The Original Hipster
In my day there were the Mods and Rockers, the Teddy Boys, the Beatles look and the Hippies.
I never went for any of them. If you're trying to rebel against society by dressing differently then there is no point in dressing the same as all the rebels. I always had my own look and style, variously described as Scruffy, Unkempt and Would-you-ever-go-and-get-your-fucking-hair-cut. If anything, I was a Hippy before Hippies were invented [and as soon as they were, I stopped].
Now there is this weird phenomenon known as the "Hipster".
I have heard this term bandied about and assumed it was something to do with the strange rash of false looking beards that are becoming prolific. There is something about those beards, that they all looked like they have been photoshopped on or bought in a theatrical costume shop.
I had a look around this morning and found a web site that gives instructions on how to be a Hipster.
Fucking hell! Do people really have to have instructions on how to dress and behave? Whatever happened to personal taste and individuality? But then I suppose in a world where the lowing herd have to be told how to do everything I suppose it's only to be expected that there are instructions on how to look and behave?
Funnily enough, I can identify with quite a few of the supposed attributes of a Hipster. I have a beard, but it looks real [which I suppose is a mark against me?] and my hair is usually unkempt. I do have a contempt for smoking laws and rules. I do tend to give the odd smart arsed answer if asked a silly question. I do wear jeans and spectacles, though the latter are rimless to keep them light and to stop them sliding down my nose all the time. I do grow my own produce but not of the fruit or vegetables varieties. I do use WordPress though they can fuck off with their Blogspot, Tumblr and Instagram.
The line has to be drawn somewhere though and they can fuck off with their "keep a pulse on the Hipster community" and moving to a metropolitan area like London [though in fairness, they do say that isn’t strictly necessary]. And I'll be damned if I'll be told what films to watch or music to listen to.
So all in all it looks like I am more Hipster than not. But seeing as I have lived like this for as long as I can remember, and certainly decades before Hipsters were invented, I can only assume they are copying me?
But then we have the little rule number 7.
Don't define yourself to others. One of the key elements of being hipster has been to avoid the label. Don't go around proclaiming your allegiance; to do so would be to start allying with those who like neatly tied-up boxes denoting who is what, when, and where.
- The moment you define yourself too clearly is the moment you begin to stagnate and risk being captured by the status quo. Many a hipster will therefore deny their "hipster-ness" whenever possible.
- To preemptively ward off the mockers, some hipsters have taken to extending their sense of irony to include even themselves by acknowledging and mocking their own hipsterdom (for example, wearing a tee that says "I hate hipsters"); that way, by mocking themselves first, no one else can effectively do it (reclaiming the negative).
So I can't say I'm a hipster because then I'm not. And if I say I'm not a Hipster that that's a very Hipster thing to do.
Ah listen lads….
Would yiz ever all go and fuck off.
Hipster my bollix.
I always thought hipsters were pants that finished at hip llevel, circa 1970.
I thought so too, but just about everything has been done before so it's hard to come up with something really new. Mind you, one thing we never had was poncy makeup for men, and if a bloke dyed his hair, he was treated with the gravest suspicion.
Ah yes! Grecian 2000 hair colouring for blokes. Looked so natural as well – not!
People these days especially some of the youngsters have to have instructions on how to draw breath. S'pose it gives em the excuse to be on the web 24/7!
I have to admit that I would have fallen firmly into the ‘Hippy’ camp back in the late ’60s / early ’70s. Not that I particularly identified myself as such, but more because I displayed those traits. You know, rejection of authority; consumption of industrial quantities of illegal drugs of all descriptions; years trawling round the Far East checking out various philosophies, exotic drugs and exotic women; Bell Bottom trousers; long hair (I actually had hair until I was about 26); all that kind of stuff. I have to say, though, that I never checked out what a ‘Hippy’ should be doing, saying or wearing (although I probably followed the fashions I saw around me, subconsciously). I just seemed to get labelled as such.
Hipsters? Sounds like an artificial construct to me, rather than an organic evolution.
The one thing in the list above that I did not like – those fucking bell-bottom trousers!
Fake looking beards, you say?
Yes, I see them all the time. A real beard does give character (for better or worse) to a person. A “hipster” beard is just butt fluff that makes the aforementioned “hipster” look childish and stupid.
All well and good when that is you individual style; but when you’re doing it as some sort of popularity contest, any individuality goes out the window.
Myself; do not keep a beard and prefer shorter hair. Although I did just go about six months without a haircut. With a bit of tidying up, it could’ve gone much longer. Also clean-shaven practically daily.
As for those individuals who once grew a beard, I’ve read stories of those who shaved theirs off after the “hipster” boom to avoid being associated with the young snowflakes; who grow their hair long in particular ways so as to have “frullets” or “cow-licks” or whatever you call those great globs of greasy, unwashed (and sometimes smelly) hair.
The one thing I can proudly proclaim is that I have never been a dedicated follower of fashion
It's only a couple of months since my last haircut and it was a relatively harsh one so it should last me until the end of the year. At least…..
Don't fret. Here's a happy hippie birthday song. Ah the innocence of it.
http://50ru.me/track-mp3/Cartoons%20-%20Hippie%20From%20Mississippi/
I've just been on the"Urban Dictionary" to find out what a "snowflake" is supposed to be (your other post >) and it opened on "hipsters". "They are a sub-culture of men and women typically in their 20's and 30's (that's me out!) that value independent thinking (one out of two so far!) counter-culture (cannot be arsed), progressive politics (nobody listens!) and appreciation of art (another tick!) and indie rock (nope!) creativity (tick) intelligence (is that not an oxymoron?) and witty banter (tick)”. Plus another wall of words that I had no inclination to read. Maybe I'm an ankle or a knee seeing I don't go all the way up to the hips?.
All I can say about Urban Dictionary is that it must have been written by a snowflake!