The B word
The other day, I got a text from a friend that read: “I’m not a basic bitch — how can I stop dressing like one?” At the time I gave her a straightforward answer that felt obvious to me: “Stop following influencers and just do your thing.” Yet her question continued to linger in my head for weeks. I kept wondering what being basic actually meant? So here I am, sharing my thoughts with you.
Calling someone basic is obviously not a modern insult — it’s been around for centuries (?). To prove it, here’s a quote from an intellectual dude called Ralph Waldo Emerson that dates back to 1803: “The secret of ugliness consists not in irregularity, but in being uninteresting.”
But being basic gained more contemporary meaning when it trickled down from hip hop culture and became an internet buzzword in 2014. According to the College Humour video that helped spread its popularity at the time, basic means a white woman who drinks Starbucks coffee, thinks leggings are pants and has a tattoo of her astrological sign on her foot. She also “likes yoghurts and fears carbs (there is an exception for brunch)… She doesn’t, apparently, long for more”, as is described in The Cut.
However, I’m not really interested in judging anyone’s taste (I just do that in private with friends). What I am intrigued by are the fine lines that separate what’s considered basic, stylish or just ordinary. For example, I find it interesting how the idea that dressing in a basic manner doesn’t necessarily mean you only wear basics — like black tank tops, beige pants and white shirts. In fact, depending on subtle details (or major details, like your salary), wearing the right staples can either be very 90s chic (think Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, old J.Crew ads, vintage Jill Sander, Juliana Salazar, Homme Girls) or just look plain.
I brought up this topic with Anna, a very sophisticated friend of mine with impeccable taste and a special talent for finding incredible vintage pieces. I simply can’t imagine her in casual attire. “I think its interesting how simple/classic and basic are aesthetically similar but there’s also a huge difference.” She told me over a glass of orange wine (like any real sophisticated person, Anna knows a lot about wine).
“I’d say my style is quite classic but its considered. Ultimately it’s about a certain femininity I identify with and then I choose the designers that are OGs at creating the aesthetic and the fit I like. Its very 90s/00s Italy, sexy but not flashy, more focused on cuts and fabrics than prints and embellishments.”, she continued.
While Anna mentioned the word ‘considered’ as a way to describe what separates having a basic style and having an interesting aesthetic, I’d say that the main difference between the two is actually curiosity. Because being basic doesn’t mean you don’t care about how you look: it means you care too much for trends, but aren’t bothered to look beyond what’s mainstream, and feel an urge to wear whatever your favourite influencer is wearing.
I also feel like very attractive people tend to be more basic because they don’t have to try too hard to look good - whilst us uglies need to make more of an effort to stand out, so we’re more open to being creative with our style.
But let’s face it: if being basic is being mainstream, then we’re all pretty much basic bitches. Because of social media and how easy it is to get anything we want from anywhere in the world, individualism is very close to being dead.
Although, I remember while growing up, being somewhat different mattered to me. When I was 5, I begged my mum to get me real high heel shoes since all the girls in my class had the ugly plastic kind you could get at toy stores.
When I was 13, I managed to convince my best friend, Maria ❤️, to give me dreadlocks: she followed the instructions we read online, backcombing and twisting my thin, lifeless hair with surf wax (and maybe some spit?), resulting in what looked like a bird’s nest. I think it goes without saying, I looked ridiculous. (Plus, it was cultural appropriation). But still, I felt a certain pride to stand out from the rest of my class at school, where experimenting with your style was frowned upon.
To be totally honest, I mostly did it because of a boy whom I had a major crush on. We bonded over our love for reggae music (and Jack Johnson!!!), and I followed him to every concert, desperately trying to get him to like me back. So when he decided to get dreadlocks, I didn’t think twice.
When I was 14, I stopped hanging out with my friends during our lunch break and started reading i-D magazine in the library. A whole world opened up, as I eagerly read about underground subcultures, discovered new and exciting designers who challenged the status quo and learnt about iconic figures like Katharine Hamnett, Malcolm McLaren, Martin Margiela. But what I was really looking for in these pages was myself, since, like everyone at this age, I was feeling very lost about who I was and who I wanted to become. These afternoons spent reading actually led me to a sort of spiritual awakening, a spark ignited inside me: I suddenly knew that I wanted to be a ✨CREATIVE✨.
But let’s get back to that message my friend sent me. In retrospect, I should have answered with another quote by Emerson (the dude I mentioned earlier): “The key to being interesting is being interested — in the world, in other people, in the seething cauldron of phenomena and experiences and ideas we call life. Curiosity, therefore, is a supreme manifestation of beauty” and style!
My dear friend, if you’re reading this: I know very few people who have as much curiosity about the world as you — so, you are anything but basic. But all you ever wanted from me was a list of brands I like, right? Here you go.
Some brands I really like
— Kerne Milk - Sexy fits for every occasion. Plus, I love how they use scraps from their production to create new styles.
— Monica Cordera - Clothes you want to live (and die) in. Designed and made in Spain.
— Baserange - My go-to brand for cute, sexy basics that feel so good on your body.
— Alabama Collect - A wonderful selection of vintage pieces that feel very modern. Based in Barcelona.
— Vestiaire - The best marketplace for pre-owned luxury fashion. There’s nothing like the thrill of the hunt!
— Extreme Cashmere - The ultimate Soft Wear. They make the perfect (two-toned!) cardi — i will cherish mine forever and ever. Their colour selection is exquisite.
— babaà - The coziest, chunkiest knits!! And you know they’re for real because my cardigan smelt like sheep when I got it (I mean this in the best way possible).
— Skarv - The prettiest silk and winter scarves. Designed with tender and love in Amsterdam, by a very talented friend of mine.
— Girls of Dust - Great quality workwear and menswear inspired pieces that you’ll never get tired of. Based in Antwerp and made in Portugal with a careful selection of Japanese fabrics.
— orslow - Japanese denim - need I say more? I’m going to keep my light denim pair forever, no doubt.