How do you know a hipster when you see one? In light of this morning’s post, I thought I could do a little public service announcement. Living in San Francisco, I might see more hipsters per capita than many of my good and faithful (or bad and faithless) readers. Thus, in the spirit of sharing what the good Lord hath given unto me, I offer this photo tour.
My main word of advice is to think, “Intentionally, and thus fashionably, out of date, and therefore up to date and cool”. Note the hat. Also, the tight jeans, which of course we can’t call tight and therefore refer to as “skinny jeans”, are a good tip-off:
If you see a woman who’s a hipster, you might notice the bangs, which may or may not be cut in a straight line:
If you see a hipster scooting around town, it will likely be on a bicycle specially created to induce pain and suffering into the rider. It is known as a “fixie” (one fixed gear that turns exactly with the wheel–it doesn’t coast like a free wheel, the pedals are always moving when you’re moving, stopped when you’re stopped):
And, as often happens in such movements, there are often the “glasses that make you go ‘hmmmm’”:
And if you see someone wearing a bike cap in public or even a trucker’s cap, and it looks like they’re someone who should know better, then you might be in the presence of a hipster:
Flannel and tatoos (thanks for this, commenter) are a couple of final pieces, and really, this guy holds it all together like a champ:
The most important take-away from this is that you never fall into the trap of confusing “Hipster” with the more generic label “Hip” (meaning generically cool).
Brad Pitt may be hip, but he’s not a hipster.
You neglected to mention PBR (blech!).
And tatoos.
And vinyl.
And retro (20s?) lingo.
Though, perhaps all of those are in the images of your post.
Thanks, self! (Hmmm… looks like I neglected to log out of wife’s computer…, or else someone is impersonating me in my own comments. [But it's sort of creepy to be corrected by myself in public.])
It’s never “creepy” when it is your wife; remember you two are one. : )
Oh…Amen… : )
Right. Yeah, that was me, the friend and close observer of hipsters.
Oh, and brightly colored tights. I forgot those, too.
Right on. Good job!
Oh, and Chef…keep on keeping on…
For hours of laughs, check this out:
unhappyhipsters.com
PBR is a great call!!! V-Neck tee-shirts too.
i now gift you with the most hipster photo i’ve ever come across. and yes, i so did spend most of the afternoon looking for this particular photo which i found around 2 years ago. it’s that good of a photo. i hope it embeds. *crosses fingers*
well damnit. here’s a link, then: http://tinyurl.com/2weoysl
and if this doesn’t work i’ll just have to tweet it.
you’re welcome. glad i could rock your world that hard. i do what i can.
We are all in your debt. Well played, Kat, well played!
sometimes the heavens just open up and the angels start singin’, ya know?
and sorry i’m so lame in not replying well to any serious topics you post. i think all my theological contemplation goes straight to sermons and can’t exist elsewhere. i mean, i rocked the prophetic divisions this morning but can’t on the web. ah, well.
Thanks, grandson, for this info. Being a widower it might come in handy one day. Cheers!
Ops
I enjoyed your description of the fixie. Usually I mutter something like, “have you ever heard of physics?”
not sure if anyone linked this but this is a good resource for the identification of hipsters:
http://www.latfh.com/
the “f” in the url stands for a dirty word which is prominently displayed on the website.
I have never been completely clear on what constituted a hipster; now I think I get it. Thanks!
Scarves are also big. Either head scarves as headbands for women or neck scarves (for no apparent reason, i.e., it is not cold/drafty) for either sex. Also: retro/70s t-shirts, indie bands, goatees.