn’t pull off loose T-shirts and straight jeans back when they were the actual norm! Not for the first time, my chubby ‘90s inner child was nervous. Visions of ill-fitting Gap Kids jeans and summers wearing Osh-Kosh T-shirts over Nike bathing suits danced in my head. And those visions were wearing Asics.

But all was not lost. After New York Magazine’s article on the trend exploded, K-HOLE, the New York-based trend forecasting collective behind the term took to Facebook and other forms of social media to express their displeasure. Apparently, New York Magazine (and I along with them) mistook Normcore for another creation of K-HOLE’s: #ActingBasic, which is defined as an “aestheticized version of the mainstream.”

Confused? Me too.