We've had a thread about "yuppies". But what about Hipsters? Who are they? Every time someone mentions PBR, it's always followed by some reference to hipsters.
But I like PBR and I don't think I'm a hipster. Or am I?
Who or what are hipsters??????
We've had a thread about "yuppies". But what about Hipsters? Who are they? Every time someone mentions PBR, it's always followed by some reference to hipsters.
But I like PBR and I don't think I'm a hipster. Or am I?
Who or what are hipsters??????
"I'm very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany"
That should be "WHAT" are they!
I can't deliver UTOPIA, but I can create a HELL for you to LIVE in :)DoD:(
In my opinion, they're a mixture of yuppies with alternative/populist values (i.e. not consumerism), "Stuff White People Like" lifestyles (in so far as it can mesh with the aforementioned alternative/populist values), and DIY culture.
UrbanDictionary.com describes hipsters 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.From my experience, the term "hipsters" is vague and often thrown about irregularly. Generally speaking hipsters are city-dwelling 20 or 30-somethings (though often keep up their hipsterness thereafter) who can be fit [at least roughly] into any of a number of sub-cultures revolving around fashion, music, art, or some other activity.
...The term "hipster" is cross-applied from the 1930s Beatniks. The modern hipster is a composite of individuals with a certain bohemian life situation and lifestyle. He or she rejects "mainstream" culture and embraces and contributes to independent culture, and prides him/herself on this."
3 things:1. People who often talk about hipsters (even with great distain) are usually hipsters themselves.For further reading see The Field Guide to the Urban Hipster
2. Hipsters rarely if ever self identify as a "hipster" but often of their respective sub-culture (i.e. punks).
3. While a sense of humor, sarcasm, and irony are keynotes of hipster style, they often actually do enjoy whatever they do/drink/listen to, etc. however their common traits, such as drinking PBR, have become stereotyped.
Or read the web-comic Questionable Content, essentially a hipster soap-opera
- Anthropology-major-turned-planner, and [rare] self-identifying hipster, Bill.
No hipster will admit that they're a hipster.Originally posted by btrage
I don't see the "Stuff White People Like" crowd as hipsters, but rather liberal-leaning, educated urban professionals. People like me, for example. There is some overlap between the hipster and SWPL crowds, though. From the SWPL complete list:
#1 Coffee
#3 Film Festivals
#26 Manhattan (now Brooklyn too!)
#47 Arts Degrees
#49 Vintage
#50 Irony
#93 Music Piracy
#121 Funny or Ironic Tattoos
#122 Moleskine Notebooks
#129 Banksy
Growth for growth's sake is the ideology of the cancer cell. -- Edward Abbey
I think my inner hipster, inner yuppie, inner SWPL, and inner frat boy are constantly battling for control.
"I'm very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany"
I guess I the age demographic, but I dwell in a giant burb not a 'city' so I have a hard time keeping up with what's cool, ahem, I mean deck. Well maybe I should drive to the local Urban Outfitters and pick up some fake vintage tees listening to Animal Collective and Minus the Bear (ok I really love me some Minus the Bear). Maybe I'll pick up a coffee at the local coffee shop on my way and read the latest theonion.com piece on my mac.
"Never invest in any idea you can't illustrate with a crayon." ~Peter Lynch
I view it as 20 somethings from money. They don't really do much other than socialize and "work on an up coming project". They hang out at Starbucks and trendy cafes. They eat at the hip hot dog place, not the nice sit down place. They wear shabby chic. They spell their name with extra "Y",s or other letters and have creative names like Cyran or Tor.
A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. -Douglas Adams
I think of hipsters as grungers with money. They always have expensive bikes, i-phones, hang out at the fanciest of parties or clubs. I am reminded of a band called Living Color who had a song called 'Glamour boy' or something like that.
These folks think that anything they are told is hip is something they must have. Its people like this that keep Starbucks (yuck burned coffee) in business.
We hope for better things; it will arise from the ashes - Fr Gabriel Richard 1805
I guess I've always equated the term hipster with bohemian in the traditional sense of the word. Maybe this is another one of those overlap situations
hipster = pretentious twat
I would qualify that statement... 20 somethings with the appearance of having or being from money, not necessarily actually having it. In many cases, hipsters are cousins of $30,000 millionaires and just wear shabby chic instead of Ed Hardy and Affliction shirts.
EDIT: or, what dandy said!
"Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."
- Herman Göring at the Nuremburg trials (thoughts on democracy)
You should take the Hipster Self Identification Quiz.
Do you:
A) Ride a fixed gear bike?
B) Claim to have loved (Insert new hot indie band name here) before they got big?
C) Wear your pants too tight and your t-shirts too snug on your skinny, pale arms?
If you answered yes to more than one of the above then you may very well be a hipster.
In that case, I may not be a hipster. I guess I just like cheap beer.
"I'm very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany"
I've always wondered why being so skinny correlates so well with being a hipster. How many indie bands have overweight members? If you are a hipster who gains weight do you have to surrender your glasses and become a frat boy or a redneck?
I think it is the influence of heroin chic on the indie rock scene.
The overweight people are too lazy to do all the work it takes to be a hipster, with all the standing, and bending...So instead they just become geeks. That way they can stay in their rooms and play D&D or read comic books
A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. -Douglas Adams
In grad school I often thought the same of the most of the architecture students I was around. They fit the hipster description and would all be skinny, wear vintage/tight/strange clothing and vintage style sneakers of course. Many people into the 'arts' have that body type for some reason.
At least my cordoroys were Ralph Lauren brand
"Never invest in any idea you can't illustrate with a crayon." ~Peter Lynch
and usually it was a black or dark grey colorIn grad school I often thought the same of the most of the architecture students...would all be skinny, wear vintage/tight/strange clothing and vintage style sneakers of course.
"Whatever beer I'm drinking, is better than the one I'm not." DMLW
Since I live in Red Neck Heaven, I'm pretty clueless about hipsters ... I don't think they're allowed.
Field guide: http://unhappyhipsters.com/
hey dude...i rocked out to vampire weekend before they blew up..
Brotip #2418 - know when it's time to switch from being "the little engine that could" to the "little engine that said, 'f*ck it'"
Correction...before they "sold out."
I can answer yes to A and B but not to C, although B would have applied more to me 5-10 years ago than it does today. They are literally everywhere down in Brooklyn, especially in Williamsburg, which has to be the hipster capital of the known universe. Having had hipster friends and dated hipster girls in the past, they can be pretentious as hell but I find a lot of them to be more interesting people than a lot of the typical polo shirt and cargo shorts w/ sandals crowd that I knew in high school and college. If nothing else, they're good for interesting, witty conversation and info on where all the best places to get quality ethnic food at absurdly low prices are located.
I've always thought of hipsters as a societal luxury - one of the byproducts of an affluence society is that we have subcultures of people who do not need to work *that* hard and still live reasonably well. Hipsters are one such subculture. They work at low paying jobs in the arts/music/publication sectors, often without health insurance, yet have relatively interesting lives.
But with the deep recession and probably years of economic stagnation Hipsters may wither away. They will never die out as a species but to be frank, with less money and in the upcoming future, less government funding to support the arts and music scenes there will be fewer jobs for hipsters. Suddenly having things like a stable 9-5 job that comes with health insurance will appear a lot more lucrative.
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