Oh, this one’s a toughie. According to some people, cool is dead. But I’m assuming that’s not the answer you’re looking for, and it’d be in poor form for my first post to be such a cop-out. I am, however, not above seeking wikipedia for assistance as a guideline.

According to the all mighty Wiki, cool can really be divided into four facets, where the term is either used to describe someone’s behavior or state of being, something’s aesthetic appeal, or anything/nothing at all when used as an epithet.

For the two classes which we’ve had, we’ve mostly focused on the first three dimensions of cool, and in the spirit of being original, I’ll do my best to describe what cool means to me in the context of those three perspectives.

When I say someone is cool, chances are they possess both of the following qualities:

1. They don’t give a fuck about what you/they/society/The Man think[s] in such a way that they are never the ones who follow what’s trendy/popular/hip because the idea of following anything other than their own inner compass regarding how to live is not even an option for them.

2. Their own inner compass is usually in complete alignment with the kind of behavior that will eventually trickle down to the masses in the form of what’s “cool”.

That’s about the simplest way I can describe it, a little recursive, I know, but it’s a start.

In terms of fashion and aesthetics, the way I see it, if you’re paying 500$ for a Gucci Bag, you’re stupid, and the bag is stupid. If you pay $50 dollars for a bag that was made to mimic all the aesthetic appeal of said Gucci bag, just without the brand, you and your bag are still stupid, albeit to a lesser extent. But if you managed to be one of those people who bought a bag from some random no-name brand, and some up and coming fashion designer snapped a picture of you during their field research and decided that you and your bag would serve as inspiration for what would eventually become that $500 dollar Gucci bag, congratulations - you, and that bag, are totally cool.

To be ahead of the curve in a consistent manner that isn’t due to dumb luck, is to be cool.