Trash and Vaudeville are actually two stores, the latter sitting on
top of the former. To get into Vaudville, you have to go up a black
iron staircase reminiscent of a fire escape; to get into Trash you have
to go down a few concrete steps into what otherwise might be a basement
apartment. Vaudeville is full of bright colors and kitsch; chances are
you'll prefer its alter ego— subterranean both literally and
figuratively.
Trash is one of the seminal punk and goth stores of
NYC. It has been open since the beginning of time, seemingly, and the
merchandise seems to reflect that, covering a lot of the trends from
the 70's to the 90's.
The front part is jewelry and clothes, the latter of the fetish variety. Lots of leather undergarments, rubber dresses and similar fetishy clubwear. You will find brightly coloured mesh shirts, vinyl pants and black lace shirts. You'll find leather jackets and spiky rubber purses. You'll find sharp (again literally and figuratively) jewelry, including Marché Noir, Axel rings (which are the most exquisite, long jagged claw rings you will ever lay eyes upon), and piercing jewelry. Not to be forgotten, a rainbow of grim and perverse t-shirts is seen on the Eastern wall.
Vaudeville, should you ascend from the depths, is mostly clothing;
with vinyl, rubber, leather, lace and old school punk plaid dominating.
Looking for those bondage strap pants? This is a great place to try
first. But the kitsch wristwatches, lunchboxes, lighters, and items
impossible to describe, are also quite remarkable.
Even if you don't buy anything, or of the store seems a bit too trendy for you, this is a piece of NYC history. The store has changed a lot from it's humble beginnings as a $3-$5 store, but it still has tons of
interesting items, even if the prices aren't as great as they were in
the 80's.
(Commentary by Clifford Hartleigh Low with Joan Rachel Dennis, Monday, July 6, 1998.)