I heard the term hipster for the first time this summer when we were at a concert in Santa Cruz, apparently home of the “hipsters” and “scenesters,” We were leaving the concert, which was in a small bar and the band was a group of girls singing punk rock.
As we left one of my best friends sighed with relief and said “God, that place was filled with scenesters, I am so happy to get out of there.”
“What’s the difference between a scenester and a hipster?” I asked.
“Well, a scenester follows the trends and what is cool. A hipster, well, kinda does that but follows their own trend too, and sticks to what they like.”
“Which are you?” I asked.
“I guess I would call myself a hipster,“ replied my friend Morgan. I proceeded to ask the rest of the girls in the car what they were, and each replied that they were a hipster, or at least kind of.
And that was the end of our conversation, I never even though about hipster again until I came to Redlands. When I cam here I got called a hipster for the first time. I don’t remember what I wearing, but someone told me they liked how I dressed, that I dressed like a hipster.
It was a complete curve ball for me. I had never thought of classifying myself in some sort of group before. I mean, of course I own skinny jeans and shop at American Apparel. And I’m proud to say I love thrift store and Urban Outfitters.
But does this really make me a hipster? I wear what I like, because I think that dressing is a way to express myself. But then, being classified as a hipster? Well, that’s okay I guess. Or it was at least until I read Adbusters article.
In my town, there are no hipsters. And if there were, we would be them. My friends smoke American Spirits and listen to music that is unheard of by many. A few drop off their support when they make it big or become popular, but usually we stand by. MGMT has been blaring through our rooms for years now, and Santagold and Le Tigre, oh how we love them. But we remain by them, even though you can find their albums features in Teen Vogue.
And those parties, oh how we love them. Dancing in the corner with your best friends like there is no tomorrow. And, hoping that no one will remember your awesome dance moves, which are somehow always are.
Looking over my rant, I guess I am a hipster. I love skinny jeans because the hem never drags in the mud and can easily fit into boots. A scarf looks good with anything, and everyone knows it can hide whatever happened the night before, along with those huge sunglasses. And if you happen to sleep in the bush the night before, who cares. You were going for the grunge look anyway.
I guess I have friends in that group at school who tries to act like they don’t give a shit. And here’s the thing, most don’t. And those who say, “I’m not a hipster,” “I’m an individual,” and “I liked Santagold last year, but now they are so overplayed.” Those are the hipsters that care, and the article is talking about. But I haven’t met one yet, because I haven’t been searching for one. But according to my friend who says, “I’m not a hipster, I just dress like one. You should meet the hipsters in New York, they are really annoying.”
Maybe, in those little towns, the true hipster is still alive. It’s just us being us. So fuck it I guess. I think this whole hipster thing may be blown a bit out of proportion. It’s just kids trying to be different, and then a few following the crowd. Just like with any subculture.
I should stop know, otherwise this will become a full-fledged rant. I think I will go get my nose pierced now, or at least some sort of facial piercing. It seems to be the hipster thing to do these days.
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5 comments:
I think the idea of a hipster is fascinating because it is putting a definition on something that really has no definition. What makes you a hipster is that you do not fit into any other category and you simply follow your own style. And somehow this has now been coined as a style?
I agree with you for the reasons you like the clothes you do, that makes sense. When someone asks me what my "style" is I usually just say "bright colors" because that seems to be the only thing all my clothes have in common. In some ways we all are "trendy" because we have to buy our clothes somewhere (apologies to the few who solely shop at second hand stores and the like).
Hipster or not we are all individuals. Go ahead and like the music that you like whether the entire planet rocks out to it or just your small town homies know about. I challenge myself everyday to stop thinking about what it means to have a style and instead just do whatever makes you feel alive.
"I challenge myself everyday to stop thinking about what it means to have a style and instead just do whatever makes you feel alive."
Jackie, isn't that a style too?
I guess that it is a style. But stopping myself from thinking about trying to fit in with a certain style is something I feel makes more sense to me.
I see it like this: I hate when people tell me who I can and cannot associate with, what I can and cannot say etc and thus I really hate the idea that if I wear a certain style on one day I cannot wear a different style on another. I'm far too all over the place in life to have a single style. But maybe more than one style is also a style....
this comment "What makes you a hipster is that you do not fit into any other category and you simply follow your own style" is at the crux of the issue for me. not fitting into in other category presumes that not fitting in is the anti-norm; however, in this classification of hipster as everything non-normative, i think it is susceptible, like the previous post indicates, of allowing the subversive to be coopted in its aims and become the norm. its true we are all individuals, but i think doing whatever makes you feel alive is a "style" to some degree, like priya mentioned. one should not feel limited in style choice, but should recognize that each choice, even a non-choice, still abides by the foundations of categorization and seperation that the genre known as "hipsters" resist so thoroughly and, in that resistance, become what they resist.
(I meant to comment on this a while ago, sorry it's late!)
Does being a hipster, which has inadvertently become a category and style, lose value because it has been commodified? I mean, according to the Adbusters article, hipsterdom was essentially always a commodity, created or at least swayed by the advertising industry. So is it as original as it claims to be? Is it individual? Although I am in agreement with Jackie in that everyone is an individual, you have to admit we are influenced by everything around us. Whether it's the cute hipster who we want to look more like or the street bum with an odd sense of style, it's hard to argue that absolutely anything is original these days. I'm not trying to bash on you Jalena, I see where you are coming from. I guess the adbusters article just really has me questioning what this "counterculture" is all about. According to www.oed.com a counter-culture is "A radical culture, esp. amongst the young, that rejects established social values and practices; a mode of life opposed to the conventional or dominant." I'm just trying to find out more about this culture where it seems like the only style is whatever is "cool" at that moment. is that opposed to the conventional or dominant ideas of our society as a culture established by our advertising industry? Just a couple questions I addressed in my blog that no one seemed to respond to (maybe because it was so long..haha)
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