The last decade has a seen a prominent rise in the Hipster generation – but whatever you do, don’t call them hipsters.
As far as a fashion trend goes, it can only be comparable to marmite. On one side you have a huge brigade of followers seeing the style as being cool, quirky and modern, whereas the others see wearing outrageous jumpers and growing long beard as being pretentious, fake and utterly unfashionable.
The original brand of hipsters deviated away from what was classed as normally, choosing the more obscure haircuts, items of clothing and even their coffee. But futurologist Chris Sanderson believes the trend has become so mainstream the word no longer stays true to its roots, stating that: “the hipster died the minute we called him a hipster. The word no longer had the same meaning."
Yet with more males taking to growing obscure facial hair, choosing the skin tight jeans over bootleg and browsing the bargain bins in the local charity stores for that vintage look, do women really find hipsters attractive?
In a survey into what makes the “perfect” man, only one in ten women said they were a fan of the new found hipster look, including the vintage clothes and beard combination.
Despite many males regarding certain high street brands as being retro due to it saying ‘made in 1972’ on the front – a trend known as faux vintage – it’s the ‘check my vintage extra-large purple and yellow Reebok sweatshirt from 1984’ hipsters aim for. Over a third of women surveyed said they were attracted towards a suited and booted dapper man, or one who is more in touch with their metrosexual side, rather than the vintage wearing hipster. After all, what is so appealing about a second-hand t-shirt with a controversial statement about Thatcher printed on the front?
It isn’t just the vintage clothes that women are having troubles with, the hair styles and facial fuzz are not winning the hipster many points either. The latest trend for these alternative gentleman is to grow their hair long and place it in a man-bun, or a ‘mun’ for short. However, a whopping 96% of the women asked are avid haters of the style, with many describing it as disgusting. The classic quiff is no longer seen as an attractive cut either as 90% of participants voiced their distaste, yet they were more inclined to the short back and side’s look – a choice picked by over half of the females surveyed.
The days of women going wild for the Brian Blessed-esque beard seem to be slowly fading away, as the survey revealed only one in seven women classed themselves as avid facial hair fans. Almost half asked prefer a man to be naturally smooth and clean shaven, whereas 12% suggested their perfect man would be so well kept he trimmed and waxed his eyebrows, a feat so farfetched from the hipsters’ grooming regime.
Although the hipster style of vintage clothing and peculiar beards may be seen as the hot new trend, it seems as if women are falling out of love with it just as quick as they fell for it originally. The study has shown us all that females would prefer a suave Don Draper look-a-like, rather than an alternative fashionista.