The nostalgic trend is all about repurposing what you already have.
Growing up, I always found a sense of serenity in my grandmother’s vanity dresser. Sitting on her bed, I relished examining the antique wooden triptych mirror, which sat adorned with hanging pendants and delicate silver chains. Her shelf was cluttered with colorful trinkets and tiny boxes that spilled open to reveal little treasures gathered over time. To me, it is a picture of personal style carefully cultivated through the decades. This is the ethos of grandmother fashion, which is set to be a defining trend in 2023.
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Look no further than Miu Miu. To close out Paris Fashion Week, the Italian luxury brand enlisted stars like Mia Goth, Emma Corrin and Zara Wade to champion grandmotherly style. The now-viral runway presentation was peppered with messily tucked-in cardigans, glasses, and cozy knitwear. As they walked, the models carried big purses that looked stuffed to the brim with doodads of all sorts. Hard candy, anyone?
Designer Miuccia Prada is known for using her shows to champion a specific aesthetic, not just clothes. Last year, the brand’s seminal micro mini was the final catalyst to the zeitgeist’s (somewhat fraught) revival of Y2K styles. But this season, a decidedly more demure oeuvre is set to reverberate through pop culture: the grandmother.
on TikTok, #grandmacore has over 145 million views at the time of publishing, with top videos discussing the beauty of grandmotherly slow living. why? Times are tough, and many young people are yearning for a more simple, nostalgic lifestyle. Think: doing puzzles in your spare time; having a deep appreciation for good-quality socks; bird watching. All in all, it’s about taking a little extra care and finding loveliness in the day-to-day. And that extends to getting dressed.
Grandma’s core outfits are often made up of chunky sweaters, billowing nightgowns, and patchwork patterns, while the home decor in the aesthetic comprises patchwork-covered shelves, intricate watercolor paintings, and floral duvets. These visuals coincide with Gen Z’s ongoing love affair with thrifting and the rise in vintage home decor, as predicated by Pinterest. And this old-is-new-again ethos has been dominating fashion for months.
Rosettes are everywhere. Brooches have become a coveted accessory. Mismatched layering dominated street style at fashion month. Now, grandma core is even infiltrating viral fashion moments. On February 2, Emma Chamberlain was trending after opting for a “grandma aesthetic” at Spotify’s pre-Grammy performance party. Layering a collared button-up under a lumpy knit vest and accessorizing with a thin brown belt, the sensible getup seemed out of place for a flashy Hollywood event. But it won’t be for long.
A month later, the Instagram platform @boldberlin went viral after sharing a candid photo of two passing strangers — a young man and an (impeccably accessorized) older woman — wearing the same plaid coat. Both looked similarly cozy and stylish, proving that grandma core works