The vice of Sneakerheads

Dear Hipster: What is the deal with hipsters and expensive sneakers? — Sam

Can’t fault the hipsters on this one, bruh. I’ll give you a pass, because the average 21st-century hypebeast, for whom exorbitantly priced streetwear is the sine qua non of existence, displays some superficial similarities to hipsters. However, when you compare the two subcultures side-by-side, you’ll notice a sharp divergence.

The thing that tricks people in your position into mistaking sneakerheads for hipsters is that the former often displays disproportionate affection for the styles and colorways of the 1980s and early 1990s. In the eyes of the sneakerhead, fashion, indeed life itself, peaked with the advent of the Air Jordan, and therefore “chunky basketball shoes and distressed jeans” will forever be The Look. Ironically, Michael Jordan has proven himself one of the most oddly attired people on the planet.

But the similarity ends there. While the hipster may attire himself in a day-glo tanktop and camo hoodie, he would get them at Goodwill rather than paying $700 for a designer model. You might even say that the fashion-forward sportswear hypebeast in the overpriced sneakers is the very thing the hipster parodies through his very existence.