When math sophomore Andrew Galatas buys clothes, he’s not just admired or imitated — he’s stereotyped.
Galatas is just one in a growing number of students labeled as “hipsters.” He shops mainly at thrift and consignment stores and has constructed a style uniquely his own.
Merriam-Webster defines a hipster as “a person who is unusually aware of and interested in new and unconventional patterns (as in jazz or fashion).”
Modern-day “hipsters” are descendants of the Beat generation of the 1940s. As listed in “The Birth of the Beat Generation: Visionaries, Rebels and Hipsters, 1944-1960” by Steven Watson, characteristics of “beatniks” included goatees, black jeans or tights, smoking marijuana, drinking cheap wine, playing bongos and hanging out in coffee houses.
The offbeat or alternative qualities of both generations, in addition to an affinity toward music, has distinguished them from mainstream culture.
That similar taste in fashion among hipsters has created a hodgepodge of popular clothing with styles from various decades. Hipsters can be seen wearing everything from loose silhouettes of the ’20s to plaid and denim cut-offs from the ’90s.
Those styles, along with other hipster trends, can be found in the aforementioned thrift and consignment stores.
“Half of my clothes are new from clearance racks, and the other half are so old that you can’t read the label when I first buy it,” Galatas said.
Galatas’ main influence in frequenting thrift stores is affordability. He said that he would love to be decked out everyday in a tux and a fedora, but it’s just not reasonable. He prefers shopping at thrift stores because he can find clothing that appeals to him and that is priced right.
Galatas said he gets lots of his style inspiration from concerts in New Orleans. He said the city is infused with such varied personality, and he always sees something he would like to recreate.
He said the most popular outfits he wears are interpretations of clothing worn by street performers, especially musicians in the French Quarter. He said it appeals to him because he knows the performers are dressed as nicely as they can afford.
“It fits my sensibilities,” Galatas said.
He said the term “hipster” comes with a lot of negative connotations, but he admits the word is convenient.
“It conveys a certain sense of style,” said Galatas, “It’s convenient in a sense of style, not don’t.”
 
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Contact Haylie Navarre at [email protected]