Finsters, Part 2
As you know, I am gearing up to visit all my Finnish fans in a few weeks, and from what I understand, both of them will be in Helsinki when I get there.
To that end, I have begun searching Finnish fashion sites to see how the hipster Finns – or Finsters, as I like to call them under my breath – dress in public. I just want to make sure I fit in, because I’m told Finns have a practice of chasing down strangers and throwing suet on them.
Here are some pictures of Finsters on the streets of Helsinki from the appropriately named Hel-Looks. These are actual Finns, just walking around in everyday clothes, on their way to get drunk. It’s hard to say who their fashion icons are, but they appear to be heavily influenced by Poison and Cirque de Soleil.
Perkele!
- Click on thumbnails for a larger image and to leave a comment
November 8, 2011 at 5:59 pm
That is so blase. Everyone knows true Finnster fashion is a yellow floral-print dress, hiked just below the boobs, and elastic socks.
November 8, 2011 at 6:22 pm
November 8, 2011 at 6:47 pm
YES
November 8, 2011 at 7:06 pm
Even as a kid, I always thought those awkwardly placed pink diamonds on her dress looked like nipples.
November 8, 2011 at 9:12 pm
LOL my husband just pointed that out…all those years of watching the show and it never occurred to me.
November 8, 2011 at 5:59 pm
I vote for a bingo-style game during the trip – make a row of Hel-Looks and win!
November 8, 2011 at 5:59 pm
Don’t try on their leg warmers when you go. They’ll say it’s the custom, but that’s how they turn you.
November 8, 2011 at 6:02 pm
Helen, do you own enough fluourescent clothes to be allowed into the country?
November 8, 2011 at 7:28 pm
she can do Katy Perry hair and be covered for all occasions!
November 8, 2011 at 6:04 pm
None of this makes any sense to me…and some of it looks quite painful.
November 8, 2011 at 6:05 pm
I thought “Finsters” was going to be a salute to folks dressed up as the character voiced by our own April Winchell, Muriel P. Finster from the Recess cartoon… frankly, i’m a little disappointed
November 8, 2011 at 6:07 pm
OK, I see all the Finsters, but I don’t see any Dickens.
November 8, 2011 at 6:09 pm
looks like my wardrobes been cleared out!!!!!!!
pilfers … thieves … *glares*
November 8, 2011 at 7:02 pm
I think many of us would fit in quite nicely in Finland…
November 8, 2011 at 6:09 pm
I KNEW you shouldn’t have sacrificed your dog caftan to make the Finnish books, even though those books are funding your trip to Finland. It’s like the Gift of the Magi, but with canned reindeer pate’.
November 8, 2011 at 6:20 pm
How much you want to bet HKpril comes back with a suitcase full of more awesome fuckery to wear? I can’t even imagine.
November 8, 2011 at 6:17 pm
When I saw “finsters,” I thought for sure it would be hipster wear for sharks.
I AM DISAPPOINT
November 8, 2011 at 7:41 pm
Pitchfork says this is totally over, but you probably haven’t heard of it yet. http://hipstersharks.tumblr.com/
November 8, 2011 at 6:18 pm
As someone who lives in the not-Helsinki part of Finland, I have NEVER seen such whimsicle people in my life. Man, am I missing out.
November 8, 2011 at 10:54 pm
Go to Hel
-sinki
November 8, 2011 at 6:20 pm
Finster? Wasn’t Miss Finster your character on Recess? Coincidence? Or did you do it on purpose?
November 8, 2011 at 6:22 pm
I love Hel-Looks.
Though these are older pictures from the site. The newer stuff is both crazier and not at the same time. A lot of them look like exploded Etsy trends.
November 10, 2011 at 11:21 am
I swear there is a chick wearing skants… Fucking Finsters…
November 8, 2011 at 6:23 pm
“Finsters” just sounds to me like a) some ghastly Midwestern family-style restaurant or b) some ghastly Midwestern bar/club in the 80s.
November 8, 2011 at 6:34 pm
That’s called “Show Me’s” now, apparently.
November 8, 2011 at 6:59 pm
You shut your damn mouth, Show-me’s is the best Hooters replacement this side of the Mississippi.
November 8, 2011 at 10:17 pm
Which side?
November 8, 2011 at 6:24 pm
I had no idea that Helsinki was trying to steal the crazy off Japan! I see all types of lolitas, ganguro, goths, punks, harajuku, rockers, and some good old fashioned wtf!
November 8, 2011 at 7:46 pm
As I commented on one of the pics, the japanese styles are huge in Scandinavia now, because more and more teens have found anime/manga to be the new “outsiders” club.
