from Lookatthisfinghipster.com
I spent a lot of time at area art events for two reasons: there’s some truly amazing stuff to see in the arts scene in the Twin Cities, and there’s some really entertaining people-watching that goes with that. When there’s people watching, there is clothes watching, and the art scene is rife with hipsters, all of whom are at the maturity level best summarized as “look at me!”
How does this make sense from a woman who writes about fashion, where the entire point is looking at yourself, your outfits, etc? It’s a subtle and arguable distinction: I want to dress in such a way that people look at me, and then decide to listen to what I have to say. When the outfit is the statement, conversations don’t take on any additional depth: if a person can’t get past the you you’re presenting with how you dress, then it’s not impossible but highly unlikely that the person will be able to get to the point where they hear what you have to say.
Oddly, there are people who dress quite bizarrely that I can exchange ideas with for hours. And then there are others who dress exactly the same way where all I can do is fight not to roll my eyes in front of them; why I read the first person’s eccentricity as an extension of personal style and the second person’s as a bid for attention is a mystery solved by looking at age, non-verbal cues, and how well a person uses his or her mouth to demonstrate the content of his or her character. I like the eccentrics that are affected, emotional but self-aware, thoughtful, kind. I dislike the eccentrics who are disaffected and want the world to know how disaffected they are because they are more likely to sit and complain than to change what in the world so upsets them. Also, there’s a point when eating nothing but pad Thai is simply a resistance to change.
I was observing one girl who clearly went out of her way to dress oddly for the evening: safety pins, hand-dyed hose, a hat on a hot night. She wouldn’t have gotten my attention if she hadn’t given my linen pants and lightweight blouse the up-down look of disapproval, but it caused me to notice her, and how overstyled she was – and how she kept tugging at her clothes (why Hollywood tape isn’t sold at my local Walgreen’s mystifies me.) She was presenting a look, and she lost out on the art event because she spent so much time concerned about her appearance. I was in my summer style – it’s a longstanding look about looking nice enough to wander into a wine cafe and comfortable enough to walk for several hours, which was the entire purpose behind this particular art event. I was comfortable, I looked good, I had a good time. I suspect this girl won’t remember much about the event beyond her outfit.
