LATE 90'S AND BEYOND
- Indie rock gets good, then great, then Natalie Portman plays Zach Braff “New Slang” by The Shins in that fucking Garden State movie and all hell breaks loose. suddenly everyone adopts the sweaters and the tight pants and the “feelings”; all misappropriated from the ironic use of those same things in the mid 1990’s.
- Urban Outfitters expands exponentially from around 6 stores in 1996 to around 60 by 2003. Their profits during this time period jump around 79% each year, with irony and kitsch being made readily available. Ironically, CEO Richard Hayne is a conservative right winger who voted for George W Bush twice and has heavy ties with Texas oil. After infamously pulling items encouraging same sex marriage (namely ‘i support gay marriage’ shirts) from Urban Outfitters, Haynes has stepped largely out of the public eye. I wonder if people knew who controlled the company if they’d still shop there?
- American Apparel starts to sell LA hipster street fashion back to itself at double the price.
- "Hipsterism” becomes an affectation meaning no more than the clothes and income and literally just a fashion statement, bringing us to where we are now - where the counter culture has become the current culture. There is no REAL counter culture anymore, other than… shit. I don’t know. I cant think of one at all, and that in itself is pretty sad. While there has been a large number of what would be considered “hipsters” going into public planning jobs working for a greener future (which is an admirable and noble and respectful thing), nobody is really doing anything to go against the grain, so to speak. We’ve all become our own grain.
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