Hipster History and Where Are they going
Of hipsters!
Whether you hate them or love them, hipsters still remain the vital visionaries in the murky waters of fashion, culture and music.
Through their ever changing tastes for what is cool, the world has been able to get a glimpse into the future trends.
But the question is: When did hipsters come about?
Although the term “hipster” became popular by 2000, hipsters have existed since the start of the century. If you want to know when the ‘cool’ culture started, who were the first hipsters and in what forms have hipsters appeared since, read on.
1940s: The Genesis of the culture
So who are these people who decided that “uncool was their new cool”? These were actually jazz aficionados in the 1940s. The group focused on embracing a different subculture compared to the traditional status quo. Instead of following the footsteps of their parents, hipsters simply wanted to find a deeper meaning in life.
(2000-2001): Ushered in the Early Emo
Did you know that the hipsters were the first group to claim pop-punk bands like Death Cab for Cutie, Evanescence, Green Day and Fall Out Boy while the world was busy listening to Alicia keys and Britney Spears? Other trends characteristic of this time period were studded belts, tons of eyeliner and shoes like Converse.
2002-2003: Scene Lite
During this period, if you had a flashy tattoo on your arm, leg, back or chest or arm, you were probably a hipster. Other characteristics of this period include trucker hats and those late 2002s flannels that you would find wired in the iPods and portable CD-players of the converse-wearing hipsters of the Scene Lite period.
2004-2005: Weather confused, faux Sophistiqué kind
This period ushered in a new, sophisticated hipster. Over a glass of cheap wine, you would encounter a weather- confused hipster clad in cashmere sweaters, a scarf, weird-looking dress pants and leather boots in the middle of summer.
2006-2007: Retro Throwback era
Hipsters felt buying old stuff was the new cool. Many of them fled to vintage shops to cloth themselves in housewife dresses (that’s for hipster women) and save the barely-functioning cameras.
2008-2009: Mainstream Dip
Running low on creative juices, hipsters lost their senses, went ‘mainstream’ and started flaunting shutter-shades and fedoras, and shaved their mountain-man beards down to mustaches.
2010-2011: No Junkie Chic
With canvas bag overflowing with kales, wheatgrass and leeks from the local farmer and their copies of Omnivore’s Dilemma on the other hand, the hipsters of this period embodied their newfound sense of authenticity: the DIY and cruelty-free culture.
2012-2014: Tri-Century Mashup
During this era, hipsters wanted to subtly embody pieces of their ancestors in a trendy way. Women hipsters donned flower headdresses while men grew out the gnarliest beards from the mountain men of the Old West.
2012, 2015-2016: Trendy Minimalist Revamped
Hipsters were rockin’ simple, streamline designs and the only coffee shops they went to served French press lattés, actually the size of a kiddie cup for 7 bucks. During this period “Man buns” were popular, with men wearing dress shoes without socks.
2017 and beyond: The future of the hipsters
The question is, what will 2017 add to hipsters’ history? While it seems that their creative juices are drying up, you won’t be surprised if you’ll probably be wearing strikingly cool attires and devouring red meat like a dinosaur before the year ends.