As kids we all loved to play dress up, it was part of make believe. Now let’s take a look at Halloween, once a kids holiday, this day has become over run with adults looking for an excuse to go to a kegger dressed as action figures and slutty _insert characters here_. So it’s no wonder that hipster darlings are holding onto the thrill of playing cowboys and Indians. Cowboy boots and bohemian fashion trends peaked in 2007 but dressing like our country’s native population is still on the rise.
Hipsters like to put things on their heads. First it was the thin aerobics-like band known as a hipster headband or a hipster halo. Now it has progressed to a full-on feather crown and headdress.
Borrowing from Native American art is a popular trend for musicians with such favorites as Juliette Lewis calling her style the “rock and roll warrior” and Local Natives using indigenous prints for their album art. Most notable is Neon Indian, who at this year’s Bonnaroo was joined on stage by three fan girls wearing very little clothing other than feathers and headdresses.
Luckily someone caught these Indian Hipsters on film:
The headdress is the easiest accessory to rock. Depending on how it is mixed and matched, you can play up a variety of styles:
· Glam Indian
· Hippie Indian
· 9-5 Indian
· Punk Indian
· Bohemian Indian
· Brooklyn Indian
· Naked Indian
· Rocker Indian
For most of us though, a headdress isn’t an option for our everyday style and should be saved for special occasions. (Also, head bands are sweaty in the summer heat and no one likes wilted feathers.) So instead try incorporating a southwestern print into your everyday wardrobe. Bright textiles with Aztec and Navajo influences really pop during the long closing days of summer. My favorite ways to wear these vibrant prints are loose tanks, tunics and synched waist dresses.
For jewelry, keep it simple with silver and turquoise.
Wearing moccasins in the middle of summer might kill you because it’s so hot out, but boy do they look cute.
Don’t worry, there’s Native American inspired garb for the boys too! Try pairing a brightly colored silk screen graphic t-shirt over your cut-offs for some southwestern charm. Traditional patterns can take on a new life in neon colors on soft cotton tees. Pull this style into night with dark, earth tones, paired with dark denim and ruffed up boots.
And the best part of this trend is that you can add little flourishes to your everyday outfit with vests, belts, shoes, and even backpacks!
Bonus! Here is a sneak peak for the boys and girls of how to rock this summer trend as we head into fall…
(Ed. Note: Nothing in this post is intended to mock or ignore the problems that many people have with cultural appropriation. For an in-depth look at racial politics regarding the use of native american apparel in fashion, please visit this post by Native Appropriations. This post is meant to act only as an example of one use of Native American traditions in modern hipster fashion.)
Robert Pollard, singer and sole constant member of Guided by Voices (not to mention member of Boston Spaceships, Circus Devils, et al) and I do not have much in common. Bob is a 52-year-old former schoolteacher born, raised, and still residing in Dayton, Ohio. I am a 24-year-old graduate student in new york city, many thousands of miles away from my ancestral home. When GbV’s so-called “classic lineup,” which embarks on a reunion tour this fall, disbanded in 1996, I only sort of knew who John Lennon was. Yet GbV is the most-played band on my Last.fm (2856 plays vs. 1700 for Slowdive at #2), and I am following them to 3 different cities on the east coast for their classic lineup reunion tour. I very nearly bought tickets to the Matador at 21 festival in Las Vegas when that was the only show announced. I don’t even like Las Vegas. (I’ve been there.)
The reasons for such absurd circumstances–though certainly no more absurd than GbV’s dadaist-collage album covers, or the couplet “Deliver this message to the one I love the most/I lost all my money to a 300-pound ghost,” or the similarly confounding declaration “I transform into Superior Sector Janitor X” etc., etc.–may never be known to the world. 26 clues to this and miscellaneous other riddles are presented below.
Stereolab – Mars Audiac Quintent
Basement Jaxx – Rooty
Fugazi – The Argument
Serge Gainsbourg – L’histoire de Melody Nelson
Daft Punk – Discovery
What band would play at your ideal wedding?
Quantic or T-Rex (reanimated).
If you had a kid, what would be the first song you played for it?
CS&N: Suite: Judy Blue Eyes or Erik Satie: Gymnopedies.
What decade are you most nostalgic for and why?
Can you be nostalgic for a decade you never personally experienced? By definition, probably not, but I’m going to say something about the dustbowl 30s. Glass medicines and magicians.
What’s your favorite venue?
The Troc in Philadephia
What qualities do you possess that would make you an ideal hipster wife?
Irony in truckloads; European compatibility; an inability to look freshly groomed.
What do you look for in a potential hipster husband?
A job and a once-in-a-lifetime set of sexual skills.
It’s summer. You’re sweaty. It’s hot as balls out. Your hair isn’t flat ironing nicely. And dressing cool and looking “cool” seem nearly impossible in this heat. We get it. But, how can you possibly catch a hipster wife to mack on at the lake if you’re dressed like a fool? Read more…
I could never pick a top five of all-time. It’s just too difficult. For the moment it’s:
Calling Out Of Context – Arthur Russell
Haha Sound – Broadcast
Loveless – My Bloody Valentine
Rifts – Oneohtrix Point Never
Kimono My House – Sparks
If you had a kid, what would be the first song you played for it?
Well, should I have a kid, I’d start playing it stuff while in my womb. I’d be playing pretty deep stuff…educating my child on music would be very important to me. I think I’d be pretty disappointed if he or she were not of a musical disposition. I think William Basinski’s d|p 4 or John Cage’s 4’33″ would be good starting points.
What band would play at your ideal wedding?
Oh man…Devo, I think. First dance would be Mongoloid, obviously. Insurance would be Animal Collective. Everyone loves AnCo. My mum probably loves AnCo.
What decade are you most nostalgic for and why?
Hmm. I’m nostalgic for various decades musically – the 60′s for yé-yé and early electronics, the 70′s for Fleetwood Mac and guys like that, the 80′s for italo-disco, the 90′s for shoegaze and grunge. Stylistically I’d say the 90′s, overall.
What’s your favorite venue?
The Luminaire in Kilburn, London. I prefer really intimate shows, and it’s great for that.
What qualities do you possess that would make you an ideal hipster wife?
Well, I fit the typical bill – I’m vegan (one that doesn’t really care about what you eat, though, as long as you respect me), can bake, craft, drink as much as you etc. According to friends I am just like the film stock character ‘Manic Pixie Dream Girl’ – hipster dudes totally love that, right? Means I have ‘eccentric personality quirks’ and I’m ‘unabashedly girlish’ (the latter is totally true; I wear dresses every day of my life and have a collection of 150+).
What do you look for in a potential hipster husband?
Well, I always like a guy to be taller than me (I’m 5’4′). So they’d have to be taller. Doesn’t matter how much more, just…taller. I’m not into guys that spend tons of time on their appearance – the natural and scruffy look is tons better. Someone into left-wing politics would be good. And loving all kinds of music and being able to talk about it for hours is a given. It’d be nice if he wasn’t too aware of his hipsterdom, either, and wouldn’t try living up to it.
