well i don't own the magazine, but from looking at the cover in your link, i can't see any colorful sneakers.
and, oh yeah, second comment! (does anyone do that anymore?)
based on the cover alone (which is of course all i have access to as well), the story irritates me as well. partially because it is true, and annoying, and partially because it is true, and who gives a shit? i like to play both sides.
this week i bought a 'they might be giants' KIDS cd for the kid to listen to in the car. i needed to replace the Dora cd before i went batshit. she keeps moaning nooooooooooooo and dorrrrrrwa from the backseat. too bad fruit of my loins. dorwa is going to goodwill.
and it is funny, because i keep trying to get mark to dress in something other than button downs, jeans, dark runners (sneakers to you people). now i am just happy if he doesn't shave for 2 days in a row.
but alas, we are 36 and not 35, so perhaps we aren't the demographic they were talking about. ;-)
oh yeah
you big hipster
i think i owned that jacket when i was 8, and i had the fuzzy pants to match.
That was an incredibly frightening article - seriously that IS my husband. I tried to get him to listen to me read some of the juicy bits of it- but alas, he was playing guitar.
I was doing okay with the article -- I mean, it's no worse than the navel-gazing "what is this generation called X" boredom they've been printing for 15 years-- when I got to the Neal Pollack bit and then I just, I don't even know how to describe how revolting that was. “One guy was telling me his son was really into Wilco. And I was telling him that’s lame. Because Wilco is so over.” He made me squirt vomit right out of my nose and all over my keyboard, let's say. Although I think I'm understating it.
This also makes me really cranky and then I feel old, and also like I should be hurrying up and having kids because I know MY kids will be effortlessly cool. And they will wear mismatched clothes and I won't even care.
Or, I'll try not to. I didn't even look at the article. Because I knew I would get riled.
Stuart discovered VERY early on my affinity for the untucked rolled-sleeve button-down. Not like I was SUBTLE in my appreciation.
Also v. agreed on everything else you said, obvs.
Wow. Guilty. Bruce Springsteen and Marshall Crenshaw.
They do get over it, though.
You know, my aunt and uncle (now in their 40s) raised their kid to be indie-hippie like them -- taking him to Dead and Stones concerts since he was born, buying him Jimi Hendrix albums and teeshirts, schooling him in the way of Phish -- only they kind of left out that whole "smoked a boatload of pot in college" thing with a simple "don't do drugs, son," and now he's been arrested at 16 for possession and they test his urine randomly every few weeks. And they wonder why.
I didn't read the article past the first paragraph, but if Sarah B doesn't like that track jacket, I'm returning mine!
"Now tickets to concerts and drinking at clubs,
Sometimes for music that you haven't even heard of.
And how much did you pay for your rock'n'roll t-shirt
That proves you were there,
That you heard of them first?"
Is it hypocritical of me to quote Cake as I dis hipster parents?
My gut reaction, as a mother of a toddler, is to wonder who is home with the kids while these guys are out at the late-night shows and snowboarding? Since the article seems to focus mostly on fathers, I'm led to assume that the mothers are at home with the kids while the guys get to play, unencumbered by the tikes. The women do the hard work to support the men's hipness habits. If that's the case, I'm really tired, tired, tired of this scenario.
That said, there are a lot of fabulously involved fathers out there, who believe their kids are more than yet-another fashion statement.
I just couldn't get past the whole Star Trek reference thing. Ugh. I hate that crap. And, for the record, I've read this same article (except, oddly, more well-written) like three times in the last 6 months in Details (yes, Details. and, yes, I did just admit to reading Details. and, actually, I'm surprised at how good it's been lately.).
And that jacket has "hump" written all over it. And not in a good way.
Oh! And I almost forgot. The other day (like a week and a half ago or so) I noticed, for the first time, the "Give Us Barrabas" thing on the page title and (now I have to add a little reference, I use my TV as my alarm clock and have been lately using Turner Classic Movies as the channel I flip it to just before I turn it off at night so I'll wake up to some weird old movie) and "Barrabas" was on the next morning. It was the WEIRDEST coincidence EVER!
