Why You Should Keep an Ugly Notebook
Feb 27, 2026
5min read
It’s 2026, and our lives are smoother than ever. We have smart glasses that tell us the weather before we even look outside, and AI that picks our outfits based on our mood. But if you walk into any high-end fashion studio or look at what the trendsetters are carrying in Neo-Tokyo or New York this year, you’ll notice something strange. It’s not a new tablet or a sleek digital pen. It’s a messy, beat-up, 'ugly' notebook.
Why are we going back to paper in a world of holograms? The answer is simple: we are tired of being perfect. For years, social media and AI tools pushed us to show only the best versions of our ideas. Every sketch had to be polished. Every note had to be formatted. The 'Ugly Notebook' is the fashion world's way of fighting back against that pressure.
In 2026, the 'Ugly Notebook' is your private space where the 'Undo' button doesn't exist. It’s where you scribble down a weird color combo you saw on a street sign or glue in a piece of scrap fabric you found at a thrift shop. It’s meant to be a mess. If it looks good, you’re doing it wrong. The point is to let your brain work without worrying about how it looks to others. This raw process is where the best, most original fashion trends are actually born.
This movement is part of what people are calling 'Human-Core.' As AI starts creating more of our clothes and digital art, humans are looking for things that feel real and flawed. A notebook with coffee stains and jagged handwriting is now a status symbol. It shows that you have ideas that haven't been filtered through an algorithm yet. It proves that there is a real person behind the design.
If you want to stay ahead of the curve this year, put down your stylus for an hour a day. Pick up a physical notebook—the cheaper and uglier, the better. Don’t try to make it look like a work of art. Use it to capture the raw, messy parts of your daily life. In a world of digital perfection, being a little bit messy is the most fashionable thing you can do.
Why are we going back to paper in a world of holograms? The answer is simple: we are tired of being perfect. For years, social media and AI tools pushed us to show only the best versions of our ideas. Every sketch had to be polished. Every note had to be formatted. The 'Ugly Notebook' is the fashion world's way of fighting back against that pressure.
In 2026, the 'Ugly Notebook' is your private space where the 'Undo' button doesn't exist. It’s where you scribble down a weird color combo you saw on a street sign or glue in a piece of scrap fabric you found at a thrift shop. It’s meant to be a mess. If it looks good, you’re doing it wrong. The point is to let your brain work without worrying about how it looks to others. This raw process is where the best, most original fashion trends are actually born.
This movement is part of what people are calling 'Human-Core.' As AI starts creating more of our clothes and digital art, humans are looking for things that feel real and flawed. A notebook with coffee stains and jagged handwriting is now a status symbol. It shows that you have ideas that haven't been filtered through an algorithm yet. It proves that there is a real person behind the design.
If you want to stay ahead of the curve this year, put down your stylus for an hour a day. Pick up a physical notebook—the cheaper and uglier, the better. Don’t try to make it look like a work of art. Use it to capture the raw, messy parts of your daily life. In a world of digital perfection, being a little bit messy is the most fashionable thing you can do.
