What are hipsters?

Before going on, we should be clear on what hipsters are and how they guided the study. There’s no one prevailing definition, but common qualities are easy enough to spot. In brief, hipsters are a subculture of 20- to 30-somethings who position themselves as non-mainstream pioneers; free-thinkers and non-conformist conformists. We’ve offered our own 2-cents before, and odds are you’ve seen some in the wild yourself.

From the inside this looks like independent thought, progressive politics, sustainable food, thrift store bargains, delicious local beer, and groups of ardent individuals looking exactly like each other. From the outside peering in it tends to resemble gentrification, sickly vegan dishes, and groups of ardent individuals looking exactly like each other. They’ve inspired television series and riots alike, and aren’t going away anytime soon. So, we may as well keep tabs on where to find/avoid our niche kin.