Agh, that article made me want to vomit as well. (in fact, did not publish the post I wrote on it because it devolved into furious, nonesensical blathering) Not so much because of the parents' behavior (though, ew) but because I felt like New York mag was trying to, y'know, define some cultural phenomenon or generation thing. And I am just fucking sick of reading magazines that do this, like, plot out these vectors of people's likes and dislikes to define imaginary subcultures (especially because I usually fit said vectors, and because "subculture" now seems to mean "target audience"). If you feel like Jon Favraeu in Swingers, I feel like Tyler Durden: you are not your sneakers, you are not your favorite band, you are not your DVD collection (though if you think you are those things, you ARE the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world).
Like half my friends are the yuppies in that article wearing that American Apparel jacket and pushing an $800 bugaboo stroller, listening to their iPods while going to their neighborhood baby meetup over decaf cappuccinos at the local beanery.
fuck it all, man. I am going out right now to buy some stirrup pants and a kittycat sweatshirt and I'm gonna rock it unironically.
It was navy wasn't it?
Nope, brown.
Caitlin, I have been praying for the return of the stirrup pant since they went out. That shit is comfy.
Thanks for posting that link. The article is timely in so many ways for me - and more than a little creepy, although I'm not sure why my brain settled on that word exactly.
I just took a photo of the American Apparel sign in Boston yesterday, because I thought the term "Vertically Integrated Manufacturing" was weird. It sounded more appropriate for a paint store - or a ladder store, actually. But I'm just easily riled, I guess.
Amen, Kristen... couldn't have said it better myself. don't know why everyone's so quick to put a stamp on things. Styro- misread it as "rock it unicornally." That would be awesome as well.
pencil-leg jeans are apparently back in. stirrups can't be far behind.
Um, good news, Brown! The selfsame New York magazine just declared not two months ago that Stirrup pants are on their way back.
Also, I'm really proud of you for admitting you date men that shop at American Apparel. It's the first step toward healing.
ok, but i have to say as a housewife who listens to dcfc it is W A Y better than some of my *peers* scrapbooking in housedresses, right!? it's such a hard thing to balance- mom and self and wife while approaching 30's.
love you, as usual.
There’s nothing like a button-down, untucked, sleeves rolled up. Man. I love that.
also, i have a boner for a dude at work for this reason alone.
uh, my italics didn't work, but i guess you get that i was quoting you there. heh. :)
I have to say I'm pretty proud that Aaron is too cuddly (i.e. you can't call guys 'curvy') to shop at AA, and wears untucked-rolled up buttondowns almost exclusively. But then again I'm wearing a Pokemon t-shirt right now, so I don't have much say.
We prefer the term "rubenesque."
Like the dude from American Idol a few years ago.
This morning I realized a new hot shirt for a guy. When he is going home and doesn't have a coat, let him borrow that flannel mans shirt you got from JCrew when you were 19. It's sort of hot.
Who knew?
Hello from a "Grup." Amen and ataboy to Kristen. None of us are defined by our music taste, our mp3 player, or what graphic tee we might wear. Unfortunately, some people hope to be defined by exactly that. People in their teens hope for it, people in their 20's hope for it, and "Grups" hope for it as well. The "Hipster" set reeks of it. Those poor kids got so tired of getting their rear ends kicked by the jocks, they revolted against it and prayed for identity to be met in anti-fashion.
In the scheme of things, Generation Y is probabliy going to spawn a generation of button-down polo wearing Republicans.. They are going to vote against their parents liberal-ness, and swing the pendulum towards a new conservative wave.
I can't wait to introduce my kids to Creed.
And that video of Scott Stapp (infection) and Kid Rock having sex with groupies (if it gets sold on the internet - come on, Internet!).
The cover photograph and inside photos are part of a photo essay series that was not done specifically for this article. It’s part of a much larger series of work that’s very interesting and trying to communicate precisely what you’re griping about that “alternative types / hipsters” are suddenly starting to look like they’re all conforming to a uniform look.
Heres info aobut the photos "Exactitudes: a contraction of exact and attitude".
Rotterdam-based photographer Ari Versluis and stylist Ellie Uyttenbroek have worked together since October 1994. Inspired by a shared interest in the striking dress codes of various social groups, they have systematically documented numerous identities over the last 8 years. Rotterdam's heterogeneous, multicultural street scene remains a major source of inspiration for Ari Versluis and Ellie Uyttenbroek, although since 1998 they have also worked in cities abroad.