In Norway, anime and manga has become more and more popular, and we have 3 conventions yearly here in Oslo where all the 13-18 year olds come to cosplay.
A tiny part of me remembers my goth teenager period and goes “I was goth before it was cool..” And then I smack her..
November 8, 2011 at 10:21 pm
Gwen Stefani, wtf?
http://www.target.com/c/brand-shop-Harajuku-Mini-for-Target/-/N-5al7m
Trivia: antihistamines meant for localized itching can also relieve nausea.
November 9, 2011 at 1:37 pm
I was gonna ask if some of these were taken while a con was going on… Exact same kind of stuff I see over here at cons. ><
November 9, 2011 at 8:44 am
That’s exactly what I was thinking. Really makes me miss Tokyo…
November 8, 2011 at 6:25 pm
So which of these looks is closest to your heart, April? I’m partial to Rosa, 16, myself. Something about those pinks and greens speaks to me. But maybe I’ve just spent too much time watching 1980s videos on YouTube…
November 8, 2011 at 6:48 pm
I’m all about Petja and his monocle.
November 8, 2011 at 8:50 pm
That look could work for you!
Can Bronc go as one of the Vesas? I don’t care which one.
November 8, 2011 at 6:25 pm
like…how do you put an outfit together like that…everything on the floor in the thrift store?
some of the boots are very well made and expensive…how do you decide what ‘goes with what’? then there is the hair…and I had blue hair in the 1960′s…good luck, Helen…
November 8, 2011 at 6:42 pm
I would like the boots shipped to me. I would like them to be in my size, to fit my sizable calves, and to be sent to me at no cost to myself.
November 8, 2011 at 6:48 pm
November 8, 2011 at 6:26 pm
This reminds me of Japan. I thought everyone was going to be all Harajuku’d out, and really everyone just wears a lot of black and socks with sandals. I do kinda love these outfits though…
November 8, 2011 at 6:44 pm
I’m guessing it’s more Hanoi Rocks than Poison, you know, since Poison is so mainstream and all…
November 8, 2011 at 6:45 pm
Just browsing through the most recent pictures…what the hell is up with the tights and shorts, and high-water pants? Didn’t anyone tell them that they can get their clothes second hand but still be stylish and look put together? Tragedy. I suppose that’s the beauty of it.
November 8, 2011 at 7:05 pm
A lot of these people dress the same as the people I see at goth night around here.
November 8, 2011 at 7:07 pm
I don’t see part one? I want to see more, I pretty much love them.
November 8, 2011 at 7:13 pm
When ever I hear Finster, I still think of this Finster…
November 8, 2011 at 7:17 pm
Cyber goth = love.
A Finn online introduced me to the music, and it’s all I listen to now. Of course, he was an alcoholic who just screamed Finnish curses…folks, this is Finland.
November 8, 2011 at 7:28 pm
Finland has some of the best folk metal bands. Turisas, Ensiferum, Moonsorrow, Korpiklaani… the latter wrote the song “Bring Us Pints of Beer (If You Don’t Drink, You Can Leave)” Brilliant!
November 8, 2011 at 10:17 pm
Let’s not forget the other Korpiklaani hits:
Beer, Beer!
Happy Little Boozer
Let’s Drink
and finally…
Wooden Pints
To note: this is just what I came up with off the top of my head. Let’s not forget the other potential drinking songs they have that are not titled in English.
November 8, 2011 at 7:20 pm
My first attempt at regretsy math.
November 8, 2011 at 7:21 pm
Rock the pink schoolgirl thing April. Yeah. Um for research?
November 8, 2011 at 7:25 pm
I never thought I’d want to go to Finland. I never thought I’d NOT want to go, it was just off the radar for me entirely. Now, it’s in my top 5.
November 8, 2011 at 7:35 pm
I really hope you’ve seen this…
November 8, 2011 at 10:31 pm
That is a whole country’s assload of “Perkele!” The fact that it was actually Finland is bonus!
November 9, 2011 at 12:33 am
check out the choirs in Chicago and Japan, also cute.
November 9, 2011 at 1:04 am
Bloody hell. If that isn’t the most angst-ridden song ever written, I’m an owl with a moustache.
It’s not fair!
November 8, 2011 at 7:53 pm
Could this possible turn into a competition in where regretsians try to outdo each other with their best finnster-inspired attire? a FINNSTER-OFF perhaps???
pretty,pretty please with cum-covered cherries on top?
November 8, 2011 at 8:14 pm
I think the hat-and-waxed-mustache guy is a long-lost cousin…what do you think?
(That’s me, at my niece’s wedding this past June, and that’s how I dress. I wear that hat a lot in summer.)
