A couple of Fridays ago, my sweetie and I headed out to the Ballard neighborhood here in Seattle. To get there, we had to traverse the western edge of the Fremont neighborhood.
As we turned the corner and headed west down Leary away from Fremont, I noticed a group of four women on the corner of 39th and Leary headed east towards Fremont. They were dressed up like they were getting ready to hit a dance club of some sort.
Perhaps you are familiar with the look: high heels, tight low slung jeans, and a sheer top that shows off what I’ve heard referred to as “the Muffin Top.” I guess it might be considered an urban look, in the hip hop sense. But I associate it more with a bridge and tunnel, Jersey Shore, suburban archetype.
When I saw those folks, the following thought immediately popped into my head: “the Ruining Element.” For Fremont did not used to be a place where urban styled, Jersey Shore wannabes hung out. It had more of a funky hippie feeling to it, the last vestiges of which still survive in the a large statue of Vladimir Lenin by the Taco Del Mar and the annual Solstice Parade, with its crazy floats and naked bike riders. But little by little over the last 15 years, that aesthetic has been developed out of Fremont, replaced by one that is more popular with people like the ladies above. Continue reading “The Ruining Element”