La Library

Sadly, La Library is no more. There’s now a fortune teller in that storefront instead.

I randomly happened upon this little lending boutique and fell in love. As has been mentioned, the atmosphere of the store is ideal for any girl who loved (and still loves) to play dress up. It’s true, clothes are not hung neatly, but rather lay in a beautiful silk and lace chaos upon the sofa, off mirrors, and on a rack outside. And indeed, there is no dressing room, but the store is clearly not intended for those who are modest or shy. Shay is just lovely; she is a young version of the old woman in Great Expectations and she is happy to function as a personal stylist.
And of course the icing on the cake are the prices. You would expect any store with so much style and eccentricity to be over priced; on the contrary! I found the prices comparable to The Gap or even Target, and of course the clothes themselves were seven-​trillion times more unique and creative!
I hope to go back again soon.

After reading the reviews for La Library and the amazing article in Refinery 29, I was beyond ecstatic to check this place out! Unfortunately my expectations were too high and I was sorely let down when I stepped in. The store is a mish-​mash of thrift store clothes and local designer jewelry. All of the items look like they were kind of thrown around the store, some laying on the couch, some hanging off of the corners of mirrors. Also– no fitting room… I love the concept, of a «borrowing» store. A dream come true for the up to date fashionista. Unfortunately this is more like borrowing things out of the good will then it is borrowing from bloomingdales :(

I’m so in love with the idea of this place — a «socialist feminist fashionista clothing store»!! Unfortunately, the clothes are too feminine for my personal style though :(
Shaye owns this place, and is one of the coolest people I’ve ever talked to. She has an adorable little dog named Cuba, who will whine as soon as you stand from your initial squat to pet him. When I visited, she was busy painting a canvas while behind the counter (she painted all the art on the walls as well). She told me stories of when she was a tango dancer in Guadalajara and as I flipped through the racks, she nonchalantly mentioned that everything was 50% off the lowest price. Oh.
As mentioned below, there’s also a unique system of «checking out» clothes, which I love. It makes so much sense, especially since many of the clothes I’d want just for one night. The clothes are from various individual designers, including Shaye herself.
The best part of this place is just the atmosphere. It feels like your grandmother’s closet: full of fancy things that you’re free to play with and try on and look at yourself in vintage mirrors. How fun :)