When people find out I'm from Portland, one of the first things that they always seem to ask me is, "are you a hipster?" I laugh and say no, a tell-tale sign that I am, in fact, a hipster. That's not to get confused with meterosexual or lumbersexual, two very similar fashion/culture trends.

So in a world full of large beards, wood esthetic, and thrift store flannels, how do we differentiate between the different styles? What makes a hipster, a hipster? To be or not to be?

Huffington Post Live talks a little bit about it here:

But here are the ways that you can tell if your new Tinder bf is a hipster:

1. His beard/hair combo can be defined by the word "coiffed"

His hair is either a man bun or looks like Kim Jong Un's. Very European, very well kept. His beard is usually long, but he might trim it for special occasions. Either way, he takes way more time getting ready in the morning than you do.

2. He goes out of his way to find obscure bands that he makes sure no one knows of

He doesn't want anyone else to know the same music that he listens to, so he'll search YouTube and Spotify for hours looking for the next new band. He won't tell you about them. Once someone else hears and mentions them, he's on to the next big thing.

3. He buys his clothes at thrift stores, but still ends up paying full price

This is one thing that I'll never understand. He goes to thrift stores, but buys shirts that cost $8-$15. "It doesn't matter that this plaid snap-button shirt costs more than in the store, what's important is that I got it at a thrift shop!"

4. He will deny he's a hipster when confronted

This is the tell-tale sign. Hipsters are notorious for negating their role in the modern machine. They want to be extremely unique, and deny that anyone else is like them. Therefore, they deny that they belong to a certain group, especially one as well known as a "hipster."

Overall, it isn't that hard to spot a hipster. Chances are they're taking an Instagram picture of their sushi and cuddling with their cat they don't even like that much. Hipsters are a certain breed of people, many of which are "introverted extroverts," people who like to go out and stay in equally. I won't deny it, I'm part hipster (but that contradicts number 4, doesn't it?).

Vegan crazed, hippy raised Portland has influenced me on at least this. And honestly, it's not that bad. I get to make terrible puns and have an excuse to shop at cheap places. I save money by recycling and reusing objects, and have made a lot of friends by breaking the ice that I love guys with beards. So take your hipster, grab him by the hand, and watch an obsucere Netflix documentary.