
Christian Lorentzen’s vaguely sociological cover story for Time Out New York reports on the hipster as a vampire-like bricoleur.
According to Lorentzen, hordes of hipster “zombies? are roaming the LES and Williamsburg converting the authentic and the ethnic to luxury condos with their relentless consumerism, Elvis Costello glasses, and killing “cool.?
Whether you buy Lorentzen’s argument or not, can we talk about what’s going on in the cover photo?
This guy doesn’t look like a hipster to me, and here’s why:
Cheesy graphic t-shirt. What hipster would have a shirt that was so clean and new, let alone one with a cheerful “disco? graphic?
White belt. We haven’t seen too many of these since around 2000-2001, and especially not after the “white belt backlash? circa 2002.
Double wallet chain. Or even one wallet chain? Is he a hipster or a high school skateboarder/hackey-sack dude/stoner? What would he have on there, keys? No way, he wouldn’t have keys because he would be crashing on your couch while he “looked for a place? and he wouldn’t have a wallet because he would borrow $5 dollars from you and “pay you back later.?
Clean shaven. Hipsters who shave? Right now it seems like every hipster guy, if he doesn’t have a full-on mystical mountain man beard, he at least hasn’t shaved in three days.
Did I miss anything?
--ALISON











posted by allie
May 31, 2007 10:10AM
Porkpie hat?!?! Hasn't been cool since about 1998. I think they meant to give him a fedora.