Adam Sandler On His Dadcore Style: “Every Day I’m Sorry For The Way I Dress”

The red hooded sweatshirt was just the beginning.

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Adam Sandler has long been a style icon — at least for those of us who roll out of bed in a sweatshirt and just wear it the rest of the day. Countless paparazzi photos, red carpet events, and movie premieres have shown that Adam Sandler has a particular way of dressing, and that way is that he doesn’t give a sh*t. However, while his style has become somewhat of a viral sensation on TikTok in recent years (just look at the evidence), Sandler has been putting it down for decades. But if you ask him about it, he’s no fan of the way he looks.

Sandler was a recent guest on The Jennifer Hudson Show, and while sitting on the couch with Hudson, Sandler was in full dad-fashion with his colorful zip-up over his checkered button-up shirt, which he paired with a pair of basic pants, tube socks, and black sneakers. If you didn’t know who he was, he might look like any dad making an errand run to the grocery store on an early Saturday morning — not a multi-millionaire movie-making mogul at a press call.

“What do you call your fashion and your swag?” Hudson asked Sandler after saying she would call his sense of style “chill gear” or being “mushed up.” But Sandler wasn’t sure how to answer at first.

“People talk to me a lot about it lately,” he said as photos of him in his typical look flashed on the big screen, and the audience giggled.

“I mean, that’s just a man who opened a suitcase and threw stuff on,” he joked. “I don’t know, it’s, uh, my kids are mad at me ‘cause I wear those shirts now and said I’m sorry about it, every day I’m sorry for the way I dress.”

He said he doesn’t put much thought into his dad-vibe look. “Just whatever’s clean in the closet, I go, ‘I’ll take that,’” he admitted.

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Whatever his style is — people love it. And it’s admittedly pretty replicable, whether you’re looking at his style from the past millennium or today. This look isn’t new to Sandler, who has always favored oversized shirts, basketball shorts, thick socks, and nice sneakers above anything. He’s worn this look when photographed going to the grocery store, while sitting courtside at a basketball game, walking on the red carpet at one of those star-studded events, or as a guest on a talk show.

“Apparently, you set a trend. Like, the kids have like Adam Sandler dress-up days,” Hudson said.

An article published last year in Esquire touched on Sandler’s style and the trend of #sandlercore. Across social media, kids who aren’t as connected to Sandler, the actor who gave us Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, and The Wedding Singer, know him more as the fashion icon who favors comfort over anything and doesn’t play by any rules of patterns, fabric, colors, or dressing for the event you’re at.

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According to InStyle Australia, his look garnered more attention during the pandemic when sweatpants and hoodies were cool again. Then, Sandler went viral last summer, and it hasn’t gone anywhere since. “It was only in 2022 that [Sandler’s] aesthetic was really recognized, taking off online with influencers sharing similar ensembles on TikTok and Instagram. As many have already noted, it’s essentially the antithesis to the Hot Girl Summer look.”

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Comfort is king in Sandler’s eyes, and we’re all for making the typical dad look more acceptable. Since the internet coined Sandler the fashion antihero he’s talked more about his personal sense of style, even if he himself doesn’t love it. And while you may not get away with wearing a polo shirt and oversized sweatpants to a fancy event with your family — in fact, you arguably shouldn’t try to — looking at #sandlercore for everyday life might just be the way to elevate your everyday wear. (Or at least, make excuses for it.)