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I’m on the Urban Outfitters email list. I’m also on the email list for the South Beach diet. Um, not that I ever subscribed to their email list. Did you know you can use cauliflower to make low carb, faux mashed potatoes?

Anyhoo, I received an email the other day announcing the opening of UO’s first Brooklyn store and I was intrigued by the layout of their e-flyer. As Gothamist points out:

The mystifying amalgam of images, placed in some sort of elementary collage layout is presumably a representation of the borough. Many of the images look like they were cut out of a TV Guide circa 1984


I was struck by three of the images. Dumbo the elephant, Biggie, and J. Hova (click on the image for the full ad). I kept wondering why they would have Dumbo the elephant on a flyer for an Urban Outfitters store. And after staring at the flyer like a magic eye poster, I realized that Dumbo the elephant represents the area in Brooklyn called Dumbo. Symbolism can be hilarious!

Why Biggie and Hova are on the flyer I have no clue. Sure they both grew up in Brooklyn but I have a creeping suspicion that Biggie would never have shopped there. If only because UO’s skinny jeans could only accommodate his big toe.