In a society where everyone is trying to distinguish himself or herself, it seems that doing the exact opposite is becoming a trend.

Out are all the bright colored, print-clashing, avant-garde pieces that have given fashion its artistic reputation. In are the blatantly basic staple items that you would wear on a lazy Sunday.

Simply put, fashion has become a stylized blandness. Blending in has become the new standing out.

K-Hole, a New York based trend-forecasting group, calls it “normcore”.  Others call it dressing like a tourist. I’m not sure exactly what to call it, but maybe that’s because I just don’t understand it.

Emily Segal, one of the founders of K-Hole, describes normcore as a submission into sameness. “It’s not about being simple or forfeiting individuality to become a bland, uniform mass,” she explained in a Feb. 26 New York Magazine article.  Segal said it’s about being OK with looking like other people and, “seeing that as an opportunity for connection, instead of as evidence that your identity has dissolved.”

The whole idea of normcore is more than just a trend: it’s an attitude about life. Embracing sameness, rather than being different or authentic, is the new way to be cool.

One of the main principles of normcore is the understanding that there’s no such thing as normal. Normcore seeks the freedom that comes with non-exclusivity. It finds liberation in looking like nothing special.

When applied to fashion, the goal of normcore is just like that of its name: to look normal. Rather than wearing elaborate designer brand items, generic brand non-style clothing is at the center.

I follow a lot fashion bloggers on Instagram, and recently, I have noticed a transition toward normcore. I was used to seeing floral skirts and neon tops with plunging necklines, but now all I’m seeing is jeans and T-shirts — maybe a turtleneck, if I’m lucky.

It seems like bloggers are embracing this new mode of dress, keeping it simple and comfortable.

But what happened to wanting to look unique? I like shopping at thrift stores to find those pieces that I know no one else is going to find. I don’t want us to all look like Levi’s jeans model-zombies.

While I’m all for simplicity, normal can easily get boring. When all that changes is the color of your shirt, your closet can look quite one-dimensional. Prints and experimentation with hemlines are what keep fashion interesting.

When looking at the items that classify normcore, it appears that we’re taking a trip back into the ‘90s, or we’ve stepped off of a tour bus in Times Square. We see Patagonia fleeces and original Levi jeans. We see stark white Keds and Adidas track jackets.

Sure, things that went out of style can come back in, but there is a reason why turtlenecks and khakis with Birkenstocks went out of style and stayed there. Dorky is not always cute.

Today’s geek chic and geek chic of the ‘90s are two whole different entities.  If we brought back the geeky style of the ‘90s, we would have a return of Steve Urkel. And that’s exactly what we don’t want a return of.

The style icons for fashion’s new look—Steve Jobs, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David—are far from the types of celebrities that you would usually see as the trendsetters.  None of these men you would consider very fashionable; their clothes are simply functional.

Fashion has been known for putting creativity over function. It seems that now the exact opposite is what is becoming popular.

While I like the idea of normcore and the message that it sends, I’m not sure if I can get used to the fashions that are coming with it. I want fashion that is going to make me excited, not fall asleep.

Alexis McDonell is a sophomore magazine journalism major. Her column appears every week in Pulp. E-mail her at admcdone@syr.edu and follow her on Twitter at @AlexisMickD.

 

 

 

 

Published on March 16, 2014 at 11:25 pm