Introducing Kidcore
The infantilization of fashion
I don’t know about you, but when I was a kid I loved to think about what I would wear when I became an adult. Because it was the early 2000s, I was enthralled with the idea of a denim mini skirt and assumed that would be a regular staple in my grown-up wardrobe. I also vowed to wear dangly earrings, high heels, and lipstick every day. This hyper-femme Bratz doll vibe is certainly far from my current aesthetic. While other children may not have been as obsessed with thinking about the clothes they’d wear when they got older, it’s pretty common for kids to dream about who they’ll be one day.
Now that I’m an adult who’s overly aware of what everyone is wearing, I’ve noticed that a lot of the things we wear now aren’t far from what we wore in our youth. Hair bows, knee-high socks, jerseys, and big baggy shorts all evoke our elementary school days. We wear colorful star pimple patches on our faces in public like stickers of pride. People are obsessed with Hello Kitty, Betty Boop, and Snoopy. Baby tees are all the rage and overalls are always in style. I’m calling this aesthetic “kidcore,” because it’s the amalgamation of several “cores” that all possess the same youthful feeling.
It makes sense that we’d become obsessed with dressing like our younger selves. Gen Z has had a rough go of it, and our youth has been tainted by a pandemic, school shootings, a recession, and a Trump presidency. Each generation has its own bummer, but we may be healing our inner children by dressing like carefree kids again. Light-up sneakers optional.
Notably, blokecore and bowcore reference traditionally gendered roles, yet Gen Z is paying them no mind. Anyone can embrace kidcore, which is likely healing for those who didn’t get to dress in a way that honored their gender identity or sexuality as children. Gender doesn’t matter in kidcore, and that’s what makes it beautiful.
The popularization of blokecore, an aesthetic based on British football culture (that’s been worn by Black and Latina women for years), gives me major little lad vibes. Plus, everyone played soccer when they were little. Even me! (My career was short-lived as I was more interested in picking dandelions and once scratched my cornea during a game.) Sneakers, rugby shirts, Adidas branded everything, and the idolization of soccer players are so little boy-coded. While blokecore is just hitting its stride on TikTok, I feel like it’s been subtly around for years. Gucci has always flirted with blokecore; its collaboration with the skate brand Palace is its most obvious example. The brand Wales Bonner, a personal favorite, also uses many sporty yet preppy references in each collection.
Fashion folks are well aware of the chokehold that bows have on our wallets, as chronicled in this clever article from The Cut. While I’m not sure that bowcore officially exists as a term, I’ll be adopting it as it accurately encapsulates the Sandy Liang-obsessed girlies. The current obsession with bows is simple yet vast. You can add bows to anything–belt loops, purses, shoes, hair, etc., and make it instantly cuter. In a similar vein, we’re pairing our bows with neat and proper uniform-like outfits, complete with a pleated skirt and knee-highs. Again, this influence is heavily intertwined with Sandy Liang, who often puts out pieces that remind me of my L.L.Bean school uniforms in the best way possible.
As a little girl, I was never bothered by wearing a uniform to school, I thought they were cute and stylish. My uniform consisted of white collared shirts with a navy blue cardigan, paired with plaid pleated skirts or navy pants. I loved a knee-high sock and even had belts and headbands in the same plaid as my skirts. While I loved the prep and order of my polo shirts and plaid jumpers, I never would have guessed my adult self would be interested in wearing similar outfits by choice.
Though little Katie dreamed about a future of high heels and jean skirts, my adult outfits actually aren’t too far off from what I was wearing back then. I still love a uniform-like outfit and have admittedly participated in bowcore myself. Plus, now when I rock a blokecore outfit I can pretend like I went through a tomboy phase in my youth like a proper lesbian. You can be young again. You just have to dress the part.
My Cult of the Self
Not many updates this week, I just need to know if anyone else has seen Saltburn. It seemed to be a mix of The Great Gatsby with The Talented Mr. Ripley with the Italian film Teoroma. Plus, the many homoerotic scenes of men lazily lounging by a gorgeous pool gave me Call Me By Your Name vibes. I really don’t know how I feel about the ending, and I could write a thesis on the class commentary that missed its mark. Plus, I don’t think they accurately portrayed the early 2000s aesthetic aside from a few bad haircuts. I need one of you to watch it too so we can discuss.
Over and out! Kisses.