Chloe Sevigny’s ‘Sale of the Century’ causes a frenzy

(cont.) She had worked with her team to organize and merchandise the space with meticulous delight, offering racks of clothes that acted like little biographies of each of the sellers. “All the people involved are really fashion-fashion-fashion people,” as Boardman, who was an editor at Paper for three decades, put it, “who have well-known looks and well-developed style.”

Bulbous Comme des Garçons dresses and coats burst from Yaeger’s racks. (“Her closet is my Vivienne Westwood fantasy,” Singer said.) Countless lace and tulle dresses, many with shredded hems and priced around $50, hung in Sevigny’s section, as did an $825 leopard-print coat by Supreme and a $150 tube top by Jean Paul Gaultier, a mix of the delicate and hard, the street and the fantastical.

In Singer’s corner, $150 vintage dresses with spiffy prints or illustrations sat next to a stunning white brocade minidress with coral and turquoise beading by Balenciaga under Nicolas Ghesquière. (The piece was priced at $1,000 but would have sold new for far more.) It was tantalizing to imagine the evenings she might have had in those clothes, getting ready in her onetime apartment in the Chelsea Hotel and charging out into the night. Boardman’s space was filled with the costume jewelry he’s known for layering over Ralph Lauren polos, as well as a Charles and Diana tea towel from his beloved collection of royals memorabilia.

Satenstein and her sellers were thoughtful about presenting a wide range of items. “Resale platforms, especially third-party ones, can only do so much and can only sell certain pieces,” Satenstein said. TheRealReal, for example, has a list of designer brands it accepts, and it can often be difficult to see the appeal of a filmy antique blouse on Depop, eBay or Etsy. “This felt like a great segue into giving context and pizazz to someone’s items that may not have been appreciated somewhere else,” Satenstein said. Sevigny lamented in an interview last week that thrift stores seem increasingly “overwhelmed with disposable brand stuff.” She wanted shoppers to be able to find, at a reasonable price, the kind of funky and beautiful things she grew up hunting for.

Satenstein is known for a style of closet clean-out that is more like therapy, and part of the sale’s appeal was that even the sellers’ trash was treasure. Once, while Satenstein was cleaning out one of Singer’s bags, she found an old Styrofoam plate. As it turns out, it was autographed by Bob Dylan, a souvenir from Singer’s early days waitressing in the city.

Sevigny is deeply attached to her immense clothing collection but found herself in a cycle of buying, selling and storing. Satenstein came to her storage unit with her assistant, Eden Pritikin, “and they were cutthroat,” Sevigny said.

I feel like I’m also at a transition point,” she continued. “I’m 48. I just had a baby. I’m okay to transition out of certain things that maybe I would have been into before. Maybe that was a big impetus. There were a lot of things that weren’t maybe as pristine as now I want to present myself as. Maybe I don’t feel the need to draw so much attention [to myself]. Here I am buying a pink faux-fur Prada jacket for myself for Mother’s Day!” she laughed. “But maybe wanting to ease myself into something a little more subtle, or a little more grown-up.”

At noon, the doors opened, and the buyers’ faces had a look of wonder. Sevigny perched on a sofa by the entrance, signing copies of her 2015 Rizzoli book, and took selfies and chatted with fans. Shoppers quickly loaded their arms with piles of sheer white dresses, Depeche Mode T-shirts and vintage dresses in geometric 1970s prints. The three women who had been first in line scored a shaggy navy blue coat by Proenza Schouler for $200 and a khaki Mugler dress for $325, plus armfuls of other goodies. (cont.)

(cont.) By 1:05, Yaeger had made nearly $4,000. (Each seller is donating a portion of their profits to a charity of their choice.) Less than an hour later, her rack of skirts by Comme, Replika and Marc Le Bihan was empty, leaving just a few blouses by Chloé and animal-print cardigans. “This is the most money I’ve ever spent, like, impulsively,” said one woman, clutching two pairs of Tabi shoes by Maison Margiela and a miniskirt, to a friend. Pizza was delivered, and Satenstein took a box down to distribute pieces to those still bravely waiting in line. One man finally bought a much-discussed enormous black lacquered chess set by Chanel for $450. He said he “absolutely” planned to use it.

