From a girl who just accepted her basic-ness
I have noticed a recurring phenomenon when picking out my outfits in the morning. Every day when I look in the mirror, I ask myself, “Is this outfit too basic?” The other day, when this step in my routine occurred, I paused. What made me ask myself this question? Maybe it was the black shirt and jeans combination? Or my new white platform sneakers? I could not quite place it, and it got me thinking, why do people not like being basic?
The term basic, for those lucky enough to be blissfully unaware, refers to some sort of trend, object or action that society has deemed overpopularized and therefore uncool. Usually, the phenomena that are in the spotlight cycle through based on trends on social media. You could think about the rise in Hydro Flask popularity in 2020, the resurgence of low-rise pants in 2022 and the “clean girl” aesthetic that has dominated my TikTok for the past year. All of these examples started as a new and exciting trend, endorsed by capitalism to make a profit off of specific demographics that wanted to follow norms to fit in. However, as soon as the trend takes off and becomes widely known within society, individuals deem the trend “basic” and uncool. Going back to Hydroflasks, now those are so out, and Stanley cups are the hot commodity. Are they that much different? No. Are they both semi-overpriced water bottles? Yes. So why do people care so much?
Personally, I have noticed that individuals who follow trends this closely and deem past ones as “basic” are, in a way, trying to stand out. This would make total sense! Going against a current widespread trend and doing an alternative because you do not want to have or be doing the same thing as everyone else in the world! The only issue is that almost everyone has this same idea. When trends or the popularity of items start to rise, individuals start to move on to the next big thing. I totally understand the reasoning. Usually, people following these trends closely are young, impressionable and trying to find the balance of being unique while also fitting the mold. However, as someone who used to do this exact balancing act, I can tell you right now that this tactic is counterproductive. If everyone is trying to be unique and doing so by moving to the next trend, then that new trend that was once “alternative” is the new basic, and the cycle repeats! It is why we see recycled trends throughout history, low-rise jeans are popular now and were popular in the early 2000s until high-waisted made a comeback!
While I do believe several individuals are starting to recognize this vicious cycle, there are still countless young teenagers stuck trying not to be basic, evidently making them basic. And to that, I have one very corny thing to say. Be yourself! If you like a trend and want to try it out, what is the harm? Try out the new hairstyle, sure, it might be basic, but eventually someone on the internet is going to start the alternative version that will then take its place as basic. These items, actions and styles are basic for a reason: people like them! Do not be afraid to like both basic and alternative things; the combination of these interests is what makes people