Happy Gilmore 2 drops on Netflix this Friday, July 25. Adam Sandler’s back alongside Ben Stiller, Julie Bowen, and Christopher McDonald. Sandler, who was the highest-paid actor in 2023, co-wrote the script. When the news first dropped, I was pretty skeptical about a sequel, but the idea has grown on me. Somehow Adam Sandler has become a style icon! Gen Z has decided that they are so charmed by Adam’s random style, which involves boldly-patterned shirts paired with long shorts. The youths call it “Sandlercore” or “Madam Sandler” style. As you’d expect, Adam is taking his unexpected new status with stride. In fact, he thinks it’s “funny as hell.”

Adam Sandler has revealed that he’s just as surprised as everyone else about becoming a fashion icon. Speaking to Complex, the 58-year-old actor and comedian, who is currently on a promo run for the highly-anticipated Happy Gilmore 2, was asked how it felt to “unintentionally kind of become a style icon” and whether it felt “flattering” or “confusing.”

“It’s funny as hell,” said Sandler. “And whenever one of my kids or their friends talk to me about it … my wife’s like, ‘What the hell are we talking about right now? How did that happen?'”

He added: “But my wife [Jackie] always was nice to me about my clothes. Even when we were young, others would say, ‘Would you put on something better than that? Your wife’s dressed so beautifully.’ My wife would say, ‘He’s comfortable like that. Let him do that. Leave him alone.'”

Julie Bowen, who reprises her role as Virginia Venit from the first Happy Gilmore film, chimed in to admire Sandler’s outfit — a short-sleeved, 1980s-style geometric print shirt with flamingos and palm trees, paired with light blue shorts.

“He’s happy,” she said. “I’m looking at his Sunday swagger. I noticed he dressed up for you because there’s things that match.”

“There’s a little something going on,” Sandler said, before Complex pointed out the color coordination. “A lot of thought went into it, thank you.”

Sandler’s style became a cultural phenomenon last summer, especially among Gen Z, who dubbed the look “Sandlercore” or “Madam Sandler” on TikTok.

In an August 2024 interview with People, Sandler called the trend an “accidental thing.”

“But here I am wearing goofy clothes, and I don’t know. I don’t think about it,” he added, before sharing his approval of the “Madam Sandler” aesthetic, which consists of crop tops with long, oversized shorts.

During a March 2023 interview on the Drew Barrymore Show, Sandler summed up his wardrobe philosophy.

“I go into my closet, I got a bunch of t-shirts and shorts, kinda they’re all the same … I usually go t-shirt first … I just want to cover that quickly. I’m like what the hell, grab anything,” he said at the time (via People). “Then I go with shorts and I throw them on. Sometimes they’ll be slightly too tight. I go let me take those off and get the triple-X shorts on.”

[From Complex]

I think the absolute funniest part about all of this is that Adam’s style does not reinvent the wheel at all. Kevin Smith did the oversized shorts bit for decades, and millions of men keep trying to make the whacky shirt style happen. There is a reason why every franchise has some sort of silly Hawaiian-style button down shirt. Adam just has the nonchalance swagger to pull it off. He makes it look cool, and good for him. He does his own thang but also respects the dress code during important occasions. At the end of the day, I’m a firm believer that fashion is whatever makes the wearer feel the most comfortable. Cleary, Adam’s style resonates with a whole new generation of fans. That said, it is pretty hilarious that he’s an unintentional style icon. I did not have Billy Madison influencing the style of a generation that wasn’t born when that movie came out on my bingo card, but life is weird. Nothing really surprises me anymore.

Photos credit: Getty Images for Netflix, IMAGO/RW/Avalon, Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon, Tatiana/Backgrid,