Answer:
Starr stands out from her neighborhood of African Americans by going to a mostly white school and adopting her identity to fit both communities. This is also reflected in her clothing that doesn’t fit her school identity enough (she takes off a hoodie before she enters) but also feels too unoriginal and unfitting for her neighborhood community (which we see when Kenya comments on her style at the party).
Step-by-step explanation:
Starr is different from the rest of her neighborhood, Garden Heights, as she goes to the school where mainly white kids go and have to balance her two identities. She states that she has Starr version one and two – one is connected to her black roots and race, using slang and listening to rap, but version two is reserved for school, where she has to be polite, non-argumentative, and quits using slang, even when white children do. However, this makes her stand out even in her own community, as she doesn’t feel she fits enough in any of them. She feels almost as if she’s too white (despite being black) in Garden Heights.
In the party scene, we see Kenya critiquing her clothes as too “basic”. In the book, she also says her hairstyle (simple pony tale) feels basic compared to other girls’ curls, afro’s, and colors. That means that compared to other people at the party in Garden Heights, she is too unoriginal and mainstream. Kenya thinks she looks too relaxed and not feminine enough compared to other girls. The basic girl is usually the title in a pejorative sense to the girl liking unoriginal things all other (usually white) girls do, something that is uninteresting and lacking personality. The clothes Starr wears make her feel again not enough “here or there”, meaning not enough part of any community.