Tempe and Phoenix made Panethos’ unofficial list for hipster hoods in the Mountain West. Tight pants, bearded men and strange clothing ensembles are all signature trademarks of hipster fashion, but what makes Tempe and Phoenix attractive to hipsters are their college campuses and cool hangouts.
Tight pants and beards are not the only identifiers of a hipster, but what makes a hipster really depends on who you ask. The Merriam Webster online dictionary defines a hipster as “a person who is unusually aware of and interested in new and unconventional patterns (as in jazz or fashion).”
Urban Dictionary has a similar definition: “Hipsters are a subculture of men and women typically in their '20s and '30s that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence and witty banter.”
Criminal justice freshman Gerald Benitez said hipsters are today's version of the subculture of our society who want to express themselves freely.
“Hipster doesn’t have to be a bad thing, its just a generation thing. In the '90s its the punk rock group, in the early 2000s it was the wanna-be gangster group, a couple years ago it was the kids who used to do the jerking and now its the hipsters. It’s the same crew they just have different names,” Benitez said.
Sometimes people take the term hipster to mean something negative, but Benitez said it is actually positive.
“Honestly just someone who's comfortable in their own skin," Benitez said. "That’s what I honestly think a hipster is. Someone who is not afraid to make a statement of themselves and be comfortable with who they are.”
Can hipsters still be identified? Nutrition junior Stella Muscolino thinks so. She said hipsters wear boots, skinny jeans with cuffs and the men always have beards.
Nutrition freshman Riley Estes mentioned basically the same elements: “top knot, something showing off that they don’t do leg day, very kind of odd clothing; '70s but bringing back the '90s. Again, just a very weird style,” he said.
In Phoenix, Estes said she notices a lot of hipsters.
Hipster hangouts were the one thing that everyone could agree on. Many students said they included Roosevelt Row, Cartel Coffee, Cornish Pasty Co. and a few others.
“There are a lot of tight-pant-wearing bearded men walking around; the typical hipster look,” Estes said. “There are a lot of organic places opening up around town; those food trucks that are just a block away are real havens for hipsters.”
