No Country For Young Hipsters

Imagine going out to a club, a determinately hot spot with an A-list crowd (a la Socialista or Beatrice Inn), and finding it devoid of hipsters? Well look no further than London. On a recent jaunt there this weekend to visit friends, I went to Volstead to experience the Soho area of London. Not being a regular in the London scene, I had no juice with the door, but an easy call to my hotel concierge and a reservation proved to be a very effective work-around. The doorman (Nick) greeted our group with open arms, and ushered us down into the 1920s retro spot.

There were models, and bottles, (and the exchange rate makes prices more ridiculous than in NYC)....but no hipsters!? Yes, the supposed underpinnings of the NYC scene, the self-appointed "cool kids", the waif males who squeeze into women's jeans, those very people who think its really cool to listen to Hall & Oates and Jane's Addiction in the same set list. They weren't there, and instead there were lots of miniature Prince Harry's running around in shirts and blazers.

There are certainly the British equivalents floating around in London, but they don't gravitate to the Bungalow's or the Beatrice's like they inevitably do in NYC. I'm not sure which one is worse, hipster or miniature Prince Harry's, but to see something different for a change was interesting nonetheless.