Among the starry-eyed zoomers were a few genuinely famous faces, including actress Tommy Dorfman, who gave Sevigny a big hug, and the security consultant and whistleblower Chelsea Manning. Dressed in Carmina shoes, skinny jeans and a fitted pink button-up, Manning said Singer and Sevigny had texted her to stop by. She was inspecting a pair of black combat boots by Solovair, a British company that, she explained, produced Doc Martens until the brand moved its manufacturing elsewhere.

The sense that shoppers were among fashion icons — fulfilling a fantasy of running amok in their closets — permeated. One shopper bought a white vest and matching trousers because Sevigny mentioned offhand that she’d worn it to dinner with Nicolas. (That would be Ghesquière, the designer who reinvented Balenciaga at the turn of the 21st century and who now helms Louis Vuitton’s womenswear.) Singer, a longtime Vogue editor, worked the cash register, advising buyers on the details of their purchases. “You know this Chloé from the era of Phoebe Philo?” she asked one shopper, referring to the period during which cult-favorite designer Philo was designing the French brand Chloé in the early 2000s with a flirtatious, party-girl grit.

To vintage buffs and those who treat their closets as burgeoning wearable museums, this kind of provenance is seductive.

It wasn’t that shoppers seemed to see this as a sort of celebrity auction, where Marilyn Monroe’s pill bottles are sold alongside discarded notes from acting school. It was that, to devotees, Sevigny, Yaeger, Boardman and Singer are known to few but genuine celebrities and those who know them, the kinds of personae who make fashion into something not only human, but also eccentric, exciting.

“I think it’s some illusion, some dream of what it’s like to be in fashion,” longtime fashion writer Yaeger said, her lips in their deep pink cupid’s bow. “I always think of myself as an outsider in this industry, even though I’ve been around for a million years, so maybe not.”

Niko Haagenson, 19, was more emphatic after chatting with Yaeger. “I think she’s a great example of true, true inclusivity,” he said, “where it doesn’t matter what your style is, how rich you are, who your parents are, whatever. She is just somebody who is so her.”

Gabriel Held, a vintage collector whose archive celebrities often borrow from, got the Versace printed minidress and several other items, including a faux-fur Marc Jacobs coat priced at $200. Considering that Sevigny and the other hosts held several such sales before, including some with Held, why did he think this one caused such a frenzy? Nostalgia. “Every generation since [her own] has been inspired by her,” he said. “Everybody’s here with the same hope to get a piece of history.”

That, and the general mania for secondhand designer clothes — nostalgia for clothes from periods when the shoppers were barely cognizant — especially among 20- and 30-somethings. Laura Reilly, 32, who edits a shopping newsletter called Magasin that focuses on designers and sales off the beaten path, said the huge interest in vintage clothes means it’s harder to find good stuff at a good price. “This is the ultimate edit,” she said. (cont.)

(cont.) It was a genuinely heartwarming scene. “If this doesn’t fit me, you should get it!” I heard friends say to one another more than once. A grinning mother and daughter, Donna and Bayleigh Young, shopped together — it was Mother’s Day, after all — walked out with more than 10 pieces, including “this Loewe thing,” Bayleigh said, which was a kind of vest that looked like football shoulder pads that she had been lusting after for “a long time.” Her mother scored Sevigny’s book (with an autograph, of course) and a pink cardigan from Sevigny’s clothing line for Opening Ceremony.

As the hours stretched on and shoppers continued to inspect torn band T-shirts and label-less faded vintage dresses with the same tenderness as that brocade Balenciaga dress, or Sevigny’s shearling Hermès coat, it seemed as if we were in a temporary utopia, where the value of a garment isn’t merely the label, but the story behind it, and the feeling that you, too, might have some fantastic adventure by just slipping your arms into the sleeves.

I love Chloe and have followed her career for the last 2 decades. As an outcast adolescent who loved movies and rented a lot of off-the-wall shit from Blockbuster growing up, she was a gateway to a lot of outsider cinema for me. She's a great actress. I watched Big Love religiously while I was in high school and adored her on that. While I was in grad school in NYC five or six years ago, she had one of these sales and I wanted to go, but figured it'd be a shitstorm—plus, I obviously wouldn't be able to wear any of it—it'd just end up a collector's piece.

I remember reading that she was a bit of a hoarder and had stored portions of her clothing at her mom's house, as well as rented storage units because she had far too much to cram into her apartment. It's probably healthy that she's able to get rid of some of this stuff now. Her fashion sense has been at times questionable, occasionally brilliant, but always interesting. She seems to really know her shit and is a dedicated student of fashion.

Good evening, America. My name is Chloe Sevigny.

