The August Issue: Allison Escoto
+ dress diaries, divas, and desks
Luxe Libris welcomes recommendations for feature subjects. This month’s recommendation comes from reader Kait Astrella, who nominated her colleague and head librarian at the Center For Fiction in Brooklyn, NY, Allison Escoto. Kait praised Allison both for her strong advocacy work for the non-profit and her playful, vintage wardrobe. “I do have to stop myself from saying ‘I like your outfit!’ every single day to her out of fear that it will sound disingenuous!” Kait wrote. Kait also shared with me a wonderful profile of Allison in Passerby Magazine, which I recommend for its beautiful and warm portraits of Allison, her home, and her collections. I’m so glad I could chat with her about her work and personal style, and how she thinks about getting dressed. Here is our interview:
Meet Allison Escoto
Tell me a little about the Center for Fiction and what drew you to its mission. What do you like best about working there?
The Center for Fiction is a literary non-profit in Downtown Brooklyn and our mission is to promote and celebrate the art of storytelling. We were originally known as the Mercantile Library of New York and were founded in 1821 to provide a place for education for the trade workers of NYC. Over time we evolved into what we are today which carries on our tradition of being a lending library (comprised entirely of fiction), along with an event space, a bookstore, a cafe and bar, and a writer's studio. We offer so many programs that all speak to our mission.
There is so much I like about working here. I've been the Head Librarian and Education Director for five and half years and I'd have to say that my favorite part of this job is the community among both my colleagues and our members and customers. I always feel so lucky to be working in one of the most vibrant, interesting cities in the world, and to be able to hold space for people to commune around the stories people tell is a blessing.
How would you describe your style?
My style has definitely evolved over time and I love variety in all things. I'm most comfortable when I have many options and, coupled with the fact that I am very much a collector, I would say that my style is eclectic and ever evolving. My wardrobe has just as many graphic band tees as it does 70s colorful scarves as it does 80s secretary blouses as it does 90s slip dresses and recently acquired wide-leg linen pants. A little bit of a lot of different style!
Congratulations on the wide-leg linen pant acquisition! Where do you find clothes?
Everything about vintage and thrift shopping appeals to me, from finding unique pieces to the sustainability of it all, and I'm very lucky to live in Brooklyn where there are so many thrift and vintage shops in many neighborhoods. I'm also a big Poshmark/Etsy/ebay shopper and am usually on the hunt for unique dresses and skirts. I have been known to haunt a Marshalls or TJ Maxx too.
Tell me about your favorite thing in your closet and how you wear it.
Over the pandemic I got into silk/satin robes. If I was going to be forced to stay home, I was going to feel fancy! So I have a small collection of robes that I still rotate regularly, particularly on slow Saturday mornings. I also want to shout out my white Nizza platform sneakers from Adidas that I bought two years ago. I would definitely not call myself a sneakerhead, but I do have a lot of sneakers, and those are by far my favorites. I wear them with basically everything: jeans, skirts, dresses, shorts. . .They are perfect for so many things, and I dream of getting them in every color.
Every woman deserves several robes—one for every season (at least). Do you have any style icons?
Christina Hendricks's character, Joan Holloway, from Mad Men! As I am also blessed/cursed with an hourglass shape, her pencil dresses and skirts, her 60s accessories. . .they speak to me. I am also a huge fan of Carrie Brownstein’s style. She usually dresses in neutral colors and simple lines but almost always has an interesting, subtle feature like a unique collar or an unexpected color combination or pattern. I also like her mix of delicate and more severe elements, and she always looks so comfortable.
I for one will never stop thinking about Joan Holloway’s gold pen necklace. Do you have a penchant for a particular clothing item or accessory?
Like I said, I'm a collector. If you name a type of clothing item or accessory, I have a bunch of it! I can't say there is one particular thing but I always head toward the dress section in any given shop!
Would you like to share a book, film, or cultural heritage object with readers of Luxe Libris?
The CFF library is so cool! Because we originated two hundred years ago, and because a huge chunk of our history was spent in the same building (we were housed on 47th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues from 1933 to 2018), the bulk of our current collection are books from the mid-twentieth century. That just so happens to be an amazing time for fiction. As a result, we are always finding special surprises in our stacks. Recently, the Library of Congress reissued some forgotten crime classics, including a book titled The Conjure-Man Dies, the first known detective novel authored by an African-American author featuring a Black detective. I'm always thrilled when amazing but forgotten stories are rediscovered and brought forward, and I was thrilled to discover that our library had collected the first edition of this book. It made me understand that a collection like this is full of hidden gems, snapshots of the times and eras during which they were written. As it turned out, we have a lot of first edition copies of the crime classics that were selected for reissue.
Thank you so much for chatting with Luxe Libris Allison! You can find Allison on Instagram at @allisones and keep up with the Center for Fiction at @center4fiction.
Sundry
In the July 2022 issue, I wrote about Barbara Johnson’s Album of Fashion and Fabrics, an eighteenth-century dress album. A new book by dress historian Kate Strasdin gives us another peek into the private records of a nineteenth-century wardrobe: The Dress Diary reproduces over 2,000 textile fragments collected by Mrs. Anne Sykes, the wife of a wealthy English merchant. Strasdin’s scholarship brings the fragments to life, helping readers envision the garments they created and the role textiles played in nineteenth-century society.
In June, I had a brief eleven hours in Paris. I was mainly there to catch up with an old friend, but I had one wish for our agenda: to visit the Musée Yves Saint Laurent. The museum is on the premises of YSL’s former couturier in the sixteenth arrondissement and a recreation of his studio is on permanent display. While I enjoyed seeing sketches and garments from the archives, my favorite detail was Saint Laurent’s desk, lovingly restaged right down to his eyeglasses and preferred Staedtler-brand pencils.
The next day, I had twenty-four hours in London and saw the Victoria and Albert’s exhibition DIVA, curated by Kate Bailey. The show brings together over 250 objects from the nineteenth century through the present and takes a capacious definition of “diva,” including opera singers, ballet dancers, film and stage actresses, and pop stars. I loved seeing an exhibition that puts Lil Nas X in conversation with Sarah Bernhardt, Josephine Baker, and Dolly Parton—creating what Bailey calls in her introduction to the exhibition catalog, “a constellation of idols and worshippers in a majestic and powerful Divadom.” If you can’t make it to London before the exhibition closes in April 2024, you can explore it virtually and through the V&A’s diva playlist.
As long as there is war in Ukraine, Luxe Libris will ask readers to consider donating to ForPeace, an organization providing on-the-ground aid to Ukrainians in need, such as Lyuba, a master vyshyvanka embroiderer.
Adding The Dress Diary to my library request list right away! Just finishing Clare Hunter's Threads of Life so this will be right in theme. Thanks!