- What is a hipster?
- Origin and history of the term hipster
- Characteristics of a hipster
- the subculture hipster
- Differences between hippies and hipster
We explain what a hipster is and what its characteristics are. Also, what is the hipster subculture and how did the term originate?
What is a hipster?
with the term hipster, coming from English, is known as a subculture and a Urban Tribe typical of the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century in Western countries, characterized by its distance from cultural consumption practices considered mainstream (“dominant” or “commercial”), the valuation of the vintage or retro, that is, what is no longer in fashion, and what indie ("Independent").
the subculture hipster had its heyday in the 2000s, in urban settings and bohemians of upper middle class, in which the gentrification and smart growth. Their presence was associated with “underground” or alternative, sometimes even traditional, spaces, as well as a very neat style of dress, far removed from commercial fashion. However, the cultural consumption of hipster particularly appreciate the trends American urban.
The typical dress of hipster can vary, but generally encompasses revival of old fashions, such as hats with brims, polka dot prints or checkered patterns, stylish sunglasses wayfarer, bow ties, and horn-rimmed glasses. Men generally grow long beards and wear lumberjack-style clothing (lumbersexual).
The result is a look bohemian with an intellectual twist, as fashion hipster is not exempt from ironies: "ironic consumption" is a typical behavior of this subculture, and consists of consuming cultural products of little value, as a form of mockery of the elite culture.
Origin and history of the term hipster
The term hipster emerged in the United States in the 1940s, as a distortion of the term hepcat, used to name connoisseurs of the emerging African-American subculture, especially in the field of jazz. Different aesthetic and artistic movements were linked to what hipster at that time, as members of the beat generation, for instance. In general, it was used to name the white followers of the hot jazz and the boogie woogie.
However, at the end of the 20th century the term reappeared with its current connotations, associated with young people under 30 years of age from the middle and upper classes, whose patterns of cultural consumption move away from the established and pursue the indie. The ironic attitude and a certain dose of narcissism became typical of this urban tribe, often considered among the first to have their heyday and go out of fashion in the 21st century.
However, its presence was notable enough to inspire a series of books, manuals and creative approaches that tried, ironically, to define what hipster and establish its aesthetic limits.
Characteristics of a hipster
Broadly speaking, a hipster is characterized by the following:
- Taste for the ironic consumption of popular content and/or content considered alternative, indie, underground or that somehow escapes established trends.
- Eccentric but thoughtful attire, featuring unfashionable elements such as bow ties, horn-rimmed glasses, suspenders, plaid shirts, polka dot prints, wide-brimmed hats, and stylized beards and mustaches, reminiscent of the 19th century . Used clothing is very common in hipster.
- Product Preference green and for vegetarianism, as well as responsible consumption and the “progressive” tendencies of the commercial market, without necessarily reaching the extreme of political activism.
- Valuation of the objects vintage either retro, such as record players, old cameras and other objects associated with the fashions of the past.
- Preference for cafes and spaces of reading, linked to a certain "intellectuality", above the bars. The taste for coffee is a fetish common, often accompanied by some barista training.
- Proposal of bohemian life, uninhibited, that rejects the consumerism and tends to romanticize precariousness.
the subculture hipster
the subculture hipster focuses mainly on the consumption of indie, that is, from the music independent and Lo-fi. It values the culture that is farthest from the commercial, little organized and with more “pure” artistic interests.
However, their favorite musical genres can be very varied, ranging from contemporary variants of punk and rock (post-rock, grunge, alternative rock, indie rock, britpop) to electronic music (trip-hop, techno, chill-out). In general, English-speaking independent bands like The Black Keys, Beach House or Bon Iver are iconic of taste hipster.
Refering to literature, the subculture hipster values the classics and cultivates a rather conservative taste, despite the fact that the rupturist authors and the poetry of the mid-20th century tend to be valued. In general, it is a subculture artsy, who distances himself from the commercial and business world, to rescue a more or less moderate bohemian posture.
Differences between hippies and hipster
The hipster and the hippies they have in common their rejection of consumerism and the capitalist system and its businesses.However, the position of the latter is much more extreme, reaching the point of living in communes far from urban life and office work, embracing an ideal of free life and nature that does not seem to be among the interests of the hipster, children of the city and the capitalism contemporary.
Ideologically, the position hipster it seems to be that of responsible consumption, green activism and capitalism with a human face. Instead, hippies propose to live on the fringes of industrial capitalism.
In terms of fashion and cultural consumption patterns, hippies tend much more to the New age and to the abandonment of Western aesthetic patterns: they cultivate a much simpler appearance, bordering on the careless, contrary almost to the careful vintage look that the hipster they cultivate through old-fashioned clothes.