Tuesday 24 April 2012

Aaron -

The clothes of 'hipsters'.

Since hipsters phase into the mist the very second they're minted, you're going to have to look the part. The New York hipster—aside from playing in the Williamsburg Kickball League—evades detection by frequenting establishments that cater to coolness, and are therefore generally frequented by hipsters alone. So, to get in, you're going to have to pass the visual test. For women, it's easy: wear clothing from different eras on every part of your body with no great regard for aesthetic cohesion and, when it comes time to talk, mention how your Master's thesis in anthropology is going to rupture the cement foundations of the Ivy League. Oh, and wear boots, even in the middle of a heat wave.
There are far more rules for men. First, though, you'll need a place to shop. Housing Works Thrift Shops are scattered throughout the city and offer the remainders of designer shops' inventory. For the hipster, clothing that wasn't good enough to be bought on the first go-around is prime pickings. In fact, What Goes Around Comes Around deals in vintage clothing (ladies, get your boots here), as does Cheap Jack's on Fifth Avenue. Check out some of our tagged vintageand thrift stores, but be forewarned: 'thrift,' 'cheap,' 'vintage,' and 'second-hand' in this city generally mean 'pricey' and 'ridiculously pricey.' You're better off following our style guru's guide for the Vintage Style Maven. Bear in mind: It's expensive making yourself look like you didn't spend much money. If you'd rather dispense with the pretense (a hipster would never dispense with pretense, though) of pricey thrift shops, head on over to SoHo for the real thing.
As far as what you should buy: anything that would look good on a farmer (although mesh caps are fortunately out at the moment) but without a trace of dirt and properly ironed; hats that could have been stolen from Elvis Costello; golf caddies; jazz musicians (think: porkpie hats); or mobsters from the 1930's; and anything else that can be worn and explained with irony. Also, you should probably buy some kind of black plastic-rimmed glasses—even if your eyesight is 20/20—and a nice bright-white belt to loop through your jeans (which, we haven't mentioned, should generally speaking be girls' jeans).

1 comment:

  1. http://www.nyc.com/visitor_guide/the_aspiring_hipster.998166/editorial_review.aspx

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