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Factoid #4

by Scott Muoio

No matter where you live, your locale has a climate. Love it, hate it, or something in between, you must deal with it. And in dealing with the hot, the cold, the rainy, the windy, the dusty, the snowy and all other meteorological conditions numerous fashion trends emerge. Eventually, the masses catch the wave and the various climate styles firmly cement to their respective locales. The examples are many: The Hawaiian shirt gets its name from the locale that cherishes its warm, breezy days and nights and hence requires the airy attire. Cowboy hats, Wrangler-style jeans, and button up long sleeve shirts are the cowboy staple of the dusty west and southwest. In ski culture, waterproof multi-layered parkas are standard issue for those living mountainside. In Seattle, with its moderate climate, cloudy days, and light, sprinkling rain there is another, more obtuse fashion trend that pounds the pavements and reigns as king of this Emerald City: socks with sandals!

A fashion faux pa nearly everywhere else, Seattle once again breaks the rules and seems to deem the style business as usual. Well, perhaps not "as usual," but they do acknowledge the socks and sandals thing as a trend which isn’t likely to disappear anytime soon, whether we like it or not. Don’t believe me? A local insurance company billboard in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, shown below, says it all. And in case you can't quite make it out, here's the tag line: "Northwest Profile #56: Sandals and Socks Guy. We're a lot like you. A little different." Only in Seattle, my friends, do advertisers actually TARGET socks with sandals wearers, a sure sign that the look is hardly in the underground. Bizarre, indeed.

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Noted something strange or interesting in or about Seattle? Tell us about it. Email scottmuoio@undependentmedia.com

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