Move Over, Coastal Grandma—This Winter Is All About Gorpcore Dressing

A quick scroll on the #gorpcore hashtag on Instagram conjures up endless ‘fit pics, mostly of men hiking, camping, and staring longly at gloomy mountainscapes. Fashion boys have long dominated the outdoorsy look—until now.  

Long gone are the days of soft-shell jackets and hiking pants made with men in mind. The introduction of cargo skirts, colorful sneakers, and cropped puffer jackets from labels such as The North Face, Patagonia, and Arc’teryx (gorpcore’s crowning glory) means that brands are taking notice of a growing list of female clientele. 

Gorpcore’s reputation as a solid aesthetic is taking flight now that women are claiming it as their own. It’s about time. 

“As a trend or as a shifting perspective on the functionality of garments in fashion, gorpcore can serve as a point of access to exploring the greater world of outdoor recreation for people who haven’t had a way in before,” Mariel Wiley, a photographer based in Colorado tells Who What Wear. With one foot in fashion and the other in rugged outdoor sports, Wiley says the biggest hurdle to overcome is having “granola” people leave their distain for fashion at the door (even though at times, when looking at fashion’s pollution problem, the sour taste in their mouths seeing people wear hiking boots for the ‘gram makes sense.)