(See “Critical Reading” in Chapter 1)

1

You know who they are. You have seen their self-done haircuts, their skinny jeans, and their oversized sweaters and sunglasses. You have seen their bright colors, and mismatches, and secondhand store hand-me-downs. You have seen that guy with the faux — or maybe real — knuckle tattoos that either make no sense, or refer to something almost no one has heard of. You may spy them riding the bus wearing obnoxiously conspicuous headphones, which are blaring something that can only be described as “indie rock.” You may catch them pining over some skinny boy in oxfords and a kaffiyeh.¹ Hipsters are the kids everyone loves to hate.

2

What is a hipster, anyway? Hipsterism, in general, is an to-each-his-own way of expressing oneself. Hipster fashion is a hodgepodge of past trends and styles; a recycled, updated conglomerate of former fashions. Hipsters combine elements of former subcultures to create their overall looks of dishevelment. Grunge’s² flannel paired with skinny jeans and a book of Allen Ginsberg’s³ poetry, or a copy of On The Road⁴ in your backpack could characterize a hipster. A hipster may frame his or her face in lens-less or non-prescription Buddy Holly glasses⁵ or stomp around in an old pair of Converse sneakers.⁶ With hipsters, it’s all about seeming [effortlessly] cool, or as if they did not think or care about their outfits when they got dressed (Robie).

3

But hipsterism goes beyond just fashion. The hipster subculture is very much defined by its musical tastes as well. The music of the hipster subculture is not defined by one genre. Most of the genres popularly associated with hipsters are combinations of other styles, and sometimes carry funny names, like shoegaze — a style of music characterized by the artists’ use of effect pedals, which causes them to spend all of their live performances gazing at their feet (LaRose). Some hipsters prefer music of a moodier, folksier persuasion, while others prefer pure electronica and synthesizers. Some settle in between with bands that combine the simple, pretty melodies of folk with the intricate layering of electronica, creating an offbeat, experimental sound.

4

The hipster subculture is one of the most commonly criticized groups in American youth culture. A simple Google search of the word hipster provides one with links to pages and articles like, “Hipster Subculture Ripe for Parody,” or “Why The Hipster Must Die.” Another link is to an article entitled “Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization.” This article by Douglas Haddow discusses hipsterism as the “dead end of western civilization” (Haddow), because he claims that the hipsters are no longer producing anything new. He attacks the recycled aesthetic and amalgamated music styles of the hipsters and points to the use of past trends in new ways as a lack of creativity. This lack of creativity is reflected, he says, in today’s youth culture “simply consuming cool, rather than creating it,” (Haddow) as though hipsters are not making the things they buy and wear and listen to cool, but are instead being told these things are cool, and then consuming them. This criticism is founded in most of the things that hipsterism, itself, is based in: a sense of apathy, a projected nonchalance about fashion, the idea of recycling the past.

5

I do not see hipsters as a dead end. I see them as making progress for the fashion world. Hipsters are taking the trends of the past and making them cool in a new way — giving them new life. They are taking the untrends of the past and making them cool for the first time. They are wearing the flaws of their predecessors on their sleeves, or in the soles of their run-down boots, or in place of the lenses in their giant glasses. Their recycling is moving fashion along in a different way. So the individual items they are wearing are not new, but they have created a completely new look.

6

Now, as I get dressed in my skinny jeans and my oversized ugly sweater, sliding on some thrift store loafers, I, a hipster, am wondering what the hippest response to being called a “dead end” would be. Maybe it was writing this paper, but I think I put in too much effort. It has to seem as if I did not care. Maybe it would be to laugh at it. Maybe I could name my band that, someday, when I have a band. Or maybe I should just make a T-shirt with the saying, “I Am the Dead End.” That statement is simple, casual, and maybe even a little bit ironic. I like it.

Works Cited

Haddow, Douglas. “Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters.” Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters | Journal of the Mental Environment. 29 July 2008. Web 06 April 2011. <https://www.adbusters.org/magazine/79/hipster.html>.

LaRose, Philip. “Know Your Subgenres: Shoegazing.” The KEXP Blog. 26 April 2009. Web 09 April 2011. <http://blog.kexp.org/blog/2009/04/26/know-your-subgenres-shoegazing/>.

Robie, Elizabeth. “Culture: Hipster Fashion: The Ultimate in Urban Cool.” InsideVandy. The Vanderbilt Hustler. 03 Jan. 2008. Web. 20 April 2011. <http://www.insidevandy.com/drupal/node/6260>.

(See “Writing Critically About Readings” in Chapter 1)