Hipsters in Detroit

[Ravine]

Maybe that's why Gianni didn't accredit the term to Danny.
As for me, my question is not etymological; I am trying to determine which qualities constitute that which is currently called a hipster.

[coloroflaw]

Maybe that's why Gianni didn't accredit the term to Danny.
As for me, my question is not etymological; I am trying to determine which qualities constitute that which is currently called a hipster.

A conglomeration of the past 60 years of pop / counter culture by way of dress, lifestyle, interest, diet, with the obvious addition of the amenities of the digital age.

[KOMPOST]

Also, as an aside to this entire thread, who gives a shit? Let's create MORE division in one of the most racially / economically / morally segregated areas in the United States. It always amuses me how people are so *appalled* at other lifestyles. Fuck that.

Agreed.
I found the original post quite curious.
"Hey, I heard there is a group of people of a certain race, that dress a certain way, that are moving into the city of Detroit. Where can they be found?"
Like I said, curious...at best. Sinister, at worst.

[Ravine]

A conglomeration of the past 60 years of pop / counter culture by way of dress, lifestyle, interest, diet, with the obvious addition of the amenities of the digital age.

If that's the case, they would be wearing bell-bottom corduroys and skinny jeans, dark-framed nerd glasses and round wire-frames.

[coloroflaw]

If that's the case, they would be wearing bell-bottom corduroys and skinny jeans, dark-framed nerd glasses and round wire-frames.

Conglomeration - a mass of miscellaneous things, a heterogeneous combination

[ridgeabilly]

Joan B is hotter than ever and she can still bring it.

[Modusvivendi]

Maybe that's why Gianni didn't accredit the term to Danny.
As for me, my question is not etymological; I am trying to determine which qualities constitute that which is currently called a hipster.

If you want a [[hilarious) take on what constitutes being a hipster, I highly recommend watching the following video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_5uVdy5YmA

The video is about London hipsters, but my neighborhood in SF is full of people just like this. Not that I mind. The hipster stereotype is really easy to poke fun of, but I have to say I love my neighborhood and its vibe. The people make the place.

[Modusvivendi]

Agreed.
I found the original post quite curious.
"Hey, I heard there is a group of people of a certain race, that dress a certain way, that are moving into the city of Detroit. Where can they be found?"
Like I said, curious...at best. Sinister, at worst.

SInister? Ok, that's a little ridiculous. It's fun to poke fun at hipsters, but for me there is a fair amount of self-loathing in that since I used to dress just like a lot of them when I was in college and for a while thereafter and probably would do so more if I didn't work in a law firm. Maybe in Detroit the hipster thing has racial connotations, but not to me.

[Hypestyles]

I want to see hipsters broaden their horizons, hang out and set up shop in different neighborhoods throughout the city, not just midtown, corktown and downtown. how about dexter/elmhurst? grand river/greenfield? 7 mile/van dyke? come on down..

[Ravine]

Conglomeration - a mass of miscellaneous things, a heterogeneous combination

...which word & definition directly contradicts a discussion of "type."
I'm asking about a certain type of dog, here. I already know what a mongrel is.

[izzyindetroit]

Maybe that's why Gianni didn't accredit the term to Danny.
As for me, my question is not etymological; I am trying to determine which qualities constitute that which is currently called a hipster.

The following best defines the term:

1. Hipster

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. The greatest concentrations of hipsters can be found living in the Williamsburg, Wicker Park, and Mission District neighborhoods of major cosmopolitan centers such as New York, Chicago, and San Francisco respectively. 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. Such styles are often associated with the work of creative stylists at urban salons, and are usually too "edgy" for the culturally-sheltered mainstream consumer. The "effortless cool" urban bohemian look of a hipster is exemplified in Urban Outfitters and American Apparel ads which cater towards the hipster demographic. 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. Consequently many hipsters tend to have jobs in the music, art, and fashion industries. It is a myth that most hipsters are unemployed and live off of their parent's trust funds.

Hipsters shun mainstream societal conventions that apply to dating preferences and traditional "rules" of physical attraction. It is part of the hipster central dogma not to be influenced by mainsream advertising and media, which tends to only promote ethnocentric ideals of beauty. The concepts of androgyny and feminism have influenced hipster culture, where hipster men are often as thin as the women they date. The muscular and athletic all-American male ideal is not seen as attractive by confident and culturally-empowered hipster women who instead view them as symbols of male oppression, sexism, and misogyny. Likewise, culturally-vapid sorority-type girls with fake blond hair, overly tanned skin, and "Britney Spears tube-tops" are not seen as attractive by cultured hipster males who instead see them as symbols of female insecurity, low self-esteem, and lack of cultural intelligence and independent thinking. Hipsters are also very racially open-minded, and the greatest number of interracial couples in any urban environment are typically found within the hipster subculture.

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. For example, the surge of jeans made to look old and worn [[i.e. "distressed"), that have become prevalent at stores such as The Gap, American Eagle, Abercrombie and Fitch, and Hollister, were originally paraded by hipsters who shopped in thrift stores years before such clothing items were mass produced and sold to the mainstream consumer. The true irony here is that many of the detractors of hipster culture are in fact unknowingly following a path that hipsters have carved out years before them. This phenomena also applies to music as well, as many bands have become successful and known to mainstream audiences only because hipsters first found and listened to them as early-adopters of new culture. Once certain concepts of fashion and music have reached mainstream audiences, hipsters move on to something new and improved.

Because of the rise of various online photo-blog and social networking sites, insights into urban hipster culture is reaching sheltered suburban audiences at an exponential rate. Cultural "norms" have been deconstructed by hipster culture as a whole. Hipsterism is often dismissed as just an image thing by some, but the culture as a whole is effecting changes in society, leading to feelings of insecurity and resentment in people who are no longer a part of the cultural ruling class. For example, a lot of anti-hipster sentiment evidently comes from culturally-clueless suburban frat boy types who feel that the more sensitive, intelligent, and culturally aware hipster ideal threatens their insecure sense of masculinity. Anti-hipster sentiment often comes from people who simply can't keep up with social change and are envious of those who can.

Example
A conversation outside a hipster bar in downtown NYC:

Frat Boy #1: Dude, are you having any luck picking up chicks in there?

Frat Boy #2: Man...I haven't experienced anything like this before. These chicks are totally rejecting me and going for all these hipster guys in tight pants and shaggy hair instead.

Frat Boy #1: Maybe we should head back up to that bar in Murry Hill where you hooked up with that drunk b*tch from Alpha Sigma Phi last week?

Frat Boy #2: Yeah...I don't think we have what it takes to compete with these guys in here. These hipster chicks won't even give us the time of the day!

http://www.urbandictionary.com/defin...&defid=2705928

[old guy]

Capable of witty banter? Sounds like a good time.

[antongast]

The following best defines the term:

I think this is the douchiest, most self-aggrandizing explanation I've ever seen of anything, and I watched Newt's moon-base speech the other day.

[Ravine]

Oh, I don't know; I think it was pretty good, actually, although I could have looked it up in the nearly-lucid Urban Dictionary, myself. I was more looking for individual snapshots from the group-at-large: "Here's what it means, to me."
But thanks, Izzy, it was entertaining and it did a fine job of describing some qualities that are difficult to verbally nail down.
Antongast, most cultural types, when in their heyday, will be described in extremes.
Just as the Hippies were seen, by the "Establishment," as dirty, shiftless, amoral, freeloading dopers, we used "douchiest, most self-aggrandizing" terms to describe ourselves.
It's all rather subjective, anyway.

[Baselinepunk]

"Anti-hipster sentiment often comes from people who simply can't keep up with social change and are envious of those who can."


What the fuck ever.


It's just the same joint; different suit.


Get over yourselves.


PS: Piss off.

[Brich]

"Anti-hipster sentiment often comes from people who simply can't keep up with social change and are envious of those who can."


What the fuck ever.


It's just the same joint; different suit.


Get over yourselves.


PS: Piss off.

I must say that I appreciate your derision. Your potty-mouthed exclamations do very little to advance our hipster cause, however. Therefore I respectfully ask that you eat a frog.
Thank You [[with a capital Y).

[Ravine]

Baselinepunk, you are either taking this thing waaaay too seriously.or are publicly grinding a personal axe.

Anyway, watching a half-minute video-clip that was attached to that definition, I counted 3-4 guys messing with their hair, making some adjustment to it.
That caused me to realize which single quality seems to most universally characterize current-day Hipsters, and it is one of which my peer group of tie-dyed ragamuffins was not quite so guilty: self-consciousness.
The Hipsters seem as though every aspect of their appearance is measured out & executed by design, with the image they project, and the impression they make, being of far greater importance than physical comfort or any type of pragmatism.
It's no skin off of my nose, but if your audience is that important, maybe there's too much of them and really not much of you.

[Ravine]

I must say that I appreciate your derision. Your potty-mouthed exclamations do very little to advance our hipster cause, however. Therefore I respectfully ask that you eat a frog.
Thank You [[with a capital Y).

And I respectfully ask you to try to avoid excommunication. [[Certainly, don't make a point of seeking it out, as we've already gone through that whole thing with Gannon, who, not content with merely [[!!) leaving the Catholic church, wishes for it to forcefully eject him.)
We need you here.

[Brich]

And I respectfully ask you to try to avoid excommunication. [[Certainly, don't make a point of seeking it out, as we've already gone through that whole thing with Gannon, who, not content with merely [[!!) leaving the Catholic church, wishes for it to forcefully eject him.)
We need you here.

Hey Ravine,
Long-time-listener-first-time-caller
I hope to bring levity to this forum.
We need to laugh more often.

[Modusvivendi]

Ok, so it seems like instead of giving informative answers about where the hip folk live and play in Detroit, DYesers have ended up squabbling amongst themselves. I've done some of my own research and found a pretty cool documentary on YouTube called "Detroit Lives," which looks at how recent influxes of young artists and creative types [[hipsters) have brought some new life and vitality to Detroit. That's exactly what I was hoping might be happening. Check out the video on YouTube - it's a positive Detroit story and a break from your typical ruin porn.

[Ravine]

Hey Ravine,
Long-time-listener-first-time-caller
I hope to bring levity to this forum.
We need to laugh more often.

This forum gets me to laughing all of the time, but not because levity is being engaged.
Think of it as the "Poetic Justice" of internet forums.
Never mind. Just keep on with whatcher doin.'

Hey, M.V.: "...it seems like instead of giving informative answers...DYesers have ended up squabbling amongst themselves." Well, yeah, of course; that's what we do. It's our, ummh *errh*, modus vivendi, goddamit.

[Khartoum]

detroit hipsters.

[antongast]

Oh, I don't know; I think it was pretty good, actually, although I could have looked it up in the nearly-lucid Urban Dictionary, myself.

I never said it was a bad definition.

[casscorridor]

I'm not knocking anyone or Detroit for that matter. I live in the most hipster neighborhood in San Francisco. It's so uber-hipster here that we all make fun of it somewhat, but at the same time I'll admit that hipsters bring an air of creativity and dynamism to a neighborhood. The reasons hipsters live in San francisco are obvious- it's a hipster mecca. Detroit is a very different city an thats why I'm wondering about the hipster experience there and why the choose to lie in detroit. That, and because I'm interested to know if hipsters could help revitalize Detroit. They certainly have done so in the neighborhood I live in [[the mission) and I hope that's the same in Detroit.

Disclosure: I don't wear skinny jeans or have ironic facial hair, but I do listen to enough indie rock and have interesting enough glasses to make hipsters kindred spirits

Mission seems cool and all but I've been considering moving to Oakland, not San Francisco. It seems like SF is Manhattan and Oakland is Brooklyn.

Anyway, about Detroit... I don't think Detroit is a hipster city at all. There are a good number of what people view as "hipsters" in Detroit, but primarily only in a few neighborhoods: Woodbridge, Midtown, Corktown, Eastern Market, Hubbard Farms, Hamtramck. I would add that nearly all of them are native to Michigan or at the very least have some connection to the city or Michigan. There is a great article in Model D about transplants to Detroit and how Detroit is unlike any other city because of its extreme skepticism toward outsiders... defiantly not something that attracts young people [[or anyone for that matter) to the city. But there still are transplants coming here, but for very specific reasons and most of the time for jobs or to start projects [[artists). A lot of times they will leave within a few years. There aren't many people moving to Detroit "because it seems cool" like they do to NYC or SF. Although I think they would if the city had decent transit and neighborhoods were you could at least walk places.

Disclosure: writing from Eastern Market, some people may consider me hipster

[Baselinepunk]

lol.

My illustration perhaps went over a few heads.

As I was channeling my inner Sex Pistols, I was simply:

Rebutting the whiny-ass "You just don't get us that's why you don't like us" quote from that piece. It's pretty pretentious and self-centered statement to say the least.

I don't really care one way or another, really. I just think that when a group of folks tries to label themselves like this it exposes the "movement" as a bunch of posers.

These folks think shopping at 2nd hand stores, drinking cheap beer and smoking crap ciggies is really far out? lol. That's a been there; own the T-Shirt company for a bunch of folks in this area -- folks younger than me, same age as me and folks a Hell of a lot older than me.

It's like this: I see a lot of folks piercing themselves and putting gauges in their ears to try and be unique; you wanna impress me? Put some Super Glue in your hair, use a safety pin in your nose and break out that razor blade.

lol.

So, cool. You wanna be a Hipster? Fine by me; I couldn't give two shits about that broke record. Start whining like some washed-up Emo kid; I'm gonna kick you square in the grapes.