It’s very cool when young people dress like librarians and investment bankers, apparently.
Weird glasses, awkward length skirts, and frumpy cardigans are taking over the fashion scene. Infamously unfashionable items (very much Andie BEFORE her chic transformation in The Devil Wears Prada), are suddenly being spotted on it girls across the world in an unexpected twist on 90s and Y2k aesthetics, that has been dubbed ‘librarian core’. To be fair to the fashion girls, they’re certainly turning stuffy chic, twisting notoriously unflattering garments into slightly less modest compositions, often by eliminating their trousers.
We first saw the trouser-less office worker look in Miu Miu’s Fall 2023 collection, which can also be credited with igniting the spark for the slightly dishevelled frumpy aesthetic that has now morphed into the fondly titled ‘librarian core’ in general. The collection heavily featured wool button up cardigans with matching wool hot pants and low-rise midi skirts—two of the most established stars of the current trend. After the show, and the social media flurry that came with it, office-wear-turned-cool began to appear across 2024 Spring collections, with Sandy Liang leading the pack that also included Givenchy and Vivienne Westwood, with her ‘Uniform’ collection. Much like many of the trends we’ve seen in recent years, Prada’s baby sister brand lies at the root. Thank you for your service Miuccia Prada.
Top librarian core Depop seller Angelina Laake, owner of Depop verified shop Fairygorl vintage, which has amassed 12k Depop followers in the wake of the trend, offered some insight into it's prevalence. Her theory for the trend's popularity is that ‘it’s a way to poke fun at the idea that work is the be all and end all of your life, offering a juxtaposition between the strait laced, boring corporate attire and the fun, creative outfits that come from actually styling office wear’. She also shared that selling corporate core pieces was a ‘big hit’ for her Depop shop, and the most popular items were kitten heels, office trousers, capris and blazers. Depop’s 2024 trend report also highlighted that searches for button-up shirts were up 112%, office/work was up 56%, and Sandy Liang was up 169%.
The trend is an amalgamation of the always chic 90s minimalism and the slightly more garish styles of y2k; capri trousers are mixed with sleeveless turtlenecks, low rise trousers and skirts paired with tailored suit jackets.Ballet flats remain approved, particularly with long mesh socks, and white blouses are still in demand. Despite the trend looking initially shocking among the slowly fading out traditional Y2k style that has dominated for the past two years, it is actually quite a natural progression—it is targeting the less viral or palatable garments from the era and mixing them with some classic 90s workwear.
A caricature of a librarian would be incomplete with the addition of a slightly freaky pair of glasses. When referring to less palatable, I’m talking about the steady ascent of ‘Bayonetta’ glasses- an early 2000s staple for celebrities like Meghan fox and, to stick to the theme of The devil wears Prada:Giselle Bundchen in the 2006 flick. The tiny specs were spotted on the fashion forward Bella Hadid all the way back in 2022, but have also appeared on cool girls Iris Law, Gabriette, and Emma Chamberlain of late. While most of the glasses are sourced vintage, Gen Z trendy eyewear specialists Lexxola’s ‘Alba’ Glasses are also an extremely popular choice, with them currently sold out and on pre-order. Comically large glasses are also on trend for those not so keen on the outrageously small, with Jimmy Fairly’s very 70s ‘lou’ glasses selling out in every colour—proving that the trend really is a concoction of every generation. Capri trousers are another hotly debated piece of the trend, much like low rise when it first came on the scene, with millennials everywhere sighing unanimously.
The trend has received multiple names in its rise to fame- ‘librarian core’, ‘corporate core’ and even ‘sleaze academia’. So naturally I spoke to Librarian Norma Edwards to get to the bottom of the trend's name. When asked why she thought the aesthetic had been widely named after her occupation, Norma noted that ‘kids think these clothes are unflattering, and you assume librarians would wear unflattering clothes. In half of these pictures the girls are wearing their pants! I can’t imagine that you think that’s overly modest’. Having seen Norma’s displeasure at the name for the trend, I asked her what she thought would be more fitting: ‘Maybe I would call it ‘the girl who has an office affair with your husband’. You heard it here first, ‘the girl who has an office affair with your husband’ is fashion’s newest aesthetic, although ‘corporate sleaze’ might be more appropriate.
