Hipsters are people that try too hard to be different (and genuinely do think that they're being different), by rejecting anything they deem to be too popular.
Ironically, so many other people also try too hard to be different that they all wind up being the exact same, so hipsters arent actually different at all, theyre just people that are snobbier and more annoying about their taste in "alternative" things, which are all popular now thanks to the other hipsters.
Hipsters pride themselves on liking things that no one else likes, and normally only really like them because they think no one else likes them and that theyre being unique. This is being delusional because all the other hipsters also like the same things.
Hipster: "I love Mumford and Sons because they're so different to popular music nowadays."
A Million Other Hipsters: "I love Mumford and Sons because they're so different to popular music nowadays."
Mumford and Sons consequently becom a popular band because of their large hipster following of people who think they're being different for listening to them.

(Note: this isn't a hate on Mumford and sons, it's just an example!)
by Annascaulgirl3 June 18, 2013
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Hipsters are a subculture of men and women typically in their 20's and 30's that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence, and witty banter. The greatest concentrations of hipsters can be found living in the Williamsburg, Wicker Park, and Mission District neighborhoods of major cosmopolitan centers such as New York, Chicago, and San Francisco respectively. Although "hipsterism" is really a state of mind,it is also often intertwined with distinct fashion sensibilities. Hipsters reject the culturally-ignorant attitudes of mainstream consumers, and are often be seen wearing vintage and thrift store inspired fashions, tight-fitting jeans, old-school sneakers, and sometimes thick rimmed glasses. Both hipster men and women sport similar androgynous hair styles that include combinations of messy shag cuts and asymmetric side-swept bangs. Such styles are often associated with the work of creative stylists at urban salons, and are usually too "edgy" for the culturally-sheltered mainstream consumer. The "effortless cool" urban bohemian look of a hipster is exemplified in Urban Outfitters and American Apparel ads which cater towards the hipster demographic. Despite misconceptions based on their aesthetic tastes, hipsters tend to be well educated and often have liberal arts degrees, or degrees in maths and sciences, which also require certain creative analytical thinking abilities. Consequently many hipsters tend to have jobs in the music, art, and fashion industries. It is a myth that most hipsters are unemployed and live off of their parent's trust funds.
Hipsters shun mainstream societal conventions that apply to dating preferences and traditional "rules" of physical attraction. It is part of the hipster central dogma not to be influenced by mainsream advertising and media, which tends to only promote ethnocentric ideals of beauty. The concepts of androgyny and feminism have influenced hipster culture, where hipster men are often as thin as the women they date. The muscular and athletic all-American male ideal is not seen as attractive by confident and culturally-empowered hipster women who instead view them as symbols of male oppression, sexism, and misogyny. Likewise, culturally-vapid sorority-type girls with fake blond hair, overly tanned skin, and "Britney Spears tube-tops" are not seen as attractive by cultured hipster males who instead see them as symbols of female insecurity, low self-esteem, and lack of cultural intelligence and independent thinking. Hipsters are also very racially open-minded, and the greatest number of interracial couples in any urban environment are typically found within the hipster subculture.
Although hipsters are technically conformists within their own subculture, in comparison to the much larger mainstream mass, they are pioneers and leaders of the latest cultural trends and ideals. For example, the surge of jeans made to look old and worn (i.e. "distressed"), that have become prevalent at stores such as The Gap, American Eagle, Abercrombie and Fitch, and Hollister, were originally paraded by hipsters who shopped in thrift stores years before such clothing items were mass produced and sold to the mainstream consumer. The true irony here is that many of the detractors of hipster culture are in fact unknowingly following a path that hipsters have carved out years before them. This phenomena also applies to music as well, as many bands have become successful and known to mainstream audiences only because hipsters first found and listened to them as early-adopters of new culture. Once certain concepts of fashion and music have reached mainstream audiences, hipsters move on to something new and improved.
Because of the rise of various online photo-blog and social networking sites, insights into urban hipster culture is reaching sheltered suburban audiences at an exponential rate. Cultural "norms" have been deconstructed by hipster culture as a whole. Hipsterism is often dismissed as just an image thing by some, but the culture as a whole is effecting changes in society, leading to feelings of insecurity and resentment in people who are no longer a part of the cultural ruling class. For example, a lot of anti-hipster sentiment evidently comes from culturally-clueless suburban frat boy types who feel that the more sensitive, intelligent, and culturally aware hipster ideal threatens their insecure sense of masculinity. Anti-hipster sentiment often comes from people who simply can't keep up with social change and are envious of those who can.
A conversation outside a hipster bar in downtown NYC:

Frat Boy #1: Dude, are you having any luck picking up chicks in there?

Frat Boy #2: Man...I haven't experienced anything like this before. These chicks are totally rejecting me and going for all these hipster guys in tight pants and shaggy hair instead.

Frat Boy #1: Maybe we should head back up to that bar in Murry Hill where you hooked up with that drunk b*tch from Alpha Sigma Phi last week?

