Hipster is definitely used all the time by people who don't know what it means, and it is annoying as fuck, but don't sit there and self righteously deny like there isn't a collectively held idea of what one is. There are hipster areas in every big city (in my city it's North Park). There are cities that are hipster havens (Austin, SF, Portland). There certainly are people who wear hipster uniforms (tight high waters, v necks, quaffed hair, strategically placed tattoos, et cetera), although I think this has passed critical mass and into mainstream. Austyn Gillette, with his camera collection, aspirations to own a coffee shop, love of American Spirits, and now coming out with what is ostensibly a dress shoe you can skate in, would qualify as one to a lot of reasonable people. I guess the point is words change and lose their specificity all the time. That's how language works.
I think his shoe looks good. A lot of people seem to have this idea that skate shoes have to fit in some box when the box is really just something that is self imposed. I remember people talking shit on the K3 for looking like basketball shoes. Now they're one of the most celebrated skate shoes ever. As far as all shoes are concerned, Austyn's shoe is pretty understated, and I like that. Of course this shoe gets comparisons to Dylan's because they both taking from dressier shoe styles, but when one looks at the shoes individually they are fairly different from one another. Personally, I hated the sole of Dylan's shoe. It made the whole thing look strange. I feel Austyn's shoe flows much better, the shape is more aesthetically pleasing to me, they're really simple, and they seem like they would be perfectly functional.
ill_Murray, it's one thing to be able to fuck around in birkenstocks and quite another to film a pro level part in them. You can do a lot of shit with things you're not meant to do them in, but that wouldn't make it not a hindrance, and using the correct equipment not an advantage. I'm sure you could do a lot of tricks while wearing shoes 3 sizes too big, but you can do more in ones that fit. Now to find that video with Flo Marfaing skating in flip flops.
Topic: New Austyn Gillette part (Read 24505 times)