Living your best life is intimately connected to how we spend our money and how 'real' we are to our values. But is the hipster economy something to embrace, or to be sceptical of? Alessandro Gerosa argues hipster authenticity is increasingly its own brand, co-opted by the social networks and financial interests it claims to evade but it does give genuine opportunities to shape society around us and support our communities. We must consider this balancing act if we are to understand our culture, economy, and capitalism itself.