After the hippy, punk, rave, emo, gypsy movements that have followed us over the past years, a new hipster population has appeared on the pages of fashion and music magazines, on the streets of cities and towns. This global and cultural phenomenon makes our everyday life today. Although we often hear the term hipster, we are not always sure what it really means and what group of people this word represents. The word “hipster” was used to refer to the urban young population (middle and high social class) during the 1940s and 1950s. They listened to jazz music and were inspired by the lifestyle of black music idols. Today’s hipster population refers to people from twenty to thirty years of age who do not like the mainstream culture. The lifeblood of the hipster generation is made up of second hand clothing and footwear, a love of alternative music and film, and a careless and often ironic attitude towards everything. Hipsters don’t like mass and pop culture. They love the latest technologies, gadgets and social networks. 90% of social network users are members of this subculture.
When you see young girls and guys in city parks (with hats on their heads and plastic retro glasses) sitting on the grass in the park and the latest technical devices, they send messages on their blog, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter account about themselves, their spontaneous “capture” of the moment days, the events they are involved in and the world they live in, you will know that it is a hipster population. The young Hipster generation is recognizable for its wardrobe, tight black pants or vintage clothing. That’s why big fashion companies have been adapting street fashion to hipsters for years. Hipsters are defined by personal creativity, authenticity and the need not to become part of the masses but to have a distinct individualism. They show their anger (disguised as a casual attitude) towards dominant political and cultural trends.
This young population does not like to define itself as a hipster population or as a new cultural movement. Hipsters are intellectuals, musicians, cyclists (fascinated by nature and thinking about preserving the environment), streeters, authentic consumers of culture, the non-governmental sector (have liberal political and social views), photographers, designers or street vendors. In the so-called “men’s world” these people are cool because they look extremely masculine in t-shirts with baby prints and faded jeans. In the “women’s world” these are sometimes people
associated with design and art whose fashion style is characterized by the absence of overrated sex appeal and fashion crime. They love grandmother’s cabinets and chests with lots of airy, swaying and romantic details. Maxi skirts or old grandmother’s shirts, boho style, gypsy style, or urban jungle is always a recognizable combination for women and men of the hipster generation.
The main motto of hipster generation is to be and look cool. Always and in every place. It’s like living in urban commercials and TV spots. Hipster charm is complemented by hats, big black prescription glasses or spot-smoking cigarettes. Frequent prints on clothes or fashion details are just marijuana leaves. Being fashion conscious for the hipster generation means knowing about fashion, keeping up with current fashion trends, and thinking about fashion to tailor your daily routine. At first glance, the hipster generation seems outrageous, uninterested in fashion trends casually and unburdened. When you zoom in, however, you see fashion in its finest pop.
Price confirms the main rule of those who belong to the hipster movement: although they claim to dislike expensive things, everything in this subculture is branded and expensive. They love Apple (because of their minimalism), Converse, Levi’s, American Apparel, Moleskine, Starbucks, Pabst Blue Ribbon, cigars Parliament, an online magazine called Vice magazine. music festivals) and movie alternative scenes, which is why hipster blogs have become a relevant source of information and must-see internet literature.
In parallel with the development of the hipster population, a critique of this subculture is being developed that obsesses them all. Their poses and the need to stand out from the masses of people in an elitist way, and through art, acting and perseverance to maintain a careless attitude, insist on underground and fetishism. Although they constantly underline the individuality and absence of any legality between hipsters in any part of the world, it makes no difference. The negative attitude towards this population is current all the time. Articles and blogs that speak and write against hipsters are just as popular as hipster blogs. Critics of the hipster population have a wit and a clear attitude towards hipsters. Critics write that hipster subculture is the first culture to replace revolution with indifference. Hipster’s “faded and indifferent” state of mind leads many critics to conclude that it is the “cultural deadness of Western civilization.” Critics are guided by the opinion that they are the subcultures and their revolutions hitherto left their mark and acted in the form of universal liberation from social strata and the sexual revolution (hippy and punk movements), the personal rebellion of the individual and the conflict with authority. That is why hipsters are said to have no constructive action and bring nothing new except the subtle and insidious affirmation of the consumerist and globalist world and the society in which we live. Critics of the hipster population just want this 21st Century subculture to leave some visible trace behind and not let the notion of cultural revolution disappear forever.
One hipster culture critic says, “You need a lot of money today to look poor.”