Poetcore: turtleneck, satchel, cape

Pinterest predicts its trends from what people search, and for 2026 it named Poetcore among them: a revival of romantic, academic dressing. Searches for "the poet aesthetic" rose 175 percent and searches for tie accessories 85 percent.1 It is the look of someone who reads in cafés and owns more books than shoes.

Where it comes from

Poetcore borrows from dark academia but is softer and less of a uniform. Think of nineteenth-century poets as painted, then filtered through a Paris flea market: high necks, loose white shirts, waistcoats, long coats, scarves, a worn leather bag. The runway backs it up. Mystylebox lists statement necklines, including funnel and high necks, and modern romance with lace and Victorian references as two of the season's trends.2 Fashion Brick Road describes a "radical romanticism" at Dior, mixing heavy winter outerwear with delicate ruffles.3

The five pieces

• A turtleneck. Black or ecru, fine or chunky. It is the base of nearly every poetcore outfit.
• A satchel. A leather or suede bag with a flap, carried on the shoulder. It should look like it holds a notebook.
• A long coat or a cape. The silhouette is long and vertical.
• A white shirt with some volume. Worn open at the neck or tied with a ribbon.
• A tie or a scarf. This is the detail Pinterest measured; a thin silk scarf knotted at the neck counts.

How to avoid the costume

Never wear more than two romantic pieces at once. A ruffled shirt with a cape and a velvet waistcoat is a theatre costume. A ruffled shirt under a plain navy coat, with jeans, is poetcore. The rule is the same as for every period-inspired look: one historic detail, everything else from today.

One historic detail. Everything else from today.

Colours

Stay in the colours of old paper and ink: black, ecru, chocolate, navy, a little bordeaux. Bright colour breaks the mood.

For men

Poetcore is not only for women; the original poets were men, after all. A dark turtleneck, a long coat, a scarf and a leather bag are the menswear version and look good on almost anyone.

Our picks

Rouje's POETE bag in brown suede is a satchel that could have been designed for this story, and the name helps. Toteme's cape coat in navy gives the long, vertical line. Add an ecru cable turtleneck and the outfit is done. If you want the tie, Toteme's dot tie in off-white is the gentlest way in.