AHC: Hipsters in the 1960's

With no PoD's earlier than 1955, how can the American youth of the 1960's look more like hipsters than hippies? I'll leave the definitions open for now, to get the conversation started...
 
I saw a picture of my dad from that era and with slight adjustments, he could easily pass for an emo/scenester/hipster type of today... :eek:

Anyway, hipsters are glorified spiritual descendants of hippies anyway -- young urban liberal types, if blatantly devolved. Remove the Vietnam War and/or the draft so they focus less on politics and associated public rage (both unlikely), have them focus more on fashion to the point of the arcane, uuuhhh... a lot of it is basically "of the times" and it's hard to shift certain things earlier. Hipsters also a sort of coalesced with a lot of previous subcultures and their respective elements and you would need to have them pop up earlier somehow, which is tough.
 

Goldwater64

Banned
You would need to somehow saturate pop culture and make it so self aware that it becomes a parody of itself at least 40 years earlier.

"Hipsters" did exist back then too, but they referred to Frank Sinatra types if I'm not mistaken (How far we've fallen).
 
One idea I had -- supposing Buddy Holly lives, and the Beatles don't form. Then you don't get mop tops becoming popular, but you could see thick-rimmed glasses becoming "cool", possibly to the point where youngsters just wear the frames...
 

Goldwater64

Banned
I'm more interested in them having the "look", but acting like them as well gets bonus points...
I'd argue that a lot of them already looked like it.
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Additionally, the flannel shirts, tight jeans, canvas shoes and thick-rimmed glasses were already big in the 1950s and early 1960s. In fact, I believe many of them are emulating that look for the "irony" inherent in somebody who considers themselves to be ahead of the mainstream and "progressive" emulating fashions from half a century ago.
 

Goldwater64

Banned
Both very true assessments, actually.

As to the OP:

jl30.jpg


An argument could be made that...erm... this is highly doable.

John: "We wrote our own music before it was cool..."
George: "The blues are just a little too mainstream for me... I'm more into Indian ragas... They're pretty obscure, you probably haven't heard them..."
Paul: "Hey lads, wouldn't it be totally ironic if our next album had a retro, turn-of-the-century vibe?"
 
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As someone who has been accused of being a Hipster so many times ...
(Me: When I smoke, and I'm trying to quit, I'm an American Spirit guy."
Boss: Oh my god, you would!"
Me: What do you mean?
Boss: Oh, don't even try to claim you don't know what I mean. And, let me guess, you were into Spirits before they were cool?
Me: But ... I WAS!"

Honestly, the term Hispter is a 1940s/1950s term which mean people who tried to act 'cool' aka 'black.' They were kids who listened to the Blues and jazz. Beatnicks were hipsters.
In fact, the term 'Hippi' was a term used for the kids who lived in San Fran who weren't quiet with the 'cool' thing, but tried anyway. It was an insult at first.
So, keep the anti-war thing from spiriling into "love, not war" and keep it focused on music, culture and being 'artsy' and there you go.
Actually, you know who the ultiamte Hipster was? This guy:

jFfEYipObzQo_m.jpg
 
John: "We wrote our own music before it was cool..."
George: "The blues are just a little too mainstream for me... I'm more into Indian ragas... They're pretty obscure, you probably haven't heard them..."
Paul: "Hey lads, wouldn't it be totally ironic if our next album had a retro, turn-of-the-century vibe?"

I wish I could sig that.

Instead, I'm stealing it all for On All Fours.
 
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