Hipsters in 2011

Today, January 2, 2011, I am going to revisit a post I wrote almost six years ago, because it still manages to get more page views than some of my current posts. It’s about hipsters, which apparently is a popular search term on the google. But what I wrote is so hopelessly out-of-date that it makes me wonder if either hipsters have evolved dramatically since 2004 or I was just really off the ball. Here’s what I mean:

In 2004, I said Hipsters

Shops at: Urban Outfitters, Salvation Army

2011 commentary: Urban Outfitters? Really?

Reads: David Sedaris, Zadie Smith, Dave Eggers, Salon.com

2011 commentary: Hipsters read books?

Listens to: Rufus Wainwright, Elephant 6, Stereolab, emo

2011 commentary: Emo? Maybe 12-year-old hipsters. But seriously, I don’t think Pitchfork has mentioned any of these musicians for at least three years.

Wears: Newsboy hat, horn-rimmed glasses, Vans, Blazers, Uggs (though starting to wear Uggs in irony)

2011 commentary: I can be forgiven for the fashion being way off

But seriously, I don’t really know how to characterize what hipsters wear or do. I know they still exist because I see them when I go to Williamsburg. And I’ll admit, I don’t have as visceral a dislike of them as maybe I used to, or as so many non-hipsters seem to. They’re just people, people! Happy New Year’s!