The newest subculture has taken the mainstream by storm with its vintage books, retro cardigans, and old record players. LZHS hipsters are making old look new again.
“A hipster is a person who enjoys being different only for the sake of being different,” Nick Rossiter, senior, said. “A good hipster just enjoys being different because they enjoy different things (indie music, strange clothing), and a bad one forces themselves to like these things so they can say that they’re a hipster.”
No hipster admits to being one and generally does not like the term, according to Urban Dictionary’s website. In fact, hipsters tend to go against the flow, according to Shannon Flaherty, senior, and want to be different from everyone else.
“I think [a hipster is] someone who goes against the flow of things but goes in the same direction that everyone else against the flow is,” Flaherty said. “The fact that anyone can classify a hipster totally defeats a hipster’s purpose. It’s just a silly paradox.”
Although the hipster trend is catching on and more people are adopting the hipster lifestyle, Rossiter thinks people are forcing themselves to evolve into someone they are not in order to fit a certain image.
“People love being part of a counterculture. In the 90s it was grunge, and while there were obviously some leading grunge figures, I imagine a lot of people just joined to look cooler,” Rossiter said. “Not much has changed with the hipster movement now.”
Although ‘hipsterdom’ has become more popular in the last couple of years, Jen Jakobi, senior, feels it has become too mainstream.
“I don’t mind hipsters, but I do not like how they have to constantly be against the crowd. I don’t like when they get when their favorite band finally becomes mainstream or something,” Jakobi said. “I think so many people are trying to become hipster that it has become more mainstream to be a hipster. It’s the new trend and people like to do what’s popular.”
As more people join the hipster population, the biggest ‘don’t’ is being a poser or forcing yourself to be a hipster, according to Rossiter.
“There’s not really rules that apply. If you’re a hipster, it’s not something that you try to be, it’s just something you are. If you’re not a hipster and want to be, don’t be a poser. Develop your own style and be different for things that you enjoy, not for following in the footsteps of other people,” Rossiter said. “And if you’re different in general, people will probably label you as a hipster. Like I said, if it’s meant to be, it just is.”
Of course, with being a hipster comes a unique vintage style, which most hipsters are identified for.
“Anything you can find at a thrift shop is good. If you look elegantly disheveled, you’re doing it right,” Flaherty said. “Savers, Goodwill, and Sparrow’s Nest [are my favorite stores.] If pre-worn clothes freak you out, American Apparel and Urban Outfitters are good.”
Rossiter also goes to thrift shops for his favorite trends, like suspenders, but believes stores like American Apparel and Urban Outfitters are too overpriced.
“Get yourself some suspenders. They’re stylish and comfortable, and worlds better than a belt,” Rossiter said. “But please wear them right: tuck in your shirt and don’t wear them around your hips. You want to look hip, not stupid.”
Through all the fashion trends, indie music, and coffee shops, being hipster is just a way of life. Flaherty thinks if your main goal is to be a hipster, then you’re not really a hipster, and it is someone you just are.
“It doesn’t really matter what other people think of you as. You just get to be yourself and do what makes you happy and live for yourself rather than focus on other people than you,” Flaherty said. “I think the cool thing about being a classic hipster, in its pure definition of someone being anti-society, is that you can really just be whoever you want to be.”