Gone are the days of the iconic high school “it girls”: Regina George (Mean Girls), Cher Horowitz (Clueless), and Claire Standish (The Breakfast Club). Today, the adjective that most high school girls are lusting after is “basic.” In order to guarantee a spot on the A-List of the stereotypical high school fashion hierarchy, a girl must be “basic.”  So swap those beanies and thrifted flannels for lululemon and Uggs and become a clone of every other high school girl in the nation.

Go to lululemon and buy something. Buy anything. Buy $90 leggings or a $25 headband. Buy a $200 jacket; the bigger the price tag, the better. Go there just for the checkout bag that doubles as a tote. I don’t care. As long as you’re wearing something from lululemon, you are at least 50% basic.

Shop at Vineyard Vines and/or Ralph Lauren to your heart’s content. Buy every Cashmere sweater in stock, and wear a different one every day of the week. Start with black on Monday, then blue on Tuesday, pink on Wednesday, so on and so forth. Bonus points if you put on collared shirt underneath the sweater.

Stripes, stripes, stripes. Stripe out with a knit dress or tee. Go nautical with classic navy and white stripes. The more you look like a 1800s sailor, the better. Go for small horizontal stripes to avoid looking like a zebra. Combine your Vineyard Vines or Ralph Lauren cashmere sweater with a striped shirt to, like, quadruple that prep factor.

If shoes are a girl’s best friend, Uggs are a basic girl’s BFFL. Be a little unique and not only get your classic Uggs, but try out the glittery version, Ugg combat boots, sandals, and slippers as well. Get a variety of colors to rotate your usage. When you’re feeling a little hipster, stray to vans or converse.  Try not to do this too much. These shoes are popular enough to be borderline basic. However, wearing them a lot will ruin the basic vibe you’re going for. They are still considered a hipster’s shoes.

If you have some extra money to spare, splurge on Hunter rain boots. Don’t worry if it’s not rainy, you’ll still look cool in your $200 boots. It’s all in the price. Buy as many boots as can fit in your closet. You need a different color for each day. One pair simply won’t do. Your outfits will clash and you’ll embarrass yourself. A different pair of boots each day keeps the fashion police away.

Binge on Vera Bradley. Get a lanyard and ID holder to put around your neck. Show off that you actually passed your driver’s test (not everyone does…) Make school a little happier with cute pencil bags and planners. Carry them around in your one of a kind backpack. On the weekends, transition your things into a purse with the same custom Vera Bradley pattern.