“Hipster” (in its modern incarnation; let’s leave aside the '40’s hipsters for now) used to be a distinct subculture with bright lines around it, or at least, more so than now. But over time, more things became associated with hipsters, and mainstream culture co-opted a bunch of “hipster” stuff, and the lines became blurred. So you now have a broad spectrum of people, things, and ideas being called “hipster”, from the 30-somethings wearing non-prescription 80’s-style glasses and refusing to listen to any band anyone else has heard of, all the way down to the kids shopping the juniors clothing line at Target and listening to Lady Gaga.
These days, “hipster” is more or less synonymous with “ironically uncool”, which is itself synonymous with either “cool”, or “douchey”, depending on who you ask. And of course, any given subculture can look an awful lot like any other subculture, to people who aren’t in them. Check out yourscenesucks.com. I gurantee you that every one of those styles has been called “hipster” at some time, by someone, somewhere. And I’d agree on about half of them.
Perhaps you should have tried to define hipsters before starting a million threads about them?
As opposed to those of us who wear them because we’re overgrown 8 year olds.
Seriously, I think the “ironic” bit is really the defining trait of the hipster–and it’s why people hate them so. When you wear/eat/drink/listen to something ironically, you’re making fun of that thing, and of the people who enjoy it. And that only goes over well at a roast.
The best way to spot a hipster is to ask someone how they feel about hipsters. If they spend 20 minutes ranting about how much they hate hipsters, then that person is definately a hipster.
“Hipster” in context of this conversation, is simply another way to say “stuff young adults tend to think is cool.” There is no strict defintion, because that is not how cool works. The fact that “hipster” is one toss-off way to describe what’s cool is even up for debate because it carries layers of connotations.
I remain curious why you are so focused on Hipsters - and framing it this way, why you seem to obsess about what young adults think is cool - or how cool is “branded and sold” to that population…
What? Nobody mentioned “authenticity?” Authenticity, in the world of hipsterdom, doesn’t necessarily mean “authentic” as defined in the dictionary, but rather something that is “gritty” or lacks a sense of polish, sophistication or scalability.
I once attended a seminar on creating neighborhoods and developments that specifically target hipsters. For a project like a loft conversion, one Brooklyn developer offered the advice of “don’t make it too nice, even if it doesn’t cost more to do so”, because those nice touches will cause the project to lose “authenticity cred.”
A “hipster” is nothing more than the current name given to describe modern youth consumerist subculture. I say “consumerist” because, like all other youth subcultures, it is largely defined by the clothes, media, and other products and accessories one chooses to purchase (or not purchase) in order to define themselves.
Like all youth subculture, it is driven by a desire to set oneself apart from “the masses” in a futile attempt to stave off the enevitability of becoming an actual adult with actual responsibilities.
Actually legitimate architectural advice. Some people actually want to live in a building that looks like someone actually lived in it before, not something that looks like a W hotel (or is, in fact, a W hotel as you can buy condos in them).
Exactly. “Hipster” is a moving target, and all the definitions and examples offered here are specific to hipsters in 2005 through present in the USA. Hipsters Ruin Everything Part 1
For the most part, no one self-identifies as a hipster (except ironically!!). So it’s not that they know the scarf is a hipster style, it’s that it appeals to some facet of their preexisting style sense and they see it on people with a similar sense.
The hipsters in question wear a particular style of clothes for the same reasons any other subculture does - they see it on more “stylish” or fashion-forward friends and acquaintances, or celebrities they admire, or in stores they already shop in, or any of many different places. This then feeds on itself as they themselves become influencers and spread the style. Eventually you get suburban middle schoolers and soccer moms wearing it and the trend is over. By this time, the hip have moved on to something new.
Is this really difficult to understand? I mean, how do you know where to buy the clothes you want to wear? I’d imagine that it’s a combination of stores you’re used to and finding new places by seeing ads that appeal to you for some reason or asking those you consider well-dressed, right? For the denizens of this kind of youth consumerist subculture this process (finding new styles and where to buy them) happens at a faster pace and takes up more intellectual resources than it does for some other types of subculture, but it’s fundamentally the same.
Where did beatniks, hippies, punks, new waves, goths, grunge slackers and other “hipsters” of past decades find out how to dress and where to buy clothes? They went to the same stores their hipster friends did and if they bought something that sucked their friends called them a “poseur” or “sell out”.
Yes, and it fascinates me. My question applies to all trendy behavior. All of a sudden, certain ‘fashion forward’ people are all wearing the same shoes or eyeglasses, and it just doesn’t seem spontaneous. I am very curious about the origin of trends and their propagation.
As to my stylish preferences, it mostly comes from department stores like Macy’s or Kohl’s, so I am the absolute antithesis of style. Occasionally, I will buy stuff from LL Bean or Eddie Bauer, but that is hardly groundbreaking either.
I do like suspenders though; are they hip again yet?
