For $495, you could buy 366 Zabar’s everything bagels—or snag a Coach sweater emblazoned with one on it. Though, truth be told, the latter is much harder to come by. Welcome to the world of Delicore, the growing fashion trend that’s finally getting its due, thanks to a surprising trio: Pete Davidson and Jake Gyllenhaal—two celebs who’ve become known for wearing their taste on their sleeves, in the form of Uncle Paulie’s hats and Russ & Daughters hoodies—and COVID-19.
The New York Post popularized the term—a riff on the internet’s urge to turn every aesthetic into a “-core” (see: cottagecore, cabincore, normcore…you get the idea)—citing the handful of celebs known for wearing restaurant merch, as well as a few noteworthy collabs, like the largely-sold-out Coach x Zabar’s capsule collection. We’d argue, though, that the look extends well beyond delis (perhaps a more apt term is restaurantcore? Foodcore? Snackcore?).
While restaurant merch is nothing new, it springboarded into our collective consciousness during the pandemic, when we all searched for ways to support our go-to places to dine when we couldn’t physically eat there. In the first 40 years of the pandemic, we were so focused on Tiger King and sourdough and tie dye and, I don’t know, generally surviving, that we didn’t pay too much mind to the tees we were buying. Nowadays, those early comforts bring us PTSD, feeling like a flash in the pan from an era we’d rather forget. But those restaurant hoodies, hats, totes and shirts? They’re an extension of our identity.
