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Celebs are using COVID lockdown as an excuse to dress frumpy — just like us

For most of our modern history, we’ve abided by the social contract that people do not wear pajamas or house clothes outside of the home. That changed as we embraced a more casual bent toward dressing — and shame. By the mid-to-late aughts, slobs in pajama pants and shower shoes started appearing in airports and proliferating across the People of Walmart Tumblr. And we all agreed that the only worthy accessory to pair with this look would be a black bar across your face.

But thanks to the pandemic, wearing sloppy duds loudly and proudly has been rebranded as très chic. Call it COVIDcore — a spin on Normcore, last decade’s trend of wearing unremarkable clothes as a fashion statement. Celebs and once-stylish New Yorkers have emerged from lockdown dressed as if they’d been lying in bed for five months like “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s” Grandpa Joe.

Cara Delevingne (near left), one of the most in-demand models in the world, dined out in LA wearing shower shoes with socks. In the Hamptons, Scarlett Johansson sported sweats paired with athletic slide sandals. And athletes, who’ve been topping best-dressed lists, are taking a break, too: Former Alabama star Henry Ruggs III wore a bathrobe on TV when he was drafted by the Raiders in April.

With no cocktail parties, red carpets or actual power lunches happening, many are dressing for a Netflix binge. Gone are the sundresses and neat shorts and collared shirts of summers past. Instead, bike shorts, slip-on shower shoes and tie-dye gear now dominate our streets. Here are some of the worst offenders.

Is that international sex symbol and superstar Scarlett Johansson, or a Midwest soccer mom picking up Clorox wipes and toilet paper from Target? Perhaps the disguise earns her some anonymity, but at what cost?

Pop stars Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes are working overtime at not being COVID couture, stepping out for paparazzipeppered walks in floppy finery. In a tank top, workout shorts and shower slides, Mendes looks like he’s trying to become a cast member of “Jersey Shore.” Cabello brings up the rear in sloppy hippie gear that screams: “I sell candles made of my dog’s ear wax at the farmers market.”

During normal times, model Emily Ratajkowski is known for wearing as little as possible, but lately she’s also become the biggest ambassador for bike shorts since Greg LeMond.

“High School Musical” heroine Vanessa Hudgens has emerged as the patron saint of all this mess. Here she is sporting the holy trinity: fuzzy slides, a baggy T-shirt and oversize tie-dye pants that give off big hacky-sack slacker energy.