Many credit the advent of “normcore” to K-Hole, a New York-based trend forecasting group that included the term in its third PDF, “Youth Mode”, which was published in 2013. Therein, they described normcore as moving “away from a coolness that relies on difference to a post-authenticity coolness that opts in to sameness […] instead of appropriating an aestheticized version of the mainstream, it just cops to the situation at hand.” Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, they added that “to be truly Normcore, you need to understand that there’s no such thing as normal.”

K-Hole wasn’t the first to coin the term “normcore”; Ryan Estrada, a comic book artist, used the term in Templar AZ, in 2008, in reference to people who end up appropriating trends years later.

What we call normcore exists somewhere between Estrada and K-Hole’s definition. Simply put: normcore embraces the most plain things and is, theoretically, about eschewing individuality in a bid to be more versatile. Many consider the normcore trend within fashion to have been the culmination of a joke—started in K-Hole’s report and amplified by a New York Magazine piece—that ended up being taken seriously. It gave us one of the dominant trends of the mid-2010s, which embraced formless silhouettes, like straight-leg jeans, boxy T-shirts, or chunky sneakers.

Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg represent the idyllic versions of normcore—they who decided that fretting over what to wear was a needless waste of time and energy and thus opted for a consistent wardrobe that required little to no thought, but was almost universally accepted.

But among the fashion-conscious masses, normcore pushed people to begin wearing the sneakers their parents wore, or jeans that were seen as the antithesis of fashionable, which blurred the lines between where normcore ends and where “Camp” begins. Those that embraced the movement did so thoughtfully and ended up “appropriating an aestheticized version of the mainstream”—emulating Steve Jobs or Jerry Seinfeld—the very thing normcore wasn’t supposed to do, per K-Hole’s report.

Normcore as we know it—performative normalcy—might instead be better considered as a contemporary embodiment of “anti-fashion,” which—surprisingly—dates back hundreds of years and is rooted in the idea of “rational dress,” popular during the Victorian era. Anti-fashion is both utilitarian and philosophical—it eschews clothes that limit one’s comfort or range of motion, and in doing so, becomes an act of rebellion against the status quo. From rational dress to grunge to minimalism, the various waves of anti-fashion have always sought to consciously buck trends, while allowing the wearer’s individuality and personality to shine.

Which, when you consider what the term has come to represent, is exactly what normcore is.

White T-Shirt

Like so many of our current staples, the white T-shirt rose to prominence after being issued to soldiers during the Second World War. It quickly became a natural pairing with jeans, often worn when people were doing handiwork. Since then, it has come to be one of the most foundational garments in fashion—a piece that everybody has. There’s nothing more simple and more normal than a white T-shirt; it can be paired with everything from a suit to a pair of jeans to the most rugged workwear in one's wardrobe.

In the context of normcore, where normal things take on some deeper meaning, the white T-shirt stands opposite logo-driven streetwear or the complex patterns of avant-garde designers. It’s kind of like a palette-cleanser in garment form.

Stonewashed Blue Jeans

While it’s now often achieved using chemical treatments, the term stone washing refers to the traditional method for producing faded—but not distressed—denim which saw jeans washed with pumice. In addition to fading the indigo dye, the stone washing technique also softened the denim. Jeans, originally made for workers and manual laborers, were typically made from the sturdiest denim, but stonewashed jeans emerged as a more casual alternative.

By the ’80s and ’90s, stonewashed, straight-leg jeans were a weekend staple for Americans, popularized by movie bad boys and celebrities like Jerry Seinfeld alike. But as the trends shifted, overly distressed denim came to be in vogue, followed by heavyweight raw denim in the 2010s. That left the classic, slightly faded, formless jeans of the ’90s at the fringes of fashion and synonymous with the less style-conscious mainstream—and that is how they became a normcore icon.

Fleece Jacket

Jeans and a T-shirt are undeniably classic garments, but they’re not exactly great for cold weather. When fall and winter roll around, fleece jackets become the foundation of the normcore look. The likes of Columbia, Patagonia and The North Face all make full-length and quarter-zip fleece jackets that can act as mid-layers in the coldest weather, but make for good outer layers in most conditions.

Not only are these fleece jackets utilitarian, but they’re exceptionally durable, often lasting decades, which helped endear them to price-conscious consumers and thus ingrain them within the mainstream.

In recent years, the jackets became a bit of a meme, due to their ubiquity in corporate milieus and on Wall Street—far from the forests and rock faces they were designed for.

