Hippies, Granolas And Hipsters

I hung out at the Fremont Sunday Market in Seattle today.

As you can see, this is a street fair - a pasar malam, in Malaysian terms. Merchants display their wares - jewelry, flowers, produce, vintage finds, toys, art and other goodies galore - under white pop-up canopies, and crowds stroll up and down the blocks, taking it all in.

My daughters and I were mostly shopping for rings this time, and scored well. But truth be told, we devoted most of our time to people-watching.

City dwellers are a fascination, especially the residents of a trendy little neighborhood like Fremont. After much discussion and analysis, we came to the conclusion that Seattlites in general, and today's market-goers in particular, fit into three general categories:

Hippies - These are your untamed purists. They tend to be a little unkempt, with wild dreads and handmade clothes, but they do not sell out to The Man in any way, shape or form. As a result, these folks don't have much discretionary income, so at an upscale event like the market, they are most likely the ones who are performing live music or walking around with their three-legged dogs.  

Granolas - For the most part, these types live fairly ordinary American lives. They drive the kids to school in the Subaru, then head off to the office with a healthy, whole-grain sandwich packed into a reusable lunch bag. At home, they earnestly recycle and scrub down the shower with homemade cleaning concoctions, and on the weekends, they hike in their Chacos and invite friends over for vegetarian BBQs.  

Hipsters - Bless the true hipster, for he would be very unhappy to know I categorize him. The hipster is intentional about every aspect of his being - his hair, clothing, speech, mannerisms, music, friends, hobbies, career choice - every dimension of a hipster's life is carefully calibrated to achieve a certain aesthetic effect. And most hipsters have a similar, quite predictable sense of style. But alas, these individualistic types prefer to think of themselves as free spirits who drift on the wind, undefined and purely creative. 

Forgive me if I sound judgmental - I don't mean to imply that there is any good or bad, right or wrong to this exercise. It's just fun to apply these categories to the passersby, and notice that based on appearances, most people tend to fit neatly into one group or another.

Wait, what's that you're asking? Where does my family fit into this tidy little scheme?

Easy. We represent a fourth category: the Suburban Hood Rat, known best for slinking around the local mall, eating mass quantities of soft-serve ice cream, and watching too much Bravo TV.

Yep. That's us.

Fremont on Dwellable