The Purchasing Powers of Hipsters

Mary Kate Olsen wears tattered boyfriend jeans ($300, Alexander Wang), "vintage" flannels ($250, Elizabeth & James i.e. the line designed by sister Ashley) and clunky black boots ($1500, Balenciaga). Her shopping habits alone keeps Barneys in business. And yet, she still looks like she rolled out of bed and into her on-the-floor thrift store finds. And that's precisely what makes her a hipster, at least in a pure fashion sense of the word. During the early '90s, it was called grunge, and now it's masquerading under a Gawker buzzword. Just because hipster sounds more glamorous does not mean it is. Scenesters are wearing the same holey denim, washed-out plaid, and unwashed hair that used to permeate the streets of Seattle back when Nirvana was blasting out of boomboxes, instead of wearing threadbare threads from the local Goodwill, this time around their clothing actually costs a pretty penny. While khaki-and-collar outfitters lik...