Slang dictionary

sleazecore

[sleez-kohr]

What does sleazecore mean?

Popular in the summer of 2018, sleazecore is a fashion trend featuring baggy, informal, and unfashionable articles of clothing that make one look like a schlub. 

Related words

ootd, hypebeast, red bottoms, Apple Bottoms, frohawk, Cosby sweater

Where does sleazecore come from?

Esquire

In the summer of 2018, celebrities started stepping out in mismatched, oversized athleisure wear. Articles may include big hoodies, board shorts, flip flops, tracksuit pants, and muscle shirts. Esquire fashion reporter Jonathan Evans picked up on the trend, dubbed 2018 the Summer of Sleaze, and named the look sleazecore.

The Observer

The term sleazecore draws on sleazy for the scummy, unkempt look the trend cultivates. Its -core, ultimately from hardcore, is a combining form used to describe musical genres and occasionally fashion trends, notably normcore.

Following Evans, other fashion and entertainment outlets picked up on sleazecore, and the word spread. In 2018, sleazecore was most commonly associated with celebrities like Justin Bieber, Pete Davidson, Bella Thorne, and Kristen Stewart.

Examples of sleazecore

wow I mastered 'sleazecore' my freshman year of college. too little too late :(
@NatalieDaher7, October 2018
the sartorial response to sleazecore is going to be “a return to formality” and if people aren’t wearing 3 piece suits instead of sweatpants within 5 years I’ll be verrrrry surprised
@pixie_casey, September 2018
Sleazecore is steeped in a sense of rebellion, yes, but also irony. It’s the loud, brash, perhaps-inevitable successor of normcore, which also almost-annoyingly subverted expectations (look at the fashion people dressing non-fashion!), but also became a viable look in its own right.
Jonathan Evans, Esquire, August 2018
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Who uses sleazecore?

Fashion writers and celebrity watchers may use sleazecore to critique—or recreate—the look. The word, however, may well fade with the trend. 

People may also use sleazecore as an excuse to leave the house in sweatpants and ratty old t-shirts and pretend they are the height of fashion.

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Note

This is not meant to be a formal definition of sleazecore like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of sleazecore that will help our users expand their word mastery.

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