The Barneys Hipster
Photo by Marisa Page
With a strong desire to be a part of the hipster world but not quite ready to give up on expensive clothes and face cream, Barneys Hipsters emerged a few years ago looking like the love child of a yuppie and Amy Winehouse. Despite their contradictory lifestyle which violates many of the 10 immutable original hipster laws, their unconditional thirst of coolness is such that they’ve rapidly reached the golden gates of the hipstersphere.
Barneys hipsters usually come from a fairly privileged, upper middle class background. Well-educated with a degree in international relations or communications from Berkeley, they work in advertising, PR, marketing, publishing or any other media-related company as long as it sounds cool and hard-to-get-into. They pride themselves on their eco-friendly values and almost exclusively shop at Whole Foods or other overpriced organic supermarkets where one of their less fortunate but so-cool-to-know traditional hipster friends works. Advocates of a healthy lifestyle and diet, they generally do not consume addictive substances – except on week-ends and occasional week nights . Yoga is of course the Barneys Hipster’s favorite form of exercise – as long as the club they frequent has Mighty Leaf tea and is hippie-free. No, Barneys Hipsters do not like hippies and think they got it all wrong except for the Beatles and Bob Dylan.
Barneys Hipsters love fashion and, unlike the traditional hipster, openly admit their expensive addiction to skinny jeans and soft baby lamb skin Marc Jacobs handbags. But while they can splurge on a $500 pair of Fiorentini + Baker boots, they generally know how to restrain themselves and are rarely seen shopping outside of the sale rack. Their fashion trademark is to mix and match H&M type of hipster apparel with high-end designer clothes, carefully making sure their outfit doesn’t look ostentatious but still high-end.
The only roommate a Barneys Hipster will ever consider is a cat or a Barneys boyfriend with expensive camera equipment. Generally living in up & coming neighborhoods, Barneys Hipsters are the primary cause of rent increase in large urban areas which results in the constant migration of traditional hipsters to Portland and more recently hipster’s new refuge, Austin. Because they are so open-minded, Barneys Hipsters have a very diverse circle of friends. They quickly adapt to any type of surroundings and can easily transition from a birthday brunch in the Marina to a night at the Geary Club the same day.
So while Barneys Hipsters are not entirely living the real hipster dream, the up and coming breed is smartly pulling the best of both worlds. And with all the money saved every year at Barneys’ annual designer sale, they secure a comfortable but cool future for themselves, full of complexity, hipsterity and designer clothes.
