Architecture-Adjacent Attire for the Urbanist in All of Us

Maggie Chirdo
7 min readMar 3, 2021

We can’t befriend the gargoyles atop the Chrysler Building, but we can wear them as cufflinks!

Graphic by author.

Clothes are tiny buildings for our bodies. Or maybe buildings are big clothes for our tiny bodies. Sheer fabric and skyscraper windows both give the illusion of transparency. Doors and jean zippers alike grant access to the invited. Gleaming spires atop foreboding cathedrals and shiny jewelry on imposing people similarly invoke our awe. And lately I’ve been entranced by the combination of fashion and façade that happens when designers incorporate our most iconic edifices into their clothing lines. Below are a collection of architectural accessories and outfits from the most to least affordable. Please join me in this world of wearable worlds.

Note: I am not compensated for including certain products here, nor do I own any of them (yet!).

The Under $50 Façades

The top left and bottom right masks are available for $22 each in the Condé Nast store. Top right is sold on Etsy at $12 for either adults or children. The bottom left mask is $14 from the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.

Face masks are up first on this list because they’re the newest necessary piece of clothing that designers, brands, and artists have to make enticing. I particularly adore The New Yorker cartoon masks sold in the Condé Nast, including one inspired by…

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Maggie Chirdo

Aspiring caretaker of a haunted greenhouse. Former Co-EIC at The Interlude. Words in Entropy Magazine, Bitch Media, Texas Observer, NYU Local, and more.