Frat Boy #2: Yeah...I don't think we have what it takes to compete with these guys in here. These hipster chicks won't even give us the time of the day!
by Trey Parasuco November 23, 2007
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Someone who believes that they are being unique and non-conformist, while in actuality they are all the same. Hipsters, while stressing individuality, all like the same general things: combat boots, cross jewelry, mermaids and american flag apparel for girls; skinny jeans and beanies for guys. Hipsters try so hard to be different that they are actually all alike. Hipsters most likely have a tumblr.
I'm such a hipster, I listen to indie music that nobody else has heard of, and buy all my clothes from vintage stores that nobody else goes to.
by justanotherconformist February 16, 2011
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A pretentious, self-indulgent, usually a 20-to-30 something that believes because they posses a college education, particularly within the Liberal Arts & Sciences, that they are somehow more "enlightened" than the rest of society. The hipster in most instances falls within the "talker" side of society as opposed to the "doer" side, as defined by the Conservative/libertarian economist Thomas Sowell. Hipsters are fond of using terminology such as "misogynist" "androgynous" "feminist" "racist" and other "progressive" or "enlightened" politically cultural marxist or left-wing catch phrases meant to denote the feeling that "they care...YOU don't" "they are intelligent....YOU aren't." The irony to hipster logic, is that, despite often being described as having an appreciation for the "ironic" the hipster doesn't understand that whether a particular trend is mainstream, or counter cultural, that they are still buying into something that is marketable, despite the "dumb sheeple" that continue to buy into the mainstream. Their "brand" is just as altogether marketable and fashionable as Mainstream trends. Urban Outfitters, and other retailers are still making money off of the hipster's self-righteous dissent. The above said definition isn't meant to apply to all individuals that self identify as being a hipster, it is merely a generalization.
An assumption amongst the hipster is that all individuals that do not partake in their cultural charade are intellectually or socially inadequate or inferior, alluding to their self-righteous sense of grandiosity.
by Steel Reserve May 27, 2012
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1. An independent thinker who eschews trends and tends to know a lot of obscure bands/films/literature etc. May or may not buy clothes from thrift stores or dress in so-called "hipster fashion". The type of person that many so-called "hipsters" aspire to be like, and ignorant people hold in contempt and call "hipsters".

2. A person who tries way to hard to fit into the "hipster subculture" or "be different". The irony for these so called "non-conformists" is that they themselves are conforming to a subculture, both real and imaginary, that bases itself on individualism, yet has it's own unofficial rules of what's "cool" and what's not.

3. A person who is so concerned with being "different" that ironically they are no longer true to themselves.

4. Someone who is very pretentious with a superior attitude.

most of the time the term is meant as an insult.
Greg's not a hipster, he just likes what he likes and stands up for what he believes in.

Greg's such a tool, dressing up like a hipster, quoting Schopenhauer and pissing on all the old bands he used to like just because they're "mainstream"

Fucking Greg, it's not enough for him to just be himself he has to try harder.

Fucking Greg thinks he's better than everyone, he's such a self-aggrandizing hipster douche.
by Greasebox November 15, 2013
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A pretentious and self-absorbed hypocrite who has abandoned their sense of identity to fit an exaggerated trend or theme. In order to cope with their confusing psychological denial and low self esteem, these sad individuals project their lack of definition and depth at the world thereby inflating their own perceptions of uniqueness. They can be found simultaneously condemning the cultural "mainstream" on superficial topics such as style or fashion, while engaging in hyperbolic applications of those same superficial aspects.

While some of these individuals may genuinely struggle to become more cultured, most do not have a genuine interest (or aptitude) and are simply trying to fit into a crowd that wants to reject fitting in to the "mainstream". Conversely, a socially well adjusted individual who truly appreciates and participates in art, for example, may have no inclinations towards the hipster subculture. There is somewhat of a one-way, pretend inclusion that the hipster conceives of for him or herself that is a form of mild delusion.

Hipsters present a curious irony by considering themselves superior, more cultured and more individualistic, while rejecting the actual depth, perspective and variation in people around them that is at the core of individuality.
Guy 1 : Why was that guy rude for no reason?
Guy 2 : He's a hipster.
Guy 1 : Ahh - I guess that's why hes dressed to solicit attention and we're not at a costume party.
Guy 2 : Hipsters are douchebags.
Guy 1 : Yeah, I've heard that before.
by what_ever_idc April 9, 2012
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describing someone who is as self-important as the emo, but with self-declared superior taste in fashion, music, and art. Where the emo's primary identifying feature was self-deprecation, emotional instability and general public hatred, the Hipster identifies with being so far head the rest of general society in terms of "indie-ness" and aesthetic that they take being misunderstood and overlooked as a compliment - because the masses of pop-culture whores don't get it anyway.
Hipster: "I'm so indie, I listen to bands that don't exist yet."
by exalen October 14, 2009
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