At the Brooklyn Heights branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, Virgil Abloh’s Abloh-isms sits a couple shelf spots from Lindsay Peoples’s Becoming a Fashion Designer. Both are physically small books, imaginative kindling small enough to fit in a cargo pocket, possibly the most beautiful size a book can be.
I’ve been spending a lot of time at the library lately. In fact, My biggest flex this summer has been the tote bag the Brooklyn Public Library gives you for visiting every branch as part of its Browse the Branches challenge. Do check out the roof garden at Greenpoint.
If you’re restricting your browsing to a fashion context, I recommend sections 391 and 746. The former treats fashion as a social science, explored through histories like Hannah Carlson’s Pockets. The latter treats fashion as a craft, explored through knitting guides and photo books. In one volume about Azzedine Alaïa, I learned that the Tunisian couturier had to keep a note in his pocket establishing his connection to a French countess because he might otherwise be accosted by Parisian policemen whose bigotry was inflamed by the Algerian struggle for independence.
But obviously libraries are so much more than books. They’re also video stores—you can rent Fallen Angels, Wong Kar-Wai’s 1995 action film that’s also a 96-minute perfume ad in the best way possible. They’re a place to sit, a place to hide from the sun, a place to use the bathroom. You can borrow some clothes for a job interview, or learn a language, or let someone else read a story to your child for once. We ask libraries to do far too much in this country, with far too little money, but they do it anyway and for that we should all be immensely thankful.
(It could be worse. In Jamaica Kincaid’s A Small Place, the library serves as storage for the “angels of the realm” costumes of a carnival troupe: “Some of the costumes were for angels before the Fall, some of the costumes were for angels after the Fall; the ones representing After the Fall were the best.”)
Because the library is doing so many things at once, for so many people, you see a lot of different outfits. Here are a few I caught in my recent travels:
53rd Street branch of the New York Public Library, 5.21.24
white tee, black pants, black Hermes leather crossbody satchel, brown Belgian-style loafers
Brooklyn Heights branch of the of the Brooklyn Public Library, 6.7.24
white Columbia button-up sport shirt vented in back with sleeves rolled up to elbow, grey KN95 facemask on elbow, slate blue hiking pants, olive crossbody pouch with pink and orange side panels, black Jansport washed charcoal, steel-bracelet watch, grey La Sportiva mid-top hiking sneakers with blue highlights
Center for Brooklyn History branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, 6.7.24
deep tan chino blazer with buttoned flapped patch pockets, white bootcut jeans, white socks, off-white desert boots
Epiphany branch of the New York Public Library, 6.3.24
navy tee, tan fishing vest zipped up, brown Dickies cargo shorts, white crew socks, black athletic slip-ons with forefoot strap
black tee, black fishing vest, black slim chinos, black Skechers sneakers
Hudson Park branch of the New York Public Library, 6.5.24
purple tee, thin red zip hoodie worn left-shoulder-on-right-shoulder-off and open, black slacks, black dress shoes, black headband
Hunter’s Point branch of the Queens Public Library, 5.22.24
black baseball cap, black sleeveless tee with large dragon graphic, black relaxed-fit past-the-knee cutoff denim shorts, black ankle socks, black-and-grey Oakley clogs
Kips Bay branch of the New York Public Library, 6.4.24
tan baseball cap with black Mercedes emblem and matching “Benz” text, pale yellow linen shirt with large-but-sparse navy blue flower print tucked into high-waisted white shorts, white cloth belt, white crew socks, white low-top Shaq sneakers
black Full Frontal with Samantha Bee tee, slim-carrot athletic pants in splotchy tan-moss camo with thin black side stripe, black rubber mules with rainbow streaks, large kelly green Telfar tote
Library for the Performing Arts branch of the New York Public Library, 5.30.24
grey tee with long short sleeves and right sleeve rolled to shoulder, black high-waisted black pants with cuffed hem, black belt, black-and-brown sandals
Mulberry Street branch of the New York Public Library, 5.23.24
black hoodie with ‘frenemies’ graphic in the style of the Friends logo, slim black chino carpenter pants, white Reebok sneakers, Tiffany-teal backpack
cream hoodie-sweatpants set with flared leg on pants, cream bucket hat with small brown “N Y” lettering repeated in single-letter diamond pattern, blue and yellow New Balance sneakers
New Lots branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, 6.21.24
white short-sleeve dress shirt, grey sweater vest with full-length rainbow fair isle knitting, navy tapered chinos, black sports sunglasses with red lenses, dyed-red German Army Trainers
Stavros Niarchos Foundation branch of the New York Public Library, 5.28.24
red-sleeve-grey body raglan 3/4 softball tee, wide blue-blue jeans, white Nike running sneakers with off-white snakeskin detailing, allover-print Telfar logo light-brown-dark-brown durag
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building branch of the New York Public Library, 5.28.24
black tee with white IATSE crest, red-and-white keffiyeh worn around neck
olive green baseball cap with safety-orange underbill, white linen short-sleeved dress shirt, olive-and-white keffiyeh worn around neck
black tee, rainbow keffiyeh worn around neck
How have you used the library to help yourself get a fit off?