Hipsters (fit in, school, live)

[JLR29]

I have seen this term thrown around. Forgive my ignorance, but I have lived in South Carolina and Michigan almost my whole life. What exactly is a hipster? Does anyone have a good definition. I want to make sure I know what I am looking for before I come visit. Maybe my wife and I can make a game out of spotting them. Thanks

[subsound]

It's a hard question for me, being a transplant. So far as I know it's those who are deliberately counter culture to the point where they not only don't want to fit in but be a part of a counter culture social scene (where instead of being the most fashionably dressed, but the most unfashionably dressed...plus big piercings/tattoos). It encompasses a wide range of things, from weird stuff to working at being repulsively homeless (like from the novel "Haunted" by Palahniuk).

Just what I have gathered so far from coworkers really, it's a pretty malleable definition on what people see and think.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by JLR29

I have seen this term thrown around. Forgive my ignorance, but I have lived in South Carolina and Michigan almost my whole life. What exactly is a hipster? Does anyone have a good definition. I want to make sure I know what I am looking for before I come visit. Maybe my wife and I can make a game out of spotting them. Thanks

They are people like everyone else.

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by subsound

It's a hard question for me, being a transplant. So far as I know it's those who are deliberately counter culture to the point where they not only don't want to fit in but be a part of a counter culture social scene (where instead of being the most fashionably dressed, but the most unfashionably dressed...plus big piercings/tattoos). It encompasses a wide range of things, from weird stuff to working at being repulsively homeless (like from the novel "Haunted" by Palahniuk).

Just what I have gathered so far from coworkers really, it's a pretty malleable definition on what people see and think.

It's someone who is a superficial pseudo-hippie, in a cool, trendy way. They dress gaudily and often with lots of gaudy jewelry, have grungy hair fashions, listen to lots of trendy bands that "you probably have never heard of..." and have an elitist attitude about that. Bad facial hair, particularly large beards, mustaches, and weird sideburns, and/or scruff are the norm among guys. Both genders are inclined to wear thick-rimmed or horn-rimmed glasses, especially if they don't really need them. Old 80's style big brightly colored sunglasses are favored. Big droopy pendants and bandanas are a prerequisite. And, of course, body modification is a big deal. But what it all comes down to is the attitude. Unfriendly, cliquish, and too cool for school. They act like they really don't care, and they ARE cooler than thou. They're generally slackers, lazy, and admiring of anything obscure that you've never heard of in film, literature, music, etc. They're generally irreverent, and are just all around EXTRAORDINARILY PRETENTIOUS.

Look at several pages of this site to get an idea of what they may look like:
www.latfh.com

They're mostly harmless, but they still can be rather annoying with their faux-superior attitudes. And some good people really look like hipsters, but are not. It's basically ALL about the attitude, not necessarily about the dress and appearance.

[Metlakatla]

Drifter, your linky didn't work.

I know what you mean. That "type" has been around for generations. I think they key word is pretensious...but a lot of people do convey this image who are anything but.

[540_804]

I think some of the above is a bit of an over-exaggerated, caricatured (and decidedly negative) view of 'hipsters'

They're everywhere here (Richmond VA) and you see a lot of them in DC and BMore...just about any urban city, though.





The thing about hipsters is they're hard to define, but when you see one, you'll immediately recognize them..lol.

They don't all dress exactly alike, they don't all listen to the same music (from rock, to alt rock, to pop to hip-hop) etc....some wear gaudy jewelry, some dont. Some where flashy colors, some dont...it just depends...

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by 540_804

I think some of the above is a bit of an over-exaggerated, caricatured (and decidedly negative) view of 'hipsters'

They're everywhere here (Richmond VA) and you see a lot of them in DC and BMore...just about any urban city, though.





The thing about hipsters is they're hard to define, but when you see one, you'll immediately recognize them..lol.

They don't all dress exactly alike, they don't all listen to the same music (from rock, to alt rock, to pop to hip-hop) etc....some wear gaudy jewelry, some dont. Some where flashy colors, some dont...it just depends...

Like I said, it's all about their attitude. I know that what I posted is a caricature (to help those who don't know what a hipster is to understand better), but I do not believe it is exaggerated. These people are in my age group and I've spent a lot of time around them. Like I said, the physical appearance of some of great people is very "alternative" and they may have an appreciation for good music, film, lit, etc, that may be not very well known, but I wouldn't call them hipsters because they don't have the snobby, pretentious attitude. That's basically what it comes down to. You can't judge a book by its cover, but sometimes a person's attitude is very obvious and can give you a good clue as to what the "book" is "all about."

[540_804]

Oh, ok. I see what you mean now.

I guess its just different here (VA), in that the term "hipster" doesn't necessarily carry the same connotation that it may have elsewhere.
Hipster here is just a general term for any urban, 'hip', yet alternative type person, carrying neither a positive or negative connotation.
On the other hand, the label 'hipster' in other places (like where you are, perhaps) may be slightly pejorative, speaking specifically to the idea of this snobby, pretentious display of 'alternative lifestyle'.

I see what you're saying now, though. Just a bit of a difference in language.

[pacowang]

Originally Posted by JLR29

I have seen this term thrown around. Forgive my ignorance, but I have lived in South Carolina and Michigan almost my whole life. What exactly is a hipster? Does anyone have a good definition. I want to make sure I know what I am looking for before I come visit. Maybe my wife and I can make a game out of spotting them. Thanks

also being from michigan for my entire life before moving here, i can understand why you have little knowledge of what i hipster is. they are very few and far between, even in the detroit area. believe me, i'd rather be surrounded by a bunch of hipsters over many other types of people.

[subsound]

Hummm, I kind of wonder too about something I saw over the weekend...certainly fit the attitude though. A bunch of kids (can't be more then 20) were hitting up people in Hollywood for cash pretending to be down on their luck. I say pretending mostly because they were all wearing coordinated "outfits"...all types of corduroy clothes, most had cord overalls, chucks with no socks, boxers/no shirt, and these weird cord engineer hats all color coordinated and matching each other in style. They certainly smelled like they had been rolling in garbage, even though they looked pretty clean. Other ones had similar, with a black shirt and red bandana around their neck (my wife has a fascination with people who are so weird being a psych person). They tried to hit us up for cash pretending they didn't really need it, but anything would help them bum around the US...when we said no they went back to the group talking about where they needed to score, and one's dad was some big shot and hated him for working for the man.