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• October 2, 2008 6:00 PM
• News

The MasterCard Generation: Guess What? Hipsters Buy Things

By Gabriel Bell

You'll like this one: In an article in Forbes and syndicated on Racked, one writer took in the scene outside the Fashion Week presentation for Edun. "There were hoards of 20- and 30-something trendsetters in stovepipe jeans, pointy black boots and too-tight plaid flannels. Collectively, you can call them The Hipsters. Retailers, on the other hand, might want to call them walking dollar bills." Sure, if there's one thing that sets this "Hipster" creature we keep hearing about from the other "counterculture" species of the last 60 years or so, it's consumerism. "Unlike similar groups of the past, the current generation of hipsters is a bit more generic in its self-labeling. Why? Because this scene is less focused on one idea, one purpose or one type of music. Instead, today's hipster is defined by consumption." True, but before you go flogging hipsters (any more than you already do) remember one thing: They may be a consumerist breed, but because of their tendency to seek out fashions (through sites like these) when not waiting tables, they are perhaps the most capitalist, and therefore, the most patriotic of youth movements in recent memory. Just thinking about it makes our eyes tear and our hearts swell with pride. God bless America. (Racked)

Image by Andy Warhol, of course.

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