It has recently come to my attention that I have too many CLO-thez.

Her Oscar look is one of my favorites.

Fashion seems so frivolous and passé these days.

As opposed to in previous days, r7?

Chloe really is homily.

Did anyone invite Drew Droege to the sale?

I didn’t know Chloe was homily. Is she really religious?

FUN FACT: She was Topher Grace's babysitter when they grew up in Darien, Connecticut, which is ranked among the Top 10 richest towns in America.

I'm Chloe Sevigny.

Sounds like half a scam. If I read correctly, many of the clothes on each of the fashionistas dedicated racks, were in fact "curated" to be a "Sévigny" piece, but never owned by her.

"Chloe really is homily."

She really does sermon fashion realness.

This should be a Bret Easton Ellis novel.

Can someone in the know of that time clue me in to what was so special about her? I admit I do like some of her acting work, but I've always found her whole it-girl thing to be really bizarre. As someone mentioned above, she isn't exactly beautiful, although not outright hideous. And although I get that her fashion is kind of cool, I feel like her appeal was strictly in some weird, niche-NY way to people in that scene at the time. But overall, is she really considered to be THAT monumental in fashion and that arty NY scene? Was she some rich guy's daughter?

Well there is nothing more to explain that what you summarised, R17. She was a (vaguely rich) girl from CT who was slumming with all the gritty/lux fashionistas in NY and then LA very young. She dressed fashionably - high and low. Her name alone did a lot of heavy lifting. Parker Posey was a independent film it girl, who never really rose to the top as a fashion it girl. Miss Sevigny managed both lists.

Miss Sevigny's timing and taste is pretty good. She set up in Park Slope at peak Brooklyn Bougie and left at the right moment, as well. Lily Allen didn't get the memo and her brownstone is ridiculous.

R17, you just had to be there ...to get it

The 90s were a magical time

It’s her appearance that makes her approachable to other women, that men find her untraditionally sexy. We had a party last weekend and a woman showed up with a slick sequin dress and combat boots- this is a classic Chloe look but few women have the kind of “prim gravitas” to pull it off.

That said, she really looked hard in that Poker Face episode, but purposefully so for the character.

What is "that Poker Face episode"? Thanks

She looks hard anyway. I remember her pregnancy announcement thread here I thought she dressed like shit, and dressed the baby’s dad like Caillou.

R8 It was a different world then. My personal opinion is that fashion is silly and not relatable. But I hate things like the Met Gala, Kartrashian lifestyles, and any conspicuous display of wealth. I was raised that being flashy or showing off your money is the epitome or gauche, low class and tacky. Part of being from more of an old money family.

Chloe may be old money and probably is. But many of the flashier celebs are new money and naturally excited about it.

"“prim gravitas”

Great description. I'm Chloe's age and knew her peripherally back in the early 90s. Someone else here mentioned it, but her appeal wasn't about being the HOTTEST or the RICHEST. She was a throwback to a former NY, where a chill, dry vibe and a shrewd sense of fashion would open all sorts of doors. NYC was a much less crowded city then too. Not as much competition.

She was characteristic of downtown types who worked at the clubs and boutiques. In that demimonde, ostentatious wealth or beauty was kinda sniffed at believe it or not. The real cool kids had taste, a bit of grit and artsy cultural aspirations (photographer, video director, painter, DJ).

R27. Very well put. What you have written is very hard to describe to younger generations or others who did not experience it. It was an ineffable type of cachet that belied the traditional measures such as beauty, wealth, etc.

Beauty and wealth are always prized.

She’s always seemed really cool. She has great style.

R27 now try to explain the concept of “selling out” to Gen Z

If I recall, Chloe isn't Old Money she is no money. Middle Class from a very rich town.

I enjoyed her Pittsburgh detective series, Those Who Kill. It was preposterous. She lived in a huge glamorous loft. It was semiotically linked to Flashdance.

[quote]“She’s been the ‘it girl’ of New York since the it girl of New York even started,” said Waverly Bruno, 27.

Bitch, please.

Was Brenda blah blah blah Frazier the star of that one really old show, R34?

She looks trans.

No she doesn't you humourless twat.

That's what she says, R32. Who knows if there was some family money there that she's never spoken about. I somehow think it may be true though. Her dad was an accountant I believe, which, though a respectable career, is not necessarily a goldmine. She has said they were considered poor in Darien, and that her dad "worked very hard" to bring them up there.