There's a word for it ...

[crfriend]

... as there usually is. "Normcore" turns out to be the term used to describe the utterly horrid notion of style today, both for men and for women: t-shirts, jeans, hoodies, and such similar dreck. Which, of course, is foisted off on us by marketers shamelessly hawking crud that costs next to nothing to produce, made in third-world cesspools, and which is sold at enormous profit-margins by mainstream retailers.

For those who don't want to hit the link above, "normcore" is a portmanteau of "normal" and "hardcore", which, of course, the "style" (if one can call it that) is really neither. It's certainly not "hardcore" save for in some sort of infantile marketers' perverse fantasy, and I'd posit that it's not entirely "normal" either unless people are pressured into adopting it. Healthy folks frequently take some pride in setting themselves apart from the masses, and one of the easiest ways to do that is through the use of personal style.

I've been trying to quite loudly say, "No" to this "style" for quite some time, and work to visibly repudiate it. One can't get away from third-world-sourced stuff unless one goes the bespoke route, but one can handily raise his (or her) middle finger to the t-shirt and jeans look and immediately rise above the sea of mediocrity in which we're awash in -- or, more appropriately, drowning in.

Please bring back individuality in style. Allow, nay encourage, folks to experiment with creating or choosing their own style. Yes, perhaps that'll mean the occasional (gasp!) bloke in a skirt. But won't that make the world around us a bit more visually interesting?

"Normcore" my arse! Call it what it is: DRAB. (I'd have mentioned "mundane", but that has too many syllables for infantile marketers to understand.)

[RichardA]

Years ago we use to “dress to impress” now we dress and couldn't care less.

[Grok]

Call it...DRAB-core!

[crfriend]

Call it...DRAB-core!

What I'd like to call it isn't mentionable in polite company.

The closest I can come would be, "Boring clothing only worn to disguise one's innate nakedness with no thought to style, personality, or any other quality that makes us human." Add in a few expletives for colour (Yes, folks, I'm talking the F-word here) and you'll begin to get the idea.

To use a Harry Potterism, I may be a muggle, but I don't have to dress like one!

[Grok]

Its a lame marketing gimmick. Just call this informal wear Drab and be done with it.

[Sinned]

I don't even bother to look in the male section of clothing in the mainstream stores otherwise the sea of black, blue and brown would depress me. Often MOH in an effort to engender some interest would ask me if there was anything in the men's section and most times I reply to the effect of, "I'll look only when you can assure me that there would be something colourful to look at." That generally shuts her up as she knows that there won't be. Yes, drab and boring just about covers it.

BTW in my latest skirt watch whilst working on the checkout, out of the hundreds of women passing through and near the checkouts, the least number of skirts I have seen in a 7 hour shift is 12 and the most ( today for anyone interested ) has been 24. The most common per day range is 14 - 16. That is skirts and dresses ( not easy to define as there are some tunics and smock tops that are similar to dresses but not quite long enough to be decent if worn without the leggings that seem to accompany them and these I have not counted ). Quite a number of skits are worn in conjunction with leggings. More older women ( retired age and above ) wear skirts than younger so the figures can be a bit misleading, On Friday there were two mid-teens girls in pleated skirts so short they were what I call p*ssy-pelmets. So if someone accuses you of wanting to dress like a woman you can say that to do so I would wear jeans or leggings.

[Tor]

Well, for starters to deride this lousyness someone actually put a name to, I believe you can replace the first letter of said marketing company with one letter for each line in that letter.

Sinned, I believe your work location is likely to have a small proportion of skirts and dresses, but your numbers are low enough that I can't imagine them being anything other than indicative of the current trend, and one I have seen around here too.

[DonaldG]

I sometimes feel sorry for the girls when I buy a skirt in a charity shop - that's one less on the rail for them to choose from!

There is less and less available in the shops selling new clothing. Yesterday I was in Store 21, but could not find a single skirt available to purchase. A few tunic-like dresses, but not one skirt. That seems to be an increasing trend, leaving charity and vintage clothing shops as the best places to look.

[crfriend]

I sometimes feel sorry for the girls when I buy a skirt in a charity shop - that's one less on the rail for them to choose from!

Don't. The reason that the item was in the charity shop in the first place is that it was cast off by someone who succumbed to drab.

Skirts, by and large I think, are obsolete garments much in the same vein as knickerbockers for men. It's all jeans and stretch pants now paired with t-shirts of various ilk. Even Sapphire has succumbed to drab; the last time I saw her wearing anything even remotely attractive was at a friend's funeral back in September. (I originally wrote "July" and then checked my facts; it's still a damnably long time.) To crib a line from Stan Rogers' White Collar Holler. "... and week after week it's always the same."

[...] A few tunic-like dresses, but not one skirt. That seems to be an increasing trend, leaving charity and vintage clothing shops as the best places to look.

And the tunic-like dresses are all designed to have trousers of some ilk worn under them, thereby defeating the entire purpose of a dress.

Once in a while I'll run across a nice-looking skirt in a catalog, but the going price for a decent skirt can run upwards now of a hundred bucks which is a bit of a deterrent. It may be time to clean out the back bedroom and convert it to a sewing-room.

[Grok]

Women had appropriated so much of traditional mens wear, that all that was left to copy is sheer dullness.

Unforetunately, women have even appropriated that.

[skirtyscot]

So our plan is working ... They are falling into our trap ... And the way is clear for us to move into the space they are leaving behind. Skirts on, men!

If only!

[crfriend]

So our plan is working ... They are falling into our trap ... And the way is clear for us to move into the space they are leaving behind. Skirts on, men!

Dammit, mate, don't blow the cover!

If only!

[Sinned]

Sinned, I believe your work location is likely to have a small proportion of skirts and dresses,

Tr, I disagree with this. The store sells all sorts of home products for bathroom, bedroom, garden, kitchen, living room so the proportion of women to men frequenting the store ( excluding men accompanying their wives ) is always going to be considerably higher than for other stores. Admittedly there will be a bias in that the cold weather will encourage trousers in preference to skirts but as you say the trend is set and probably does reflect general wear. I am actually at the stage where I rejoice ( internally ) when I see a skirt being worn.

[Tor]

Sinned, I'd meant a small proportion of skirts and dresses in relation to the number of women, since like it or not the assumption that all men wear some kind of trousers doesn't fall on its face very often (yet). I had been under the impression that you worked at a hardware store - tools, building materials, etc. being the primary business with cleaning supplies and other housewares being more sidelines. This I would tend to think would attract the sorts of women who wear trousers in addition to the cold weather bias you just noted, hence skirts and dresses would be under represented compared to a more complete average. Still, you know your place of work rather better than I do from a few internet posts across thousands of miles of fibre optics and wire.

[Brad]

Carl lamented the unoriginal sameness in modern fashion called Normcore. I would offer that all through history there has been sameness in fashion. Look at old pictures of people. Men wore suits with hats and women wore tailored dresses. They all looked the same. The difference today may be that clothing is more unisex. But let's examine that in more detail.

Most will agree that women have the right to wear skirts or dresses. But they also have the right to wear pants. No woman should be forced to wear skirts or dresses. Several on this board have lamented the fact that women wear pants more than they used to and are seldom seen in skirts and dresses. To which I say, so what? I feel that women have unfair advantages in skirts and dresses that are not afforded to men- to wit- looking attractive, feeling sexy, getting attention from other people. A woman in a skirt or dress is a threat to a man- she is given the opportunity to express her gender identification and present her body in a way that a man can't. Most men feel more comfortable with a woman in pants. We should be welcoming women wearing pants as it brings them down to our mediocre level, not punishing them for their perceived lack of femininity.

Does it work the other way if men could wear skirts and dresses? Yes it does. We can experience the same sexy sensation by displaying our bodies in vulnerable ways that women can appreciate. We can experience the feeling of putting our body out there for women to judge and appreciate. Women feel threatened by a man in a skirt as do men feel threatened by a woman in a skirt. Women don't want to have to compete with men for attractive attention.

Figure this- a woman in a skirt or dress is just a woman in a skirt or dress. But I, with my 57 year old large bellied body can get all of the attention just by wearing a skirt. A woman doesn't have that power. And that attention is truly threatening to most women. And attention that I'm afraid will wither if it were ever socially acceptable for men to wear skirts. Sometimes I feel like the current system of skirts being reserved for women works for me because if men really had a realistic option to wear skirts in public, I would be more likely to opt out. It is the thrill of being daring and bold that makes it exciting for me.

And as much as Normcore is annoying to Carl and others on this board, figure this: Watch what women wear when they go out on weekends- super short low-cut dresses and stiletto heels. Yes they're dressing like women but they still look all the same. There is no variety. Sameness could be what we all want- our cars look the same, our houses look the same, and yes our clothes look all the same. It takes an artist's originality to have some style and buck the trend. And to be confident while being different.

So Normcore is the status-quo, the way to slink through life unnoticed, and not have to answer to people who may ask "Why"? I find myself getting lazy and wearing jeans more than I should. I could put more effort into my clothes. I already own nice clothes, but then I figure that if the fashion bar is set low than why raise it?

Which brings me to my last point which is, if you are a guy wearing skirts, have some style. Don't just wear what you found in the charity or consignment store. Find out which clothes are flattering on your body type and wear them. We guys are lucky that there are no rules for us wearing skirts as there are for women, so we can make up our own. Let's have style and show women the fun that they are missing.