Two of the major style groups that have become prominent in today’s society are labeled as “basic” and “alt,” or “alternative.” Not only does this push an “us vs. them” narrative, but it furthers the internalized misogyny that women face every day. 

I have noticed, especially on the internet, the negative connotation that goes along with girls that wear “basic” clothes. 

The “basic” style is popular mainstream fashion. It consists of a lot of go-to options that can work with any outfit. However, basic does not equal boring.

“Alternative” can refer to any style that doesn’t follow commercial or mainstream fashion. There are a ton of subcategories that fall under alternative fashion, like emo, goth, cyberpunk and more. 

Some subscribe to the idea that girls who dress in “basic” clothes are somehow unintelligent. This stigma comes from the girls who dress “alt” who feel that they have some sort of moral superiority because they don’t follow more of the basic fashion trends. 

The basic fashion trends just follow clean, simple looks that everyone loves. This in no way means that they don’t have “style.”

There are also negative connotations for girls that dress in “alt” clothes. There’s the assumption that people who dress this way might be into drugs or might be bad influences overall. 

But along with that point, just because a girl dresses “alt” doesn’t necessarily mean she is a part of some sort of misunderstood minority group. 

Just like how dressing basic doesn’t mean a girl is unintelligent or pretentious – those two things contradict each other, so the whole deal doesn’t make much sense in the first place.

The clothes on our bodies are a way for us to express ourselves, but it’s harmful to make judgments about one’s character based on their chosen form of expression. 

As a society we have this tendency to put ourselves in boxes and to further divide ourselves from one another. 

As women, it’s important that we ignore these underlying forms of internalized misogyny that make us think we are better than other women. 

The whole thing is unhealthy and only creates the unnecessary “us vs. them” mentality.