Style or LIFEstyle?? A Social Experiment

Hey everybody. So I just want to start this blog post with a bit of background information. While I was gone on my mission, a new brand of bike riding, skinny jeans wearing, thrift store seeking human beings named hipsters. I did not know who these people were or what they did or how they got that way and I was very curious. This curiosity formed mostly in my time in Seattle. I saw lots. And then got more intense here at BYU. So this week I was going to a concert up in Salt Lake (Neon Trees, The Used, Imagine Dragons, AWOLnation.... great concert) and I thought it would be a good opportunity to do a social experiment. Whitney and I spent the week researching what it is to be a hipster and then today I went all out dressed up as a hipster, with some friends, and we all went to the concert together. My results will soon be discussed.

First of all, I want to describe what is it is to be a hipster for those of who, like me, may not be completely familiar with the idea. According to UrbanDictionary.com, "Hipsters are a subculture of men and women typically in their 20's and 30's that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence, and witty banter.  Although "hipsterism" is really a state of mind,it is also often intertwined with distinct fashion sensibilities. Hipsters reject the culturally-ignorant attitudes of mainstream consumers, and are often be seen wearing vintage and thrift store inspired fashions, tight-fitting jeans, old-school sneakers, and sometimes thick rimmed glasses. Both hipster men and women sport similar androgynous hair styles that include combinations of messy shag cuts and asymmetric side-swept bangs. Despite misconceptions based on their aesthetic tastes, hipsters tend to be well educated and often have liberal arts degrees, or degrees in maths and sciences, which also require certain creative analytical thinking abilities. Although hipsters are technically conformists within their own subculture, in comparison to the much larger mainstream mass, they are pioneers and leaders of the latest cultural trends and ideals. Once certain concepts of fashion and music have reached mainstream audiences, hipsters move on to something new and improved."

From personal experience they also aren't very religious, kind of "thinking themselves out of God" in my opinion, though this is not applicable to all hipsters. They like talking about bands that no else is supposed to know. 

For further information, I recommend the following websites. 

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=What+is+a+hipster%3F (check this one out..... seriously)

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/hipster-tips

http://www.verbal-vomit.com/2011/03/how-to-be-hipster-chapter-1.html  (Chapters 1,2, and 3)

Or ask one of these guys....
         

Now I wish to share my results from dressing like a hipster today. I will put some pictures on.

First of all, I really liked how we looked. I thought it was legitly cool. I will buy some cardigans.

Second, I kinda liked how I felt. I honestly felt like I could do whatever I wanted and that how others judged me didn't matter. Hipsters don't seem to care about much so I felt like this was proven to me while wearing the clothes. 

Third, I found it very difficult to actually maintain a hipster attitude. I typically like mainstream stuff. It's hard to think "That's too mainstream" about everything. I like stuff. Maybe I could be a hipster's hipster and actually think that not mainstream stuff is now too mainstream and need to like the mainstream stuff. 

In conclusion, being a hipster is awesome. Well, dressing like a hipster at least. I'm not a big fan of the attitude for the most part. 

That's all

See you next week

Elliott

Oregon now is 4-0 after OWNING Arizona 49-0 and as i post this, Oregon is beating Washington State 51-19. And they jumped LSU to be #2. GO DUCKS!!