The Chinese hipster, an elusive breed of Asiatic settler that exists clothed in irony, in the truest sense of the word, usually consists of a solemn-faced Orientals rocking threads that resemble an ensemble you might find on a trendy Williamsburg window-shopper. Immigrant chic is a purported fashion anomaly, occurring all around the world, arisen from the incidental clothing choices of foreigners that leave them looking somewhere in between homeless and bohemian.

Where else better to find a site completely devoted to snapping photos of a bizarre cultural curiosity but tumblr. The aptly titled miniblog Accidental Chinese Hipsters recently began compiling a database of candids shot in different U.S. cities of our far east friends styling in outfits that would deem them “hip” by today’s standards. The key is that the subject or accidental fashionista is unaware of their outfit’s connotations, creating another laughable subculture all their own, both spoofing and contributing to the petty paradox that is hipsterism.

Flooded with photographs of wrinkly elders and fresh-off-the-boat teens wearing snapbacks cocked to the side and skinny jeans, the website is a beautiful tribute to the inadvertent vogue of overseas-born citizens.  I can’t wait till we have senior citizens on the subways calling each other hipsters in Chinese. They aren’t trying to be vintage, they are vintage.

Thanks to our own intentional Chinese Hipster Dennis Chow for the link.

- Casper