Photos of New York's Beautiful Weirdos in Their Natural Habitat

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Photos of New York's Beautiful Weirdos in Their Natural Habitat

With the fate of the Allan and Suzi boutique up in the air due to rising rents, we decided to play dress up in its store with all of its beautiful clothes.

As Erica Euse put it in her excellent profile on the Allan and Suzi boutique, the consignment and vintage shop in the Lower East Side is a "time machine" that can take you back to the days "when Times Square was still sleazy, Studio 54 was the place to be, and fantastical fashion was all the rage." The proprietors of the shop, Allan Pollack and Suzi Kandel, have spent 30 years cultivating an aesthetic that is both trashy and gloriously glamorous. Among their wares, you can find weird wigs and couture gowns, gear fit for a sex party, and ranges right for the runway. And their customers vary from drag queen and punks to Miuccia Prada and John Galliano. Their legacy was permanently enshrined in NYC lore thanks to their bizarre and beautiful public access show, At Home with Allan and Suzi, which featured all of their colorful friends wearing their wildest garments. Unfortunately, the future of the Allan and Suzi boutique is up in the air due to a recent rent hike that could force them to either relocate or close the shop for good.

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To honor the legacy of the iconic New York boutique (and to motivate you goofballs to start shopping there), we sent photographer Claire Christerson and some of her friends down to Allan and Suzi to play dress up. In these pics, you'll see a little bit of why we find the shop so captivating. If you want to learn more about Allan and Suzi, read Erica's profile, watch their public access show on VFiles' YouTube channel, and visit the frigging store and buy stuff before it is too late.

Allan and Suzi is located on 237 Centre St, New York, New York. Visit AllanandSuzi.com.

Photos by Claire Christerson
Photo Assistant: Mariko Makino
Styling: Anthony Contino
Models: Sinjun Strom, Olimpia Dior, Amy Cakes, Karmenife Paulino, Luna Ray Smith, Raffaella Hanley, and Emma McMillian
Clothes: Lou Dallas and vintage garments, provided by Allan and Suzi