I think most people have written hipness off, that hip is automatically translated as thoughtless mass trendiness. I suppose in some way this is true but I definitely don’t think it is that concrete. I do think that places like UO, have totally capitalized have the current formula of hipster, and thus churn out carbon copies (skinny jeans + tee + ethnic scarf + huge chloe knock-off bag) of psudeo hipsters but I still firmly believe in “real” hipsters. In my mind, they still exist, you sometimes see them in wr and you sometimes see them on street style blogs, and they are always in history, they are the ones that breathe style, and break the current silhouettes, mix textures, have amazing color combinations etc. I call them hipsters, too, but I don’t think it is fair to say that hipsters are only those walking out of UO, smothered in Williamsburg, I mean I don’t think it is fair to always have such a negative connotation with hipsters. Hipsters can be cool and not just hip.

I often think if people would ever refer to me as a hipster and maybe it is the fact that I could very well be one but I think it is okay to keep up with trends and have contemporary color and sometimes follow the crowd. I think just because you are trying to be a little hip, doesn’t automatically make you uncool/hip. You can simultaneously achieve these things.

I think create and follow is a good mix. It doesn’t need to be create or follow.

But honestly, I just believe in letting your clothes tell something, I don’t think it’s always necessary to be the avant garde stylist, or even different, I like to try but I think it just depends on you. What your comfort level is, and afterall, what you are interested in. If you want your clothes to indicate that you are young, and trendy instead of maybe young and edgy, that is really okay.

Personally, I think of my own dressing as the one of the only ways to outwardly express my aesthetic. The color choices and form choices I make are hyper senstive and no, if you saw me you maybe would never think this, maybe you just call me a dumb hipster because I was caught wearing skinny jeans and smoking a cigarette but well you know that is fine.

I rarely pay attention to any of these “trends” or “terms”. I’m truly on my own planet, and if someone doesn’t like the apples I eat then they don’t have to eat from my apple tree (thanks E. Badu).

If people want to be hipsters, trend setters, fashion victims, label obsessed, etc then so be it – is my philosophy. I tend to let people be, let them define who they are by their own standards, it’s truly no fun living by the standards of others or being defined by others, and I have no time for loathing, but living I’ll take any day. I say let there be all of these labels and more, it’s far more fun than trying to fit everyone into the same box.

but in terms of fashion, i don’t think hip and cool really matter that much. what you like is going to be what you like, hip or not, cool or not. and fashion should be what you like.

I think that the average person follows as opposed to leads, because everyone likes to belong (even if they claim to be “unique”). In some ways, I don’t think people lead outright, but maybe there is a mixture of leading and following. I think the people (male or female) who aren’t afraid of wearing something in or out of fashion (following & leading) are the ones to note.

Personal style is much more interesting.

I also feel like people who hate on hipsters (while I can sympathize) are many times either snobby or insecure themselves. There is certainly a large number of people that can be labeled hipsters that are followers and a large number of people who are creative and innovative. I think that statement could apply to any sub culture. Most people I know who are creative or into music at all would probably fall loosely under the label of “hipster”, myself included, but for me it’s just a mish mash of all my experiences and current interests combined, not some pre-conceived idea of “this is cool now, I should wear this”.

It’s better to be yourself. And in general I think people buy what they like and do what is fun for them, and that’s how it should be.

I can’t comment on if geekiness or freakishness is more acceptable, SF is a bubble where freakishness is the norm. Yay.

“Hip” and “cool” have slightly different nuance. To me, “hip” describes someone who is aware of what’s admired by a large number of people at the moment and internalizes or adopts that with little modification or adaptation. To be thought of as hip, you have to demonstrate that you know what others consider to be hip. Otherwise, how would other hipsters be able to identify you? So you have to wear “hip” clothes, talk “hip” talk, etc. in order to be identified as hip. Hipness is fundamentally exclusive, otherwise it would just be ordinary and common.

In my view, “cool” is more subjective and not necessarily tied to the moment. Cool is also not necessarily exclusive, but reveals a quality beyond the ordinary, something positive and creative.

Being hip definitely matters to a lot of people; billions of dollars/euros/yen/etc. are spent on maintaining hipness. It seems that generally, the older one gets, the less this game matters. Being and staying hip can be an expensive endeavor, and time is always of the essence. “What’s hip today might become passe”, so the song goes. Self-identified hipsters like to think they determine what is cool, but in fact they are a step behind the ones who really spark trends, which are the free-thinking, risk-taking individuals at the margins. These are the avant-garde. Places like UO, as Stephanie mentioned, make boatloads of money tapping the creativity of the avant-garde and selling it to hipsters, in search of the latest badge of hipness.

It’s always more difficult to lead than follow. Followers make themselves anonymous and suppress their own vision in favor of someone else’s. Followers allow others to define and control things for them. No one likes to admit being a follower, but everyone at some point in their lives has assumed this role, myself included.
On the other hand, individuals with qualities of leadership make themselves visible. Their ideas and vision are made vulnerable, and others may choose to accept or reject them. I think the possibility of rejection is what frightens many from developing leadership abilities. Some leaders have more followers than others, for whatever ineffable reasons, and that can be a disincentive as well. And I think that a single individual can waver between following and leading, being inspired by others and inspiring others.

One can only be oneself, no matter how hard you might try to copy someone else. So to me it makes sense to delve deeply into the process of discovering what is “you”, rather than try to fit yourself into someone else’s persona. This is easier said than done when you factor in the pressure from the surrounding culture to adjust yourself to what is “hip.”

It’s all a game. If the game is fun to you and you have the cash and the time, by all means, play. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a losing game if you don’t have a firm grounding in yourself and what you bring to the table.

I think “hipster” has a negative connotation, maybe because the term started out refering to poser-y music snobs. I only use it in reference to people who suck.

I think people with an actual sense of style are easy to spot. They take chances, and are always evolving…sometimes they make faux pas, but if the attitude is there, they can rock almost anything.

It sucks that stores like Urban have capitalized on what was once a really cool subculture. Now I just cringe when I see all the sheeple looking alike. It sucks because it was once something I liked, but now I don’t really want to convey that image, because I don’t want to be associated with “the masses”

Basically, if everybody likes it, it can’t be good. I haven’t changed a bit from the 14-year old punk I once was, have I?