Vintage Style and What Libraries Are For

Published January 2, 2026 at 12:00 PM EST

a man wearing a straw hat and a fancy suit in front of a graphic — Singer, bandleader, and fashion icon Dandy Wellington has built brands, events, and partnerships by embracing an identity.

Bandleader, style icon, host, and presenter Dandy Wellington strutted his way into Bloomington as part of the Bill Blass Speaker Series put on by the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture and Design. Wellington embraces the cuts, patterns, and silhouettes of the Harlem Renaissance while making use of social media to get his style and his message out. What is that message? Vintage style, not vintage values. To Wellington, that means admiring the materials, the cuts, the drape, and the timeless fashion of the early 20^th century and leaving a lot of the old-fashioned values where they belong, in the past. We spoke with him about those values, about fashion and how to find your style, and about how to survive in the world of entertainment as a solopreneur.

Public Libraries Are Public Trusts

a white man with gray hair and a black jacket over a striped shirt smiles at the camera in the Monroe County Public Library — Monroe County Public Library Director Grier Carson

Traditionally we think of libraries as a place to check out books for free. But today’s public libraries are so much more than that. A library is a meeting space, a learning space, a place to take your toddler to interact with other kids indoors, a safe place for teens to hang out and play games, a way to access computers and Wi-Fi, a place to cool down or warm up and so much more.

Kayte Young talks with Grier Carson, Director of the Monroe County Public Library about the role of the public library in a community, and specifically some of the innovative programming at our local libraries.

Stories

But How Is a Library Like a Seance?

A lock of hair in a cardboard frame in the front; an old handwritten letter in the back, with the name Edgar Poe barely visible at the bottom — If you look closely, you can see the name Edgar Poe at the bottom of this letter. And yes, that's a lock of the famous writer's hair. Both are housed at Indiana University's Lilly Library.

The Lilly Library is Indiana University’s rare books, manuscripts, and special collections library. Along with half a million rare books, including a Gutenberg bible, Shakespeare’s first folio, a first edition of Frankenstein, and 8.5 million pieces of manuscript, there is a surprising amount of hair. The librarians and curators there have mixed feelings about the hair. We spoke with Rebecca Bauman, director of curatorial services and curator of modern books, about a lock of hair from a very famous head and what a library has in common with a seance.

Credits

This episode was produced and edited by Alex Chambers. We get production help from Danny William, Holly Wilkerson, Karl Templeton, Eddie Stewart, Leo Paes, Jillian Blackburn and Jonah Ballard.

Our theme music was composed and performed by Alan Davis. Additional music from Universal Production Music. The executive producer is Eric Bolstridge.