Over the last several months, we’ve had several inter-office discussions on what being a hipster entails. S.J. claims to be a hipster expert, able to smell/see/hear them better than anyone else, while I, ironically the author of this article (which theoretically makes me hipster), have an incredibly faint idea but enjoy saying things like “man, that’s too hipster.” I regularly get glares after that statement.

By definition, a hipster is simply “a person who follows the latest trends and fashions” with a desire to seem cool and ironic. Fine, that’s easy enough. But, currently, what are these ever-changing trends?

Hotmail, the largely-outdated free email provider, tried to paint itself as “hipster” on BuzzFeed, while also mentioning other tendencies—like worshiping a French press, hailing the newest hot indie artist that no one’s heard of and showing off excessively wide-rimmed glasses. 

But what about Buffalo’s hipster scene? Let’s hit five categories quickly and, for my own edification (and all of Buffalo’s), please answer! More than one answer in each can be true (remember those kind of tests in school? Brutal stuff).

Beer:

1) Hipsters drink Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) and Genny Cream Ale because they’re simple, cheap and folksy.
2) Hipsters drink anything local—Flying Bison, Great Lakes—and make sure you know that they’re buying local after every sip. Hipsters don’t guzzle.
3) Hipsters drink Bud Light because you’d peg a hipster as drinking everything but. IRONY.

Bars:

1) Hipsters go to the Old Pink on Allen, because that’s where hipsters have gone for years.
2) Hipsters saunter to Allen Street Hardware, because that’s Buffalo’s hipster heaven.
3) Hipsters are more interested in The Eights Bistro, because people there admire your skinny tie, admiration for vegan food and your upscale trendiness.

Restaurants and food:

1) Hipsters drop their dough at the Lexington Co-Op, where they can both buy local and snag the newest artisan cheese and fair trade coffee to use in their French press.
2) Hipsters chill at Merge Restaurant for its vegan-friendly menu and live indie music.
3) Hipsters eat at Vera Pizzeria three times a week because it’s new and really, really cool.

Fashion:

1) Hipsters crave to be seen rolling down Elmwood Avenue on their vintage bikes with v-neck white tees that exposes their artistic, post-modern tattoos that no one else can comprehend.
2) Hipsters don pork-pie hats and impressively skinny jeans that make them routinely disappear when they turn sideways.
3) Hipsters are bringing back the “Nazi Youth” trim, with hair very short on the sides and long and slicked back in the middle. Oh, and they take pride in their sick mustaches (only applies to men, as far as I know).

Music: 

1) Hipsters listen to whatever indie band is playing at Nietzsche’s, and many will act like they discovered said band.
2) Hipsters will scoff at you if you ask if they’ve heard of Portugal. The Man.
3) Hipsters once adored Jack Johnson, but they no longer adore Jack Johnson.

Photo courtesy of Flickr / CraigFinlay.