The carefully polished 'pretty girl' uniform is facing competition in 2026 as Zoë Kravitz, Zendaya, Billie Eilish and other celebrity style leaders embrace oversized shirts, roomy tailoring, football shorts and clothes that could have been borrowed from somebody's dad. Across summer street-style appearances and promotional events, stars are choosing comfort, practical layers and deliberately unfitted proportions over bodycon dresses, tiny tops and ultra-feminine co-ords.
The change has become particularly visible this July, with Kravitz stepping out in London wearing rolled-up Adidas football shorts, while Zendaya has repeatedly appeared in wide trousers and oversized jackets during her latest press appearances. The outfits differ in formality, but they share the same idea: getting dressed like the wardrobe belongs to a stylish middle-aged man with strong opinions about loafers, sports shirts and breathable fabrics.
Zoë Kravitz Makes Sports Shorts Look Intentional
The Batman actress Zoë Kravitz has become one of the clearest faces of the look. Recent photographs showed her pairing coral and blue football shorts with a simple black camisole, ballet flats, sunglasses and a compact Saint Laurent bag while walking in London. The outfit placed an everyday piece of sportswear beside polished accessories rather than turning the shorts into a full athletic look.
Kravitz's broader wardrobe already includes straight-leg jeans, relaxed shirts, oversized tailoring, baseball caps and flat shoes. She has also joked publicly about the famously revealing wardrobe of her father, musician Lenny Kravitz, saying at his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony: 'According to my dad, if it doesn't expose your nipples, it's not a shirt.' Her own version of dad dressing is considerably more covered, but it similarly treats menswear codes as personal style rather than costume.
Zendaya and Jennifer Lawrence Choose Bigger Proportions
Emmy-winning Euphoria star Zendaya has taken the trend into more formal territory. At a June photocall for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, she wore a McQueen Autumn/Winter 2026 look, continuing her long-running use of sharp jackets, masculine tailoring and trousers with enough volume to move away from conventional red-carpet femininity. Other recent appearances have placed her in oversized blazers and flowing wide-leg trousers, styled with Law Roach's characteristic precision.
Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence has also been seen in loose T-shirts, relaxed trousers, trainers and understated layers, while Materialists actress Dakota Johnson regularly builds off-duty outfits around jeans, loafers and unfussy jackets. Their clothes are not identical, but the styling avoids the pressure for every celebrity outfit to appear tightly fitted, highly decorated or immediately glamorous.
Internet personality and Louis Vuitton ambassador Emma Chamberlain has approached the look through vintage jackets, baggy jeans and pieces that appear collected rather than assembled as a complete designer look. Model Bella Hadid has similarly mixed loose trousers, leather jackets, trainers and retro sportswear into her street-style wardrobe. These outfits turn the kind of clothes traditionally associated with errands, football sidelines or weekend DIY into heavily documented celebrity fashion.
Billie Eilish Helped Make Baggy Clothes Mainstream
Nine-time Grammy winner Billie Eilish was wearing exaggerated, oversized clothing long before 'dadcore' became a convenient trend label. In a Calvin Klein campaign, the Bad Guy singer explained: 'That's why I wear baggy clothes. Nobody can have an opinion because they haven't seen what's underneath.' Her wardrobe connected oversized silhouettes to privacy and control, rather than simply presenting them as an aesthetic choice.
The current version of celebrity dad fashion is broader, spanning oversized tailoring, washed-out caps, rugby shirts, football jerseys, Bermuda shorts, loafers and practical trainers. Alexa Demie, Alexa Chung and other celebrities have also moved towards oversized T-shirts this summer, strengthening the move away from cropped baby tees and closely fitted tops. Designers are responding with more considered versions of those everyday shapes, including structured big shirts and relaxed tailoring that retain their deliberately roomy proportions.
That does not mean 'pretty girl' fashion has disappeared. Kravitz still wears sheer dresses, Zendaya continues to deliver high-glamour red-carpet looks and Hadid regularly returns to fitted vintage pieces. However, their casual wardrobes show that femininity is no longer being presented through one narrow silhouette, with dad-sized shirts and sensible trousers now sharing space with minidresses and heels.