November 8, 2011 at 9:14 pm
I salute you, good sir. If I were a man (or if my husband wouldn’t be such a buzzkill about it) I’d rock hats all the time.
November 8, 2011 at 9:32 pm
You sit are a dapper well dressed man and I admire that very much.
November 8, 2011 at 9:33 pm
*sir
Pardon my miss type.
November 8, 2011 at 8:17 pm
I Love hel-looks! I love some of the crazy stuff it gives me a good giggle
November 8, 2011 at 8:34 pm
The BIG and little pink plaid pair reminded me of the two Karens from Monday, Monday.
November 8, 2011 at 8:56 pm
i love this very much.
i especially love the people who are even older than i am.
maybe i should move there.
the thing that drives me most nuts about the hipster phenom in the us of a is its combo of being so terribly derivative & so densely congratulatory about its, um, rather limited originality.
this is not that. at least some of these guys seem to be much more introspective w/ a great big mugful of humor that is only semi-ironic. very nice especially now.
they also must pay an inordinate amount of attention to the last decade of japan.
–
ps. if you want a matching wardrobe, so help me i am yr man.
November 8, 2011 at 9:42 pm
A lot of these folks are young enough to be pardoned (although their parents may be another matter). But some of the adults… I just want to know WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GOING DRESSED LIKE THAT?
November 8, 2011 at 10:13 pm
November 8, 2011 at 10:39 pm
It goes without saying that you’ll be packing your whistle with you when you go.
November 8, 2011 at 10:41 pm
So all of Europe’s cast-off clothing since 1972 has ended up in Finland? That makes Portland OR the Helsinki of the West. I hearby rename it “Smellstinky”
November 8, 2011 at 11:01 pm
Seriously, HKpril, I think you and Bronc are just a couple of trips to Goodwill away from ROCKING these looks!
November 9, 2011 at 1:43 am
I saw a segment on Attack of the Show today and thought I was being so original to bring it up because I know you would love it and then I forgot what they called it. I am drinker than I thunk I was.
So I looked up the general idea and found out it wasn’t that original at all. Perhaps not on Regretsy, either. But I think it would be a great addition to your Finish trip. Especially if it’s cold there. And not as vision restrictive as that goat’s head thingy. Here’s a reminder in case you’ve forgotten or maybe you haven’t seen it at all. Here’s what I found on Etsy.
November 9, 2011 at 3:54 am
Japan and Japanese culture are a huge thing over here so that’s why some of the people dress like that.
I’m sad that I don’t see this much variation in different styles around here. Eastern Finland is boring
November 9, 2011 at 4:47 am
Fine, if nobody else is going to be that person, I’ll be that person. It’s Cirque du Soleil.
November 9, 2011 at 4:47 am
I cannot go back to that site because I enter a time warp and lose my whole day. My eyes glaze over and it becomes so beautiful..
November 9, 2011 at 8:14 am
Here’s some reviews of Hel-Looks on SomethingAwful:http://www.somethingawful.com/d/fashion-swat/hel-looks-swat.php
November 9, 2011 at 9:57 am
I don’t see anything here that couldn’t have been styled by the editors of Vanity Fair.
November 9, 2011 at 10:10 am
I kinda like the second chick’s look honestly.
You know you’ve unwillingly sat through way too much boring shit on TCM when you say things like that.
November 9, 2011 at 10:17 am
I’m confused. When I went to Finland several years ago, there were no attractive people. Everyone I saw looked like a very tall garden gnome. So where did all the hot people come from in these pictures???
(You know, physically attractive. I’m not in love with most of the fashion choices — except the librarian :9)
November 9, 2011 at 8:06 pm
Instead of taking notes in calculus, I try a picture. I envision making a Where’s Waldo version, but with Finsters.
It didn’t scan right.
<img src="http://www.flickr.com/photos/54968181@N08/6330936872/"
November 9, 2011 at 8:07 pm
oops
November 10, 2011 at 6:18 am
I like the things these people say about their fashion. “Techno music interests me” and “My style is not inspired by other people, but by all things dead, like dead animals,” are my favorites. Also, how every single person in Finland wear’s their mom’s clothes.
November 10, 2011 at 11:34 am
Finland counts “Halloween Express” as one of it’s major natural resources.
November 11, 2011 at 12:35 pm
I love Hel-Looks. Unlike other dirt-boring fashion blogs (e.g. the Sartorialist) they show a diversity of people with a diversity of styles. Sure, some of them looking fucking ridiculous, but that’s part of the fun. There’s no point to fashion if you can’t laugh at your photo albums in 20 years.
November 17, 2011 at 1:10 pm
Sooo….. Finnish people are Japanese?
March 27, 2012 at 8:04 am
*now understands why Finns drink so much*