About Brian

a forever friend

I got in the elevator at the end of my work day today. I was holding an empty canvas tote bag with the New York Public Library logo on it. A coworker said she liked it. I thanked her, and then I thought of Brian.

Brian Awitan, who died about nine months ago. Brian Awitan, who was one-of-a-kind.

The first time I met him, through our mutual friend Libby Callaway, he was immediately a riot and just plain lovely. A cut up with an eye for the best in life. He was a salesman at heart, a charmer, a denim expert and retail consultant for all kinds of brands you’ve heard of. He was a bon vivant. An aesthete. He understood personal style in a way most just don’t. He was the kind of guy that could live for a month in Italy with only what he took in a carryon but never repeat an outfit and always look chic.