Ask a Louisvillian to stereotype a hipster, and you’ll be answered with some variation of the following: A NuLu or Highlands resident who pays $12 for overpriced cocktails in a mason jar, and only drinks fair-trade coffee. They peruse experimental art and flea markets on the weekends, between catching up on their work at a freelance graphic designer. They might be vegan; and are typically decked out in glasses that take up half of their face, with bangs or a handlebar mustache that fills the other half.
Yet, however popular the hipster subculture was at one time-- to love, emulate or hate-- I think it’s safe to say that hipster-hype is no longer trending. Most people simply find it clichéd.
During the reign of the hipster as Louisville’s most discussed stereotype, other members of the city were completely forgotten.
What about the other inhabitants of our fair Possibility City?
Let me preface with saying that this obviously isn’t an exhaustive list, far from it, in fact; but here is a compilation of five of my favorite non-hipster stereotypical Louisvillians.
The Capricious Foodies
The Capricious Foodies are not regulars anywhere because you simply don’t see them in the same restaurant twice. They knew Milkwood was opening before Edward Lee did, and somehow manage to divide their time equally between prime seats at the hottest new restaurant (you know—the one where people sacrificed their souls to the maître d’ for a table three months from now) and at “this little ethnic cafe, so authentic, but you’ve probably never heard of it.” Yet, contrary to logic, they manage to maintain a thin waistline and a fat wallet, despite forking out $22 for some wilted greens slathered in pig fat.
The Coffee Shop Colonizers
A group of four or five walks into a crowded Please & Thank You—so crowded that the only “table” available is the makeshift bar in the backroom, which is actually just an oversized window sill with two stools pulled up to it. They get their beverages to-go, but not before resentfully eyeing The Coffee Shop Colonizer taking up an entire four-top with her laptop, two notebooks, a stapler, three novels-in-progress, and piles of paper spread in casual disarray. She set up shop at 7am, and won’t leave until at least 4:30pm, and will justify this because she “is pursuing a creative career that doesn’t come with an office.”
But she still feels guilty about utilizing the space for free, so makes sure to tip extra on her coffee refills throughout the days.
The Hippies
Louisville is a haven for hippies, where you can often find them sitting in front of the Bardstown Road Qdoba in tie-dye-clad clusters, strumming out “For What It’s Worth” on a second-hand guitar. When not engaging in 1960s Buffalo Springfield musings, other popular activities include: drum circles in Cherokee Park, financing one of the 62 smoke shops on Bardstown Road, shopping for incense and inspirational art at Songs for Seba, visiting Abbey Road on the River, starting produce co-ops, practicing yoga at Waterfront Park, and buying Jimi Hendrix posters at Electric Ladyland.
The Runners
You wish you had The Louisville Runner’s dedication. They make you feel guilty when you realize that their morning run synchs up with your McDonald’s breakfast run; and that they’re on their eighth mile, just as you are downing your second Egg McMuffin. Whether it’s 99 degrees or negative 19 degrees—the Louisville Runners are climbing the Cherokee Hills adorned in neon-spandex. You often find them carb-loading at local eateries, typically wearing one of their many tech-shirts that they’ve accumulated from various Louisville races.
The Out-of-Towners
The Out-of-Towners are typically here for just one weekend—obviously the first in May—and they intend to make the most of it.
Basically, during the time they are in town for Derby, their Tumblr wall looks like this: a picture of them leaned casually against The Louisville Slugger Bat, a selfie while slurping down a mint julep, the quintessential 21C alphabet-rain photo, perhaps, if they are particularly hip, a perfectly-filtered profile of them in a horse mask from Why Louisville. There will be a plethora of photos of big hats, seersucker suits, and betting tickets.
An influx of Derby-related hashtags will infiltrate their Twitter-feed. Then, as quickly as they downed their last bourbon shot, they are gone. Back to whence they came. But they never quite get Kentucky out of their system.
Don’t believe me? Trust me, they’ll be back next year.
So what are some of your favorite non-hipster Louisvillians? What group do you belong to? Let us know in the comments section or on twitter @louisvillecom!
Cover photo courtesy of Shutterstock. Copyright: Vlad Teodor
