The Base is Basic: How Square One Might Be Exactly Where You Need to Be

By Sterling Carr

Image Courtesy of @appledoll

In a world where uniqueness is the latest currency, I am ironically tired, exhausted, exasperated, and deeply fatigued by the pressure to stand out, especially when it comes to fashion and aesthetics.

Having a unique wardrobe is great. Putting thought and detail into an outfit is an amazing thing. But now that the overwhelming majority do it not for the sake of enjoyment, but for competition, the allure has completely dissipated for me. While transforming my life in every aspect, it’s challenging to keep up with the competitive nature of the fashion and beauty industries. I’ve loved uniqueness, individuality, and being “different” for most of my life, but lately, I’ve started to appreciate the opposite.

I’ve worked all over Los Angeles—Culver City, Abbot Kinney, Beverly Hills, and West Hollywood—and I’m starting to see the beauty in being basic. Having an everyday uniform in different colors, with subtle variations of the same pieces, whether it’s clothes, accessories, or even your coffee order, I now understand why it’s becoming so popular.

In the process of reconfiguring my style, aesthetic, makeup, and overall vibe, curating a “daily look” when I no longer even know what my “vibe” is feels counterproductive. My style is updating and loading on the proverbial computer that is my life. While that’s happening, I need something simple to hold me over.

I know fashion is inherently political, but I’m overwhelmed, exasperated even, by the constant need to be different. Since individuality is now treated as a form of social currency, it’s easy to see who’s being “unique” for clout rather than as an authentic response to the world around them.

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As someone who works as a fashion model, I see people using “uniqueness” as a metaphorical chess piece to gain influence rather than to express themselves. And when you witness that up close, it starts to feel emotionally and spiritually fraudulent.

On the flip side, those who wear the same staple outfits in different colorways, who stack simple gold jewelry, who follow mainstream trends, they just seem… comfortable. They’re enjoying life. They’re doing what they want without making it a competition. Social currency is real in these spaces, but what happens when you no longer want to pay the price?

That’s where I am right now.

I’ve always been extremely pro-individuality, pro-“I’ll do what I want, when I want.” But stepping back, I’ve realized that to have the wardrobe, the life, and the aesthetic I truly want, I actually have to return to square one.

So why is being “basic” considered such a bad thing? It seems to be about agency, until that agency makes other people question their own choices. Quite frankly, in a world where I constantly feel emotionally and physically overworked, I don’t want to think so hard about what I’m putting on in the morning. Curating a uniquely styled outfit every single day, especially when I no longer even know what I want, feels daunting.

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I desperately need a palette cleanse, and I’m giving myself one.

I’ve enjoyed standing out for most of my life, but now the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction.

Give me my iced matcha latte, blush-tinted lip balm, Skims two-piece sweat set in powder pink, blue, or orange.

Give me my LV Speedy, nameplate necklace, and stacked gold bangles.

I’m tired of dressing for discomfort. I want to be comfortable. I want to enjoy my life.

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My politics haven’t changed. But aesthetically, something has to give while I figure things out. Returning to square one is my response to the hyper-calculated environment of working in fashion and media—especially when you’re constantly interacting with pop culture and seeing how it manipulates beauty and fashion trends. It’s been feeling less like enjoyment and more like a battlefield.

Every moment of being perceived feels like standing at sea, or, worse, stepping on a hidden mine that explodes, releasing everyone’s judgments, calculations, and projections. I’m tired of those interactions. I’m tired of those social situations.

While I rebuild myself, I want to completely unplug. Just like the phases of the moon, I’m resetting. I’m releasing what no longer works for me. And right now, obsessing over every tiny detail of my aesthetic just doesn’t.

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The authenticity I once believed in within fashion and beauty feels as real as a cardboard cutout. I no longer identify with the illusion. It’s not real.

So, in an attempt to find something that is real for me, I’ll be rocking my loungewear and my soft, clean-girl makeup.

I’m starting to understand that transformation is constant, and I don’t have to stay the same just because people remember me a certain way. Change doesn’t have to be hard. I just have to be realistic about what I need in this era of my life.

And I’m okay with being honest about that.