Last week I was standing at a crosswalk when a mother with a toddler in a stroller pulled up next to me. The tiny girl peeped over the side to look at my outfit; a black dress with polka dot tights and yellow high heels. She looked down at her own ensemble; polka dot leggings and yellow crocks. She looked back at me and smiled. Game recognizes game.
Since a huge portion of San Francisco adults already embrace a pre-adolescent fashion aesthetic, the newly coined “Babycore” movement of adults wearing childlike clothing should find plenty of takers here. Artist Matt Starr told Refinery 29 that he conceived of this fashion trend when his mom told him she was tossing his old Gymboree duds. Starr then asked a designer to recreate his childhood sweatshirt and make it man sized. The results look hilarious — but also super comfy.
Of course this isn’t the first time adults have taken fashion cues from little guys — Kim Shattuck and Courtney Love rocked the Kinderwhore look back in the grunge days. But this time the closets of our youths are hip for the man child as well as his female counterpart. And in a city filled with adult dodgeball tourneys, hula hoop classes, and pillow fights, why not dress the part of someone young at heart?
A few baby-centric innovations would make Babycore life a lot easier, though. A snap-open butt flap for bathroom breaks, for example. Just don’t ask me to change your diaper.
[Via Refinery 29, Image courtesy of Flickr user Martin Pettitt]
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