Fremont Vintage Mall & Bulldog News: For Your Old-School Perusals
Get your mid-century goods and magazine reading on at these two Seattle institutions.
Fremont Vintage Mall dubs itself “the coolest vintage store in the center of the universe,” which, while somewhat hubristic, isn’t entirely untrue. Having traversed more vintage markets through my childhood than I care to remember – a long story that I’ll save for later – this is one that I actually enjoy perusing.
The store is mid-century-centric. Records, comics, furniture, clothes, “collectibles” (aka toys), and posters. Oh, so many posters. In all shapes and sizes. Some originals, others in the style of the era.
As for the “cool” claim – it’s one that is accurate and not in a pretentious way. Or not overly pretentious, at least. If you want to see where Seattle’s what-we-used-to-call-hipsters find their fashion, this is it. (I’m fairly sure I must’ve lost my edge, seeing I don’t know what “hipsters” are called anymore.) Fremont’s mid-century furniture, too, is appropriately on vibe, and even their website is Tumblr-hosted, which is how a 2008 hipster would have rolled. I’m just going to assume it’s retro-cool these days.
It might not be a place I shop a whole lot from – though the prices are surprisingly reasonable – but Fremont Vintage is nevertheless worth spending some time in. It’s the type of place where you can find both inspiration and aspiration.
Fremont Vintage Mall is located at 3419 Fremont Ave N and on Tumblr.
Bulldog News
Meanwhile, over in the University District, is Bulldog, a news agent that’s been around since 1983.
In general, I never buy the death proclamations of any genre or medium. Some things lose their greater commercial luster, but chances are they’ll pop up under some new guise after a while. And, even if they don’t, there’ll be enough people around to keep them alive in a niche form – like magazines. Some will claim they went the way of the dodo after the advent of the web, but in many ways, the medium is still thriving. Sure, the grocery store magazine aisles have shrunk, but Bulldog Press has an unholy amount in stock. Floor-to-ceiling across multiple walls.
For all intents and purposes, you’ll be able to find magazines you forgot existed, as well as new ones within any field of interest. And, if you’re anything like me (as you should be 🤷), there is still something more satisfying about reading a magazine than scrolling on a phone or iPad or whatever.
Additionally, Bulldog has a nice seating area with a coffee and ice cream bar. All in all, just a cool space. Or, more appropriately, retro cool.
Locations: 4208 University Way NE and the web.