Life-core trend says it all - the real luxury today is having a life

My go to work from home outfit, the one that makes me feel like I am not in pajamas all day, is usually an old oversized T shirt paired with the bottom half of some comfortable pants that are decent enough for a quick run to the store or opening the door for a courier. When I go to the office, things are not dramatically different. I still wear pieces that are comfortable to sit in and that I am not embarrassed to be seen in, which is not always the case with my at home combinations. When I was rushing to the office last week in my swishy jacket, a baseball cap and the most comfortable sneakers I own, I ran into a friend who said, “Wow, you look like you just came back from camping.” I had no idea whether that was a compliment, and I did not want to ask. Later that same day I saw a TikTok about “having a life core” and realized the outfits shown there looked a lot like the ones I wear at home, in the office, to the store or to the neighborhood café. Am I participating in a trend without even knowing it? I have never been a trendsetter, maybe my moment has finally arrived. All it took was for the trend to become living a normal day to day life.

What is “having a life core” actually?

“Having a life core” is an aesthetic built around trying, and that word really matters, to look like a person who actually does things. Not glamorous things. Not that mysterious off duty model vibe. Real, everyday things. It is the visual language of someone who is on the way to a workshop, or coming back from a short walk, or carrying groceries home in an overflowing tote bag. It signals that you have interests, routines, responsibilities, hobbies, simply a life that exists beyond a screen. In essence, it is a reaction to two decades of fashion built on distance and disinterest. For years the “cool” look depended on doing as little as possible. Models in campaigns often had blank expressions, not happy to be there but not unhappy either, always a bit absent, always trapped in some vague emotional fog. Then the pandemic forced us into stillness and the idea of inactivity stopped being appealing. Instead, movement, effort and engagement became desirable. The aesthetic shifted from “I do nothing but look good” to “I am busy in a good way.” The TikToker Jayne (@didoriot), who in a way coined the term, describes “having a life core” as the moment when fashion stopped celebrating the untouchable girl of the 2000s and turned toward people who look like they just finished a pottery class or are heading out on a hike. The point is that simply existing is no longer enough. You need to look like you are doing something.

Today the biggest luxury is to have a life and show it.

Suddenly it became trendy in cities to wear luxury hiking jackets, gore core pieces, workwear, suspenders and sneakers that make you look like you are going rafting, not buying bread. It is no longer enough to sit and look good. Now you need to look good while doing something, or at least make it seem like you have a packed daily schedule and are rushing from one thing to another. That is why the whole “paint and sip” economy is thriving. That is why Pinterest is flooded with photos of people who look deeply occupied with their own lives, layered in jackets and bags, carrying thermoses, books and tangled cables. There is no “fit” in the traditional sense. The goal is to look like you did not even pay attention to what you put on. It is simply irrelevant, because you have places to be.

@taontim

Fashion has, of course, picked up on the shift in aesthetics and brands have followed it quickly. Just look at the incredibly popular Acne Studios jeans that cost nearly a thousand dollars and look as if you spent the afternoon in a garage helping your dad with tools, or changing a flat tire by yourself. But we do not even need specific examples. Just open Pinterest and you will see exactly what I mean. This deliberately “worn in” and “messy” aesthetic is no longer about rebellion or grunge nostalgia. It is meant to signal that you have been somewhere, that you have done something, that your life leaves a mark, quite literally.

And as I look at my outfit right now, I realize that the yogurt stain that never washed out might end up at the center of some new core trend in a few months, putting me once again in the role of an accidental trendsetter. You never know.