Wyckly

Hipster is commonly defined as a subculture of men and women typically in their 20’s and 30’s that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence, and witty banter. The greatest concentrations of hipsters can be found living in the Williamsburg, Wicker Park, and Mission District neighborhoods of major cosmopolitan centers such as New York, Chicago, and San Francisco respectively. Although “hipsterism” is really a state of mind,it is also often intertwined with distinct fashion sensibilities. Hipsters reject the culturally-ignorant attitudes of mainstream consumers, and are often be seen wearing vintage and thrift store inspired fashions, tight-fitting jeans, old-school sneakers, and sometimes thick rimmed glasses. Both hipster men and women sport similar androgynous hair styles that include combinations of messy shag cuts and asymmetric side-swept bangs. Such styles are often associated with the work of creative stylists at urban salons, and are usually too “edgy” for the culturally-sheltered mainstream consumer. The “effortless cool” urban bohemian look of a hipster is exemplified in Urban Outfitters and American Apparel ads which cater towards the hipster demographic. Despite misconceptions based on their aesthetic tastes, hipsters tend to be well educated and often have liberal arts degrees, or degrees in maths and sciences, which also require certain creative analytical thinking abilities. Consequently many hipsters tend to have jobs in the music, art, and fashion industries. It is a myth that most hipsters are unemployed and live off of their parent’s trust funds.

Time Magazine said, “Hipsters are the friends who sneer when you cop to liking Coldplay. They’re the people who wear t-shirts silk-screened with quotes from movies you’ve never heard of and the only ones in America who still think Pabst Blue Ribbon is a good beer. They sport cowboy hats and berets and think Kanye West stole their sunglasses. Everything about them is exactingly constructed to give off the vibe that they just don’t care.” Even though this is not even close to true, other than the fact that most of us do not enjoy Coldplay’s music. It is showing that people have a lot of misconceptions and are judgmental towards hipsters. Even a credible source, such as Time magazine was completely off when they made their statement about hipsters.

Again Time Magazine made another statement a couple years after their last one, still completely wrong saying, “take your grandmother’s sweater and Bob Dylan’s wayfarers, add jean shorts, converse all stars and a can of Pabst and bam — hipster.”

The term hipster is said to originate in the 1940’s during the jazz age, when “hip” emerged as an adjective to describe aficionados of the growing scene. Then the term is also believed to derive from the word “hippy” describing a person from the 1960’s who had some of the same thoughts and ideas as your typical modern day hipster. They also believe this because a hipster is also known as a modern day hippie.

One thing that makes a hipster a hipster is what they wear. Hipsters tend to wear things bought at Urban Outfitters or thrift stores. Hipsters make clothes that were once old and out of style, new and in-style, similar to a trendsetter. Your typical hipster would be spotted sporting something normal to them which would be considered out of the box or odd to a normal person. They would be seen wearing something such as a pair of skinny jeans or colored chinos, along with a pair of wingtip shoes, a cardigan, and a pair of thick-rimmed art house glasses. Most of their clothes are usually fitted as well. Very rarely will a hipster wear anything that does not fit them snugly.

Another thing, which defines a hipster, is the type of music they listen to. Music is a very important thing to a hipster. Hipsters tend to listen to alternative and indie rock music. Bands such as The Arctic Monkeys, Tokyo Police Club, Toro Y Moi, and TV on The Radio are some of the more popular bands, liked by hipsters. Even though these bands are not considered “mainstream” they are still too “mainstream” for a large percent of hipsters. They like to find music that no one else has ever heard of, but still good music.

People tend to act as if hipsters are bad. People have been told that being hipster means your not cool, and that is not the case here. A hipster is someone who is him or herself. They don’t let people tell them what to do, wear, be, play, or listen to. People may think that it’s bad or not a good thing to be a hipster, but I disagree. There is simply just too many stereotypes on hipsters.