Solid-Colored Crewneck Sweatshirt or Hoodie

Simple crewneck sweaters are another cold-weather normcore staple. American Apparel helped popularize simple, straight-cut cotton crewnecks in the mid-’00s, but the crewneck was first introduced as a sports jersey in the 1920s, before being worn by soldiers.

The neckline has ebbed and flowed a bit, but, for the most part, the crewneck hasn’t changed much in the century it’s been around. Today, there are countless options available to consumers—whether they’re from second-hand marketplaces or higher-end brands—and a solid-coloured cotton crewneck remains a timeless piece in every wardrobe. It’s supremely versatile, acting as both an insulating and layering piece, and can be dressed up or down depending on the cut. One of the most obvious (but highly impactful) innovations—the inclusion of a hood—has turned the garment from a midlayer into something truly transcends all levels of personal style.

Sleeker options, like those offered by wings + horns or A.P.C. are more closely linked to Scandinavian minimalism, while those with ties to workwear and sportswear, from brands like Champion or Gap, have their place in a normcore closet.

Simple Sneakers

Chunkier New Balance silhouettes are now synonymous with normcore, thanks in large part to the late Steve Jobs, who made them a staple of his wardrobe. On the whole, the important thing would seem to be valuing comfort over aesthetics. But, for the most part, any relatively simple general release sneaker fits the bill for the normcore aesthetic.

A pair of Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars, Vans Slip-Ons, Nike Blazers or adidas Campuses are all examples of shoes that would also fit into the normcore wardrobe. One thing that’s immediately apparent is that they’re all shoes that are decades old—another example of the important role vintage plays in establishing normcores codes.

Minimally-Branded (Non-Fashion) or Souvenir Cap

It’s not any type of headwear or cap that fits within normcore. A fitted New York Yankees cap with a flat brim isn’t the same as, say, an older, slightly faded, cap with a curved brim.

For the most part, the caps popular within normcore feature an adjustable rear strap. Unlike many of the other normcore staples—which tend to lack graphics or prints—the caps tend to feature logos, whether that’s of a sports team or a golf course, though often smaller than you’d find on the aforementioned Yankees fitted.

Before Birkenstock’s Boston clog was the stylish footwear silhouette of the summer, the German company was world-renowned for making comfortable sandals. It was in that space—where comfort reigns supreme and fashion is a secondary, or even tertiary concern—that the brand’s sandals became ubiquitous.

Dating back to 1774, Birkenstock began producing flexible footbeds in the 19th century and “athletic” sandals in the second half of the 20th century. The comfort and quality of the footbeds used in the brand’s sandals have been Birkenstock’s calling card for decades.
By the 2000s, the Arizona, with two adjustable leather straps, a cork footbed, and a rubber outsole, became Birkenstock’s signature silhouette, worn the world over by liberal arts students and aunts and uncles alike. With such a presence, it’s little surprise that Birkenstock is considered the default sandal brand.

The Arizona and Boston have gained popularity within normcore, oozing nonchalance. From Rick Owens to Concepts, Birkenstock has been tapped for more and more collaborations of late, as the normcore movement became fashionable—and those that haven’t worked with the German brand have done their best to imitate them. That, if nothing else, is a testament to Birkenstock’s status as the reference sandal brand.

Champion’s roots date back to 1919, but the brand, under the name we know it, came into being in the 1930s. Champion’s DNA has long been sportswear, providing uniforms to the University of Michigan and then to other sports programs and teams.

Eventually, Champion’s garments came to be embraced outside of the arena of competitive sports. Champion’s soft, brushed Reverse Weave cotton—woven horizontally rather than vertically to prevent shrinkage—became so popular over the years that the brand dedicated an entire line of goods to it, to better market itself.

From gyms to stoops, Champion’s hoodies and crewnecks and hoodies were everywhere by the '90s. Other brands even use Champion blanks for their own graphic programs. So ubiquitous are Champion’s fleece garments that they were included in the Museum of Modern Art’s exhibit on contemporary fashion—and used for the exhibit merch!

Simply put, there are few garments more mainstream than a simple, grey Champion hoodie or crewneck—it blends in pretty much everywhere.

The ’90s were Gap’s years. Founded in the 1960s, Gap was predicated on catering to the gap between department stores and fashion runways—or, in other words, offering stylish everyday clothing. While the store originally carried third-party brands, it soon began to manufacture its own goods—so as to not have inventory problems.

Gap’s masterstroke was marketing classics in a way that was appealing. The clothes themselves were no different than anything else on the market, but the people who wore them—or who Gap showed wearing them—were. By the late-’80s, Gap wasn’t just selling clothes. It was selling a lifestyle—one targeted to a new generation of creatives like Spike Lee, Joan Didion and Whoopi Goldberg that would go on to dominate the ’90s. The clothes Gap sold were simple, but they were recognizable. The brand’s khakis were everywhere, so, too, its turtlenecks and sweatshirts. Gap entered the collective American mainstream throughout the ’90s.

While the brand suffered a decline in the 2000s and 2010s, the impact that Gap made on mainstream style in the ’90s was indelible. Within normcore, it’s the Gap of the ’90s that has an important role: even if it were to be wholly replaced by a new generation of mall-based fast-fashion retailers, Gap garments would remain in circulation for years to come thanks to the vintage pieces trading hands.

When it comes to the most basic of basics, Hanes reigns supreme—so much so that it is the collaborator of choice for Supreme on all things basics, from crewneck T-shirts to underwear to socks. Even still, Hanes standing as a pillar of normcore owes not to Supreme, but to everything that doesn’t come adorned with a little red box logo.

Hanes was founded in 1900 under the Shamrock Knitting Mills moniker, but the name Hanes was used shortly after. For more than a century, Hanes has built a reputation as a purveyor of reliable, no-frills essentials. There’s nothing incredible about a Hanes white T-shirt, but the brand’s ambassadors, from Michael Jordan to Jackie Chan, touted everything from solutions to “bacon neck” to the comforts of a tag-less T-shirt.

The simplicity, affordability and availability of Hanes’ garments—often sold in packs at Wal-Mart and other department stores—is what helped make them staples for the average American.

Like so many of the other brands that form the foundation of the normcore aesthetic, Levi’s is the default brand in its field; inarguably, the most iconic and recognizable denim brand in the world.

Levi’s began producing overalls before making jeans—a testament to the fact that, in the late 19th century, denim was still considered a workwear staple. But after the Second World War, jeans moved beyond the realm of work and took an important place within various subcultures. Levi’s jeans, particularly, gained popularity throughout the second half of the century and the brand’s red tab became a central part of the Americana look.

Even through financial hardships, Levi’s has remained omnipresent. Between the 511 and the 501—its two flagship cuts—the brand caters to both the more trend-conscious consumer and those in search of a classic, straight-leg fit that has rarely changed. It’s the latter, the 501, in a classic, slightly faded indigo, that’s at the centre of the normcore trend. It’s the jean from the jean company that everybody knows—and everybody’s ripped off.

Founded in 1906, New Balance didn’t make its first sneaker until 1961, but, in the intervening years, the brand has become one of the most successful sneaker purveyors in the world. The Boston-based company has excelled at carving out a niche as an American sneaker brand. While others, like Nike and Under Armour, are simply based in the U.S., New Balance continues to produce a number of models in Massachusetts.

Propelled by an American running craze in the ’70s and ’80s, New Balance gained a foothold with serious and amateur runners alike, who embraced the brand’s superior comfort and range of widths—the latter being one of New Balance’s biggest advantages over the competition to this day.

Though New Balance continues to produce technologically-advanced performance running shoes, the brand is probably best known for its legacy models—like the 990, 991, 997, 998 and 574—which have been embraced as day-to-day sneakers for their comfort and their consistent availability over the years.

Really, the ubiquity of New Balance sneakers—and their place within the pantheon of normcore staples—is best summed up by thinking about the people you’ve seen wearing them: Steve Jobs, an aunt or uncle, a parent, a teacher, but also magazine editors, models and your friends.

Patagonia was founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1957 to sell climbing hardware, and, later, apparel. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that Patagonia became the brand now famous for environmental consciousness and responsibility. It was then that Chouinard realized that the climbing hardware he—and others—sold was actually damaging rock faces. So, in 1972, Patagonia introduced a new line of climbing hardware designed to leave as little impact on nature as possible; that pledge still guides Patagonia’s business today.

Patagonia, although a bit pricier than, say, Champion, offers tremendous value, given the durability and quality of the garments. Thus, the brand became popular with the masses and synonymous with an outdoor-centric, sustainability-minded lifestyle. But even though Patagonia has always been driven by the outdoors the California-based brand has long set fashion trends—albeit a bit unwittingly. It was Patagonia that helped introduce bright, vivid colors to men’s sportswear and, four decades later, the brand’s climbing gear has once again emerged as a fashion-forward option thanks to the normcore movement.