VintageGent’s Menswear Daily

Curbside Seating

I was talking to a friend from the city, and I was reminiscing over the days of itty bitty Studio Apts that were wedged in the attic of brownstone apartment buildings. I have left that life far behind, but the treasures that people put up on the curb for the trash was amazing. Far from a dumpster diver, I couldn’t help not stop for a midcentury modern chair or a coffee table with a car engine as the base. Folks tossed it rather than stored it