Indie vs. Hipster (?)
October 21, 2009I never really heard the term “Hipster” all that much in Los Angeles. There were people who were indie, but that’s a term that easy enough to explain even to my own Mother after labeling 500 Days of Summer as having a fairly indie style. “well, it sort of used to be short for independent.” But now there’s a whole culture and style that’s associated with it. And of course the increasingly popular counter-indie culture. But what does that mean? Is anti-indie just mainstream? But isn’t indie sort of mainstream by now? Hm. I’m a little lost.
And then I asked my friends what being a hipster was….”Isn’t that just an East-Coast term for someone who’s indie?” Apparently not…most of them claimed it has more of a negative connotation to it. But then what’s with the name “Hipster.” Presumably it means “someone who’s hip”, so does that mean the name carries a sarcastic inflection to it? hm.
Is this red flannel shirt that I bought at a vintage store in Boston for $8 considered Indie? How about Hipster?
And how about this one? does the smaller plaid size affect its culture label? What about the fact that it matches the shoes?
