Normcore and the grown woman
On a post showing the real women of Montréal, Dr. V.O. commented,
"On the topic of style, I'm wondering what you think of fall's continued elaborations of "normcore" looks (which you touched on in June) and the so-called "mom chic" that one sees at COS, Emerson Fry, and other hip brands. I find it interesting anthropologically b/c of its play with generation-bending versus other kinds of boundary crossing."
Dr. V.O. finds many things anthropologically interesting because she is an anthropologist, and she kindly encourages my interest in her field.
Normcore is the appropriation of classic, functional items by people of an age group more commonly associated with trend-driven buying: teens and young adults. Those items are worn to convey a non-consumerist position or at least preferences toward the low-key and lasting; what one trend-forecasting company called "the desire to be blank", while the Gap's current ads urge customers to "Dress Normal".
A fifty year old woman in an L.L. Bean Bayside twill skirt with its hidden comfort waist is not deliberately normcore, but her 20 year old niece in the same skirt is.
Many young adults have no desire to own separate wardrobes for work and leisure. Normcare items are flexible and androgenous: fleece tops, cotton turtlenecks, sweat pants, oxford cloth button-downs. The cut is American ample; this is not APC. Barring a wedding, a normcore devotée has it covered with only a few dozen items.
Normcore over 50
On a mature woman with an eye for colour and proportion, selected normcore pieces can blend with a preppy, snappy wardrobe, but she has certain shoals to navigate if she wants to look put-together rather than merely dressed.
Above: Inès de la Fressagne in rolled Levis, a white shirt, brown loafers: many old friends but— check the wide gold cuff and bracelet, the dark bra (which personally I would not do, but she's the icon here). C'est la manière, ma chère. Apparently she also carries a personalized L.L. Bean tote.
In the Gap's campaign, Anjelica Huston wears a more generic white shirt, wisely tarted up with assertive makeup, a dramatic brunette bob, what looks like a big emerald, and Michael K. Williams:
Man, I feel like a camper
I always enjoy Lands' End's Apostrophe quarterly, which tweaks normcore so much I have actually bought a few pieces (though certain items are just hopeless.) With any normcore vendor (typically a supplier to outdoor enthusiasts: Bean, Eddie Bauer, Woolrich, Orvis), you have to be very selective and eschew an adjustée fit, or have them tailored.
But here be dragons. Despite the appeal of a cabled sweater or duffle coat, I categorically reject the most egregious normcore signifiers, usually anything in which you could portage a canoe: Tilley rain hats, Crocs clogs, pants that zip off to shorts, and one-size fits all, except on expeditions.
Also: woman of 50+ must not sleep in an athletic department t-shirt. Even alone. Especially if alone.
Why? Because such choices decrease your splendid, wholly-lived, majestic feminine mojo.
An entire ensemble built of normcore sturditude moves into the territory my friend Beth, quoting one of her friends, calls "L.L. Bean dumpywear".
So my Bean marinière gets a diamond and silver cuff and a big ring. I'd enjoy hearing how you move normal into more original expressions.
"On the topic of style, I'm wondering what you think of fall's continued elaborations of "normcore" looks (which you touched on in June) and the so-called "mom chic" that one sees at COS, Emerson Fry, and other hip brands. I find it interesting anthropologically b/c of its play with generation-bending versus other kinds of boundary crossing."
Dr. V.O. finds many things anthropologically interesting because she is an anthropologist, and she kindly encourages my interest in her field.
Normcore is the appropriation of classic, functional items by people of an age group more commonly associated with trend-driven buying: teens and young adults. Those items are worn to convey a non-consumerist position or at least preferences toward the low-key and lasting; what one trend-forecasting company called "the desire to be blank", while the Gap's current ads urge customers to "Dress Normal".
A fifty year old woman in an L.L. Bean Bayside twill skirt with its hidden comfort waist is not deliberately normcore, but her 20 year old niece in the same skirt is. Many young adults have no desire to own separate wardrobes for work and leisure. Normcare items are flexible and androgenous: fleece tops, cotton turtlenecks, sweat pants, oxford cloth button-downs. The cut is American ample; this is not APC. Barring a wedding, a normcore devotée has it covered with only a few dozen items.
Normcore over 50
On a mature woman with an eye for colour and proportion, selected normcore pieces can blend with a preppy, snappy wardrobe, but she has certain shoals to navigate if she wants to look put-together rather than merely dressed.
Above: Inès de la Fressagne in rolled Levis, a white shirt, brown loafers: many old friends but— check the wide gold cuff and bracelet, the dark bra (which personally I would not do, but she's the icon here). C'est la manière, ma chère. Apparently she also carries a personalized L.L. Bean tote.
In the Gap's campaign, Anjelica Huston wears a more generic white shirt, wisely tarted up with assertive makeup, a dramatic brunette bob, what looks like a big emerald, and Michael K. Williams:
Man, I feel like a camper
I always enjoy Lands' End's Apostrophe quarterly, which tweaks normcore so much I have actually bought a few pieces (though certain items are just hopeless.) With any normcore vendor (typically a supplier to outdoor enthusiasts: Bean, Eddie Bauer, Woolrich, Orvis), you have to be very selective and eschew an adjustée fit, or have them tailored.
But here be dragons. Despite the appeal of a cabled sweater or duffle coat, I categorically reject the most egregious normcore signifiers, usually anything in which you could portage a canoe: Tilley rain hats, Crocs clogs, pants that zip off to shorts, and one-size fits all, except on expeditions. Also: woman of 50+ must not sleep in an athletic department t-shirt. Even alone. Especially if alone.
Why? Because such choices decrease your splendid, wholly-lived, majestic feminine mojo.
So my Bean marinière gets a diamond and silver cuff and a big ring. I'd enjoy hearing how you move normal into more original expressions.
Comments
"awful, unfeminine, generic clothes", however, from the last poster, is a pretty adequate description of the mook of most of these classics that are unfortunately worn without a bit of glam.
Two models/actresses tall and thin in heavily styled and photoshopped pictures...not what most of us look like.
The LLBean catalogue models--much younger--give a better idea of what these clothes look like on.
I agree with Frugal Scholar that most of us do not look great in this sort of clothing. It can come off as quite frumpy unless you are very tall, very slim and etc.
I wish I had une femme's love for interesting shoes!
Actually I wouldn't mind that skirt, in the dark red on sale, but that is because it has pockets!
Huston and Williams are both sexy "persons of a certain age"...
I dressed like most of the young moms in our peer group way back in the day and in high school we had a "uniform" or a dress code where we all wore the same brand of jeans with suede desert boots and peasant blouses.
Now I feel I can branch out with my clothes but they revolve around simple classics and lots of black and grey.
I would not be inclined to wear a black or dark bra under a white shirt as I do not like drawing attention to my ample "assets!"
Normcore must be a bit like being a Stepford Wife!
Ines and Angelica are gorgeous examples of mature women...they both exude health and confidence, they wear clothes with panache and in classic styles. If that is Normcore I approve.
I just put on chandelier earrings and hope the long gray braid is a pretty clear statement that I'm doing this all on purpose. Which is how I think of style - whether it's to my liking or not.
--Catbird Farm
When I left Vermont after 30 years and moved to Montreal, I also left this type of clothing mercifully behind. I guess it does suit a certain outdoorsy lifestyle, in which a day might hold an informal meeting, a stop at the farmer's market on the way home, bringing in some wood for the woodstove, and cooking dinner, but I never felt good in those clothes even though it was what nearly everyone wore: a uniform by any other name. To me this level of shapelessness or "relaxed fit" implied not only discomfort with the feminine body, but unease with expressing personal style, and I was very glad to escape that ethos, much as I loved many other aspects of living there.
Bunny: Especially pearls? ;)
une femme: I agree,the shirt has beautiful tailoring, and that gold cuff is TDF!
frugal: Though I am never without several Bean sailor shirts and a pair of red sheepskin mocs (as house slippers) most of it is not swoon worthy!
Susan: Yes, Pseu is the queen of shoe spotting!
lagatta: From what I read, normcore does not include garish colour, rather, it heads toward the sea of neutrals. And you are right, there is a lot of ugly clothing around that is not normcore.
LauaH: I'm with you, I buy that piped flannel nightshirt; in -20F what can you do?
LPC: I just saw a woman in periwinkle desert boots and want those badly! (Turns out she bought them in Australia in a vintage shop.)
Simple, perfectly fitting basics...may equal good taste, with good shoes and bags.
"Big" is not a primary criterion for jewelry for me; I'm more interested in design and quality of materials. But I find too many grown women wear too-small, 'nice', generic jewelry. There is a lot of territory between small, safe scale and big honkin' stuff.
As you point out so smartly, the successful chic normcore look always has a frumpiness escape hatch -- a hip accessory, a normative style cut slightly differently, the hint of sexy underwear peeking through. I love the select normcore pieces in my own wardrobe -- they always keep my outfit from looking like I'm trying too hard for "chic" or "glam" which in my experience is very aging on older women. For example, I like a good expensive belt with quality shiny hardware and a good watch vs. blingy jewelry these days. As my grandma aged she put on more jewelry, so I'm going the opposite. Thank you for taking on my question! N.B. I'm behind on reading so I apologize for not sending condolences earlier on the loss of your friend's wife; thank you for that beautiful and moving post.
Jill Ann: The words "cute" and "nice" when any of us look at a catalog, might serve as a yellow caution light. (For some it will be a red light, but I personally like a "nice" cable knit and am avid about marinières). Too many "cute" items on a grown woman look out of place.
Dr. V.O.: I was eager for your response! You reminded me of my university roommate Renée, who visited home in '67 to find her mother (probably all of 40) in a miniskirt. She was appalled. Minis were supposed to be for •us•, not parents.
My own impulse is to encourage elderly women to wear good jewelry, not necessarily more, but distinctive. I adore 80-something women in big rings. Joan Burstein of Brown's (London) is the exemplar of that look- rather quiet good clothes (a lot of Marni) and assertive real jewelry.
For example, today my jeans are chocolate brown coated denim and my cardigan is bright fuchsia. I teamed this with a bright floral print scarf from Poland, a chocolate brown cape and mustard yellow handbag.
I spend a lot of time at the beach, which has a casual outdoorsy vibe year-round and the Normcore style fits right in when I'm not in clothing designed for water.
Places like LL Bean and Eddie Bauer and my favorite, The Gap - all offer pants in a variety of cuts so if you are willing to get your tape measure out you often can find things that fit.
It just goes to show that if you wait long enough fashion will come around to what you've always been.
By the way, don't you think the photo of Angelica Houston is a take on Pulp Fiction? That would be a movie that the target Millennial audience would be familiar with. Using Houston allows them to also catch Boomers who're happy to buy clothing cut in the Ample American sizing.
At some point in the past I think you posted about a friend who is petite but doesn't bow to the "rules" of dressing per the petite marketing. I was inspired by that and have been playing with proportion ever since. The typical norm core chino skirt and white shirt language make me look like a truck - all wrong for my proportions. I call it brick dressing. But a humongous shawl over a well fitting a-line skirt and top is one of my favorite ways of creating some interest that can move from one norm-y outfit to the next. Same for an outrageously long skirt, but keeping a nicely fit cardigan and top in play. Etc..
These are the earrings (sorry for the FB URL - I have not yet made a real web site for this work): https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151974473976232&l=5d43c2cb00
Currently March (or so) is my plan for a soft launch of some pieces. Will be doing a local event and am considering the best way to market online. Even though I know this from my career / day job, putting a business together and doing the creative work as well is a tough couple of tasks to do simultaneously.
Aging is hard--at least it has been for me--and I think we have to allow for more than one way to do this difficult thing. LL Bean isn't awful or unfeminine or a sign of "giving up" to the thousands of their regular customers. Is it really necessary to insult other women's taste in order to assert our own? A little kindness and tolerance would be a welcome sight, especially in the over-fifty blogging community.
If a blogger calls a particular vendor's styles dowdy, or unfeminine, that is their perspective- and you have yours. I hope you continue to "be who you are", secure in your own choices.
Actually I prefer bloggers who provide their perspective- including those with which I do not agree- to bloggers who hype free products they are given and link most of the time only to stores where sales earn them commissions.