They call their series Exactitudes: a contraction of exact and attitude. By registering their subjects in an identical framework, with similar poses and a strictly observed dress code, Versluis and Uyttenbroek provide an almost scientific, anthropological record of people's attempts to distinguish themselves from others by assuming a group identity. The apparent contradiction between individuality and uniformity is, however, taken to such extremes in their arresting objective-looking photographic viewpoint and stylistic analysis that the artistic aspect clearly dominates the purely documentary element.
Hi, I came over here with, I'm guessing, about 5 billion other people from Dooce. I just wanted say, brilliant, Havalina, thank you for reminding me of that one. I will include it in the mix tape (oops, CD) I'm making for drift-off time for the two newly-twos. I can say this without fear of being labeled a faux hipster mom since I am already 43 and well over it.
Helpful hint: if you bought it at Hot Topic, it's neither punk nor original. Yes, everybody loves the whole "air of I Dont Care" style. But it's just a style.
At the same time, I kind of sympathize. I work a real job where I have to wear business attire and stare at grey cubicle walls all day. I keep streaking my hair weird colors in a semi-moderate fashion to be in that in-between place between being a conformist so I can keep my stupid job and subverting them just enough that I can keep my soul. I think we're searching for something. Part of it is not so much that we're working in stuffy jobs, so much as most of us are treated like monkeys or assembly line workers (yes, I think the modern office has more to do with the type of repetative consistancy you'd see in a factory than actual "business"). We have skills and tallents that possibly COULD contribute to the work place, if our employers actually DID utilize them. If you're not using your actual God-given tallents at work, you feel unfulfilled and bitter about the "culture" of the workplace. So when you're off, you participate in the aesthetic of "I don't give a damn," with the ironic tshirts, messenger bags and playing video games until your eyes bleed. It's an attempt to retain individuality. Unfortunately, all the bitter people have basically the same complaints and try to solve the problem the same way, so they're just their own subculture of bitter people with messenger bags. I think this goes for people who don't have "suit" jobs too--they're just bitter with the world not turning out the way they thought it would. They thought they could be cool and have it all, but now they're just hanging on to this illusion of cool perpetrated by kids behind the counter at coffee shops and Hot Topic.
PS, my parents were into oldies and Sousa Marches. While I have an appreciation for them, classical is now my thing. My husband probably picked up more of his parents' musical tastes. Kids eventually find their own way in a lot of departments, including music. And every generation of parents tries to turn their kids into a cooler, better, smarter version of themselves.
Just stumbled on this Blog and the article so my apologies for jumping into the fray late.
So much about this article ticked me off but mostly it comes down to this. An 'aesthetic' is hardly a substitute for personality, conviction, interests, etc. so I hope the parents in this article are offering a little more than wanna-be esoteric music and fashion. In any case - they're failing at their bid to be unique or original. 'Interpol sounds just like Joy Division' and any 'new' punk bands ought to be paying royalties straight to Joe Strummer's grave. And, as the pictures show, a uniform of jeans, layered shirts and an urban Baby Bjorn is STILL A UNIFORM.
My parents force fed me Mac Davic, Engleburt Humperdink (name is just too too.),... to name a few. My husband has been blasting the Stones to our children their entire lives, beleiving they found them as effing rocking as he did. Last week, as we pulled up to the elementary school to drop off 10 year old son, he said as we approached, " Dad, can you turn the sound down please?" I (mom) was so moved by his push for independent thought, yelled, "you are too cool!", to which he replied, " please don't kiss me". It is a viscious, viscious cycle.
I found your blog via dooce as well. It's fanastic!
I actually got something positive out of the article. Yes, yes, alterna-aesthetics are annoying, as are kooky new words like "grups." But I did appreciate them pointing out that having kids doesn't mean you have to completely lose who you are or who you want to be. Living satisfying and fulfilling lives are probably one of the most important things parents can do for their kids, right?
That being said, let your kids listen to fuckin' Barney and the rest, for Chrissakes. They like it.
Samilja, I love what you said about an aesthetic. It really is just a lovely covering to what one hopes will be a lovely form and structure on the inside. If the person inside is empty, the aesthetic is not very useful.
Then there's "ok, but i have to say as a housewife who listens to dcfc it is W A Y better than some of my *peers* scrapbooking in housedresses, right!?"
Not sure that being better than is really the point here.
I give it ten minutes til someone berates me while calling me a hipster.