If you slightly pay attention to pop culture and teen television dramas, it is no surprise to you that nerds are becoming increasingly popular. To others who are "in the dark/have no interest" this popular trend in culture and fashion is very unbelievable to them. It doesn't take a scientist to realize I tend to stand out in my Italian American sports driven family. My cousins continuously joke about my "interesting" fashion choices and ridiculous opinions. My eldest cousin who is more like my big brother is no exception to any of the jokes being thrown around. He has called me a nerd on multiple occasions because I discuss socialization movement, how awesome the internet is, correct his slang and grammar and make jokes back to him about wearing "Affliction" t-shirts. Recently I responded to his "nerd" comments with the quick and factual statement: Nerd is the new cool! His response back was somewhere along the lines of, "in what world are you living?" I began to explain to him the fact behind my logic which he quickly defended with his definition of cool.
Now, don't think I feel there is only 1 definition of cool because I know there is not. To each his own. In our society we are made up of many different types of people and depending on your interests and social settings, the definition of cool to you may be different then mine. But I acknowledge the fact that there are many different versions and one version which is currently very popular throughout the country in young people is nerd. With "indie rock" and "indie movies" and
Michael Cera; the young people in the U.S. have the mind set that the less main stream something tends to be, the cooler it becomes. Being original and individual with your likes and dislikes makes you cooler then the followers. We (I include myself in the young generation which includes 20 somethings and younger) are the ironic generation because the cooler you aren't means the cooler you are. Fashion , music and television/movies all have quote on quote nerd representation.
High end fashion is expensive,mainstream and by ironic definition; too cool. There are a few exceptions though, the most commonly known is Marc Jacobs! Marc represents the young nerds that don't want to look like every other kid in their high school. What is ironic is that so many high school and college students feel this way that in turn they all shop at Urban Outfitters, thrift stores and SoHo boutiques. Kate Moss, Chole Sevigny, Agyness Deyn, Zoey Deschanel and Nicole Richie have all lead the design world into a nerd chic direction. Its cool to live in
"Hipster Brooklyn", wear flannel,
oxfords, suspenders and
fedoras!
Nichole Richie(age-28): "nerd" influence--> fedora,cardigan,skinny jeans
Chole Sevigny(age-35): "nerd" influence--> vintage floral print,high socks, canvas tote,glasses
Agyness Deyn(age-27): "nerd" influence-->washed sweatshirt,dirty converse,skinny jeans
Kate Moss(age-36): "nerd" influence-->mid-calf vintage boot,sheer loose tee,flannel,skinny jean
Zoey Deschanel(age-30): "nerd" influence-->vintage apron dress,cowboy hat,water gun
Music has many different divisions and when you speak to an ironic young kid you might ask, "What kind of music to you like?" Your response will be something like this, "Oh well I kinda like electronical/punk/hardcore/new wave punk/ska/folk/indie/techno dance." My generation has created these sub categories within categories of music to seem...more cool is the only explanation I can think of. One example of a non-popular but popular band is
MGMT, which consists of 2 hipster college friends that decided to start a band because they liked music and wanted to share their like of daft punk/ed banger label type djing/interesting sounds. They began underground in major cities and before you know it, they are mainstream and 14 year old girls are standing in line to buy tickets to their shows and they were being nominated for a grammy. It is said that MGMT is actually annoyed with their current success because they don't want to be mainstream hence my point of wanting to be an outcast and be uncool. Now music and the people representing music always make an statement with fashion. Rockers have influenced the way people dress from the very beginning. Look at The Beatles, Elvis, The Clash, The Rolling Stones, and Bon Jovi. All these musicians influenced the way people wore clothing. So now with the nerds avenging like The Strokes, The Libertines, MGMT, Weezer, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Vampire Weekend; teens are taking fashion advice from them and in turn becoming nerds themselves.
MGMT: 2002-present
The Strokes: 1998-present
The Libertines: 1997-2004/2010-present
Weezer: 1992-1997/2002-present
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: 2000-present
Vampire Weekend: 2009-present
Film and television support the nerd phenomena because the majority of producers, directors and writers are and have been nerds for years. They finally get to give their social standing all the glory and their nerd leader is the one who gets the girl/guy in the end; not the popular football player or cheerleader. Movies such as Superbad, Knocked Up, Juno, Remember Me
and Adventureland star their nerd king/queen as the main character that is so cool and everyone wants to be just like them. The O.C., Glee, Gossip Girl, and My Life as Liz are all T.V. shows that have a nerd paired up with the ideal "in crowd". Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) from The O.C., Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley) from Gossip Girl, Tyler Hawkins (Rob Pattinson) from Remember Me, and Em Lewin (Kristen Stewart) from Adventureland all are typical social outcast characters. Their wardrobe reflect this outsider image but because the media that is delivering these outsiders happens to be accepted in the ironic generation it now becomes cool and hip. Not only do these actors and actresses adhere to this look onscreen but they have adopted it into their every day wardrobe. By doing this they encourage the young generation that its cool to be a nerd and stand away from the stereotype of what we thought was cool.
T.V. Casts(from top left): The O.C., My Life as Liz, Gossip Girl, Glee
NERD MOVIES
Leading the Nerds(from left): Adam Brody(age-30),Zac Efron(age-22),Penn Badgley(age-23),Rob Pattinson(age-23) and Kristen Stewart(age-20), Michael Cera(age-21) and Ellen Page(age-23)
Culture and social circumstances are ultimately the deciding factors of trend evolution. One example of this is the
skinny jean. You are able to walk into any mainstream store and purchase a pair of skinny jeans with no digging necessary. Did you know though that males are the start of this trend popping back up in the late 90's? Boys were wearing tight womens jeans as somewhat of a rebellious and no fuss attire. The boys were
BMXers or
punk rockers or
skaters who had more mobility in a slimming jean. They were the cool non-jocks of their high school but they were cute, slightly jerks and girls flocked to them. Designers are always looking to the younger generation for street wear inspiration and they took it upon themselves to reintroduce the trend. So before you go and make fun of someone by calling them a nerd, you might want to rethink your insult. Nerds are the new cool and I'm proud to say I am a nerd! The nerds are coming for you jocks, so watch your back!
