In the summer of 2019, the term VSCO girl had been floating around.

I was about 11 at the time, and all my friends were slowly becoming these stereotypical teenage girls. They wore big shirts and bought white crocs and Birkenstocks. They wore their hair in messy buns, tied up with their scrunchies. They always had their white Hydro Flasks on hand and wore pukka shell necklaces.

I hated watching as they changed to follow these trends. We had just gotten into crop tops, so why were we changing back into big shirts? 

I had gotten white crocs that Christmas, and while I still wore them, I claimed I wasn’t a VSCO girl. For some reason, I hated being called a VSCO girl. It meant I was “basic,” and that was the last thing I wanted myself to be. 

Looking back now, about four years later, I was a VSCO girl. At least I tried to be. I wore the big shirts with shorts, I had the white crocs, I wore the scrunchies with a messy bun. I don’t know why I was so against being called a VSCO girl. 

The reason I hated being called one was because I didn’t want to be basic. I wanted to be different and stand out. I was against it to the point that I’d make fun of my friends with their necklaces and Pura Vida bracelets. 

I’m not sure why being a VSCO was so hated on, especially when it was just girls having fun with their friends and wearing comfortable clothing. 

While being a VSCO girl now is pretty uncommon, there’s still a basic-girl style. Those who wear flare leggings, mom jeans, skinny jeans, lululemon leggings, crop tops, crewnecks and hoodies and sweatpants are now considered a basic style. Air Force 1’s, Platform Converse and Ugg slippers are all basic shoes now. If you wear these items, you’re considered basic.

When I started wearing basic clothes, I gained a lot more confidence. I didn’t feel judged by other people for what I was wearing, and instead I was getting a lot more compliments or questions about where I got my clothes. 

Dressing basic was probably the best option for me, and it might be the total opposite for other people. The moral of the story is that it’s okay to be basic, and it’s okay to be different. They’re just clothes. They shouldn’t decide who your friends with or who the person wearing the clothes truly is.