I gotta say I'm intrigued. I've never seen hipsters in the wild like this before. As someone who rocks J.Crew it's not like I haven't seen this style before, but I've never seen it promoted on a hipster level. I figure they're too busy designing terrible forearm tattoos and making shell art for their girlfriend's loft to be outdoors, and near water no less.
This leads to a few interesting points: What if outdoor activity is the new basement show? What if these self imposed outcasts actually start sporting bandannas for a purpose? Is the fixed-gear mountain bike the new tall bike? Can you really swim in cutoff jeans?
As a fan of Terry Richardson I also gotta wonder, is the shitty hand held snapshot going to become the new way companies advertise? I can only imagine Merrill ads featuring some grainy shot of a lanky tattooed man-child and his girl wearing a tank top without a bra skipping across a creek together, both looking slightly drunk from the night before. I actually considered becoming the first outdoor sports photographer to go this route, but thinking about having to spend a day in the woods babysitting a bunch of grown men brushing their bangs out of their face would lead to manslaughter charges (they'd be left behind after the first water break).
Still, if this is the future I guess I'm gonna have to accept it. I guess it's time to run over to the mall and pick up a shiny day-glow raincoat for myself, maybe some orange shorts or fake wayfarer reading glasses. After all, nothing says outdoors-man like slip-on Keds with no socks.
(A little trivia for you: A true fixed gear bike can really only brake by lifting the back tire slightly off the ground and pedaling backward. This is accomplished with a strap on the pedal. Both of these bikes have been equipped with hand brakes and the foot straps are unused on the underside of the pedal. These people aren't even real hipsters. For-shame Urban Outfitters!)
