Starbucks coffee.
Pictures taken with your iPhone overlaid with a vintage filter from Instagram.
$170 Raybans.
Indie music.
Smelly moccasins.
And the most hideous sweater you could find.
Oh, and don’t let me forget what you say: “Don’t worry about it — I’m just a hipster.”
Despite seemingly popular belief, the above list does not fulfill your heart’s desire. Your fairy godmother did not hand you a coffee mug, and *POOF*  you became a hipster just like that — although it may have taken your godmother to knit such an ugly sweater.
You may be surprised to find that being a hipster isn’t what you imagined it to be at all.
If you’re really desperate to fit in, no more shopping at American Eagle or Wet Seal — hipsters don’t believe in labeled companies. They like to support their local shops, which, unfortunately, does not include Target. This also excludes that Starbucks cup you cling to every morning so your sweater doesn’t seem so out of place.
If you want to fit in with your desired group, say hello to thrift shops and garage sales because hipsters stand for using the old until the new is completely necessary.
Recycling is also a big deal — a huge one actually. Saving the earth is as big of a “yes” as your sweater is a “no.”
Don’t litter, take shorter showers and turn off the lights when you aren’t in the room.
Just like disliking labeled products, hipsters hate people labels, too. A hipster would never, ever say they were a hipster out loud because that would imply all humans aren’t equal.
By now you may have realized that in actuality, the label “hipster” has nearly nothing to do with your appearance. The key to being a hipster lies behind your ideals.
If you follow these rules, there’s a possibility you have a shot at becoming one of the increasingly popular hipsters of the world.
But if at some point along the way, you realize instead of pretending to be someone else just to fit in you’d rather simply be yourself, then that would be pretty cool, too.