We all know the stereotypical hipster… Converse, thick glasses, flannels, Birkenstocks, bohemian décor, obscure music, obsession with coffee. But these days I could have just as easily described your “Basic" sorority girl. Times have changed a great deal, and we sorority girls are no longer confined to the preppy Lilly Pulitzer styles, and J.Crew-esque beauty. Little by little we are slowly stealing from the Hipster community and absorbing it into our own “Basic Betch" lifestyle. We shop at Urban, wear birks, drink coffee like nobody's business, and cruise through the festival music scene as well as any Williamsburg or Portland dwelling cool kid. Now I can't speak for the hipsters, because obviously they did it all before it was cool, but I think there has never been a more trendy time to be #Basic. So to celebrate our move towards a new stereotype, I've compiled a list of all the ex “hipsters only" trends we Basics have embraced into our lives and closets along with our Vineyard Vines and Lilly.
1. Converse Sneakers.
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These shoes are historical icons. They have been a sign of economic standing, basketball footwear, rock n' roll uniforms, and they have graced the depressed feet of every "scene/punk/goth/etc" kid ever. But now the are a sole (pun intended) staple in every Basic's closet. Paired with our high waisted shorts or trendy dresses, we just can't get enough. And they are way more comfortable than wedges.
2. Birkenstocks.
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Another shoe item at the top of our list. They were once reserved for Hippies, Tree-huggers ,and weird granola-munching uncles, but are now widely accepted by the Basic's everywhere. You know something is popular when lower priced imitations pop up in our favorite boutiques and the ever-loved Target.
3. Green juices and Acai bowls.
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This is possibly the healthiest trend on the list! A favorite among hippies and health nuts, green smoothies are on the Pinterest boards of college girls everywhere, matcha powder is a must have, and many an Instagram has featured a artfully arranged acai bowl with a cup of tea and fresh cut flowers carefully lying on a table.
4. Festival Wear.
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Basic Betches love musical festivals. It's a fact. If you've been then you're dying to go again, and if you haven't gone you have likely been secretly jealous of all your friends who are Coachella regulars while you resort to stalking their instas.
5. Thick Frame "nerd" glasses.
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T-swift wore them in our favorite music video, and so does pretty much everyone who attends NYU. But these thick frame glasses in black or tortoise shell are popping up on the peepers of trendy basics everywhere. They make you look as smart as you are and help you see, so win-win?
6. Trader Joe's.
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Once the shopping destination for budget/earth/health conscience hipsters, the rising popularity can be summed up in three words: Two Buck Chuck.
7. Unnecessary Fear of Gluten.
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I couldn't help myself with this one... Some people have a legitimate gluten allergy, others are mom's who limit their kid to gluten free foods as part of their overly protective act, some are hipsters who just want to be difficult at restaurants2. The rest of us are convinced that going gluten free will help us cut carbs without actually saying we are doing so. Miraculously our "gluten allergy" doesn't exist when we drunk order pizza at 2 a.m....
8. Starbucks
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This has been claimed by the basics for a while now, but what you might be interested to know is that it had it's humble beginnings in Seattle, Washington... a.k.a Hipster-ville.
9. High-waisted denim
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Moms, and ironic hipsters wore it first, but we have taken it and made it one of our own. The most versatile trends we've adopted, we get a lot of use out of our trusty high-waisted shorts, wearing them to happy hour, clubs, gamedays, etc. Just remember your mom wore them before they were cool.
10. Hummus
Probably the trendiest thing to eat, and its not hard to see why. This might have been limited to culture, or bean sprout wrap loving hipsters. But now we put hummus on everything, even better when we put it on our gluten-free pita chips bought at Trader Joes, which we shop at while wearing birks and high-waisted shorts. Am I right? Also peep the cute hipster puppy.