Hipsters or Not?

So I was having a conversation at work yesterday with my Diesel mates: how did we end up giving the word ‘hipster’ such a negative connotation? Is it because all we have been seeing of these so-called hipsters lately is just booze and drugs? Or because we have fit them all in one uniformed black lame trash bag?

A hipster, by definition is a person who is interested in the latest trends and fashions. Hipsters are supposed to be the trend-setters and those who the early adapting followers will look up to for inspiration… but we have started dropping the term hipster so loosely, it turned to something that no one wants to be associated with, including myself. Being a hipster is supposed to be about individuality, about wanting to set yourself apart and being daring enough to wear something out of the ordinary. So how did we end up in this place?

Going out every week to the same places, seeing the same people, while dancing to the same tunes, I’ve come to notice that these are no hipsters. The all too typical American Apparel/Urban Outfitters clad boys and girls who run around the city smoking their cigarettes scene is all too familiar. What happened to being different? Standing out in a good way?

I say we need more DIYs, more individualistic fashions and less homogenized Saturday nights. We have seen plaid button-downs, we have seen the lame, the holey tights. I am talking about dressing up! How about we look in the mirror before leaving the house to go out? Miami needs more people who are going to set the right trends!

Marc Jacobs said about his Fall 2009 RTW collection that he “…was thinking about the good old days in New York, […] when getting dressed up was such a joy.” (via Style.com). I say the man is right. I wonder when people are going to start thinking dressing up and looking sharp is back in style, instead of showing up to wherever they are going looking like they are wearing rags.  Until then, things will still look the same, and I will still push for guys and gals styling it up.