hipsters
Vinyl-collecting coffee snobs
Hipsters are people who cultivate tastes outside the mainstream—obscure music, vintage clothing, artisanal everything.
The term peaked in the 2000s and 2010s, often used mockingly for urban young adults with beards, fixed-gear bikes, and ironic appreciation for unfashionable things: The neighborhood is full of hipsters now.
The word carries a whiff of pretension—liking things before they were cool, then abandoning them once others caught on.
An earlier sense from mid-20th-century jazz culture meant someone hip to the scene.
Quality from past eras
- retroEvoking recent past
- vinylSynthetic resin plastic
- mid-centuryHalfway through a hundred
- polaroidSelf-developing photograph
typewriter · thrift · mustache · beard · flannel · suspenders · fixie · tattoos
Rejects prevailing social standards
- alternativeAnother available choice
- indieProduced outside majors
- undergroundBelow ground or countercultural
- DIYAmateur home projects
zines · gentrification · sustainability · veganism · minimalism · local · independent
Innovative cultural pioneers
- cutting-edgeAt innovation's forefront
- tastemakerOne who shapes trends
- influencerPerson with promotional reach
- curatedDeliberately selected and organized
obscure · niche · underground · boutique · emerging · undiscovered · scene · microtrend
Irony used to mock
- tongue-in-cheekHumorously not meant literally
- deadpanExpressionless, especially for humor
- sardonicGrimly mocking
- snarkCutting, mocking commentary
kitsch · PBR · normcore · post-ironic · self-aware · meta · detached · knowing
Made manually, not machined
- bespokeMade to individual specifications
- sourdoughWild-yeast bread starter
- baristaProfessional café drink maker
- charcuteriePreserved meat preparation
pottery · ceramics · leatherwork · brewing · distilling · fermentation · woodworking · letterpress
vintage
Quality from past eras
- retroEvoking recent past
- vinylSynthetic resin plastic
- mid-centuryHalfway through a hundred
polaroid · typewriter · thrift · mustache · beard · flannel · suspenders · fixie · tattoos · piercings
nonconformist
Rejects prevailing social standards
- alternativeAnother available choice
- indieProduced outside majors
- undergroundBelow ground or countercultural
DIY · zines · gentrification · sustainability · veganism · minimalism · local · independent
avant-garde
Innovative cultural pioneers
- cutting-edgeAt innovation's forefront
- tastemakerOne who shapes trends
- influencerPerson with promotional reach
curated · obscure · niche · underground · boutique · emerging · undiscovered · scene · microtrend · subculture
sarcasm
Irony used to mock
- tongue-in-cheekHumorously not meant literally
- deadpanExpressionless, especially for humor
- sardonicGrimly mocking
snark · kitsch · PBR · normcore · post-ironic · self-aware · meta · detached · knowing · winking
handcrafted
Made manually, not machined
- bespokeMade to individual specifications
- sourdoughWild-yeast bread starter
- baristaProfessional café drink maker
charcuterie · pottery · ceramics · leatherwork · brewing · distilling · fermentation · woodworking · letterpress · small-batch
- comedy targetspoliticians, lawyers, in-laws, teenagers, bosses
- underwearunderwear, briefs, boxers, underpants, panties
- subculturespunk, punks, hippie, goth, hippies
- hipster neighborhoodsgentrification, craft beer, vintage shops, thrift shops, thrift stores
- East LondonWhitechapel, Stratford, Shoreditch, Docklands, Tower Hamlets
- OregonPortland, Eugene, Salem, Hillsboro, Beaverton
hipstersconformists
Those obeying social norms
squares · normies · traditionalists · sheep · the masses
- hipster glassesChunky retro eyewear
- hipster beardTrendy unkempt facial hair
- hipster cafesTrendy urban coffee establishments
- hipster culture
- hipster briefsLow-waisted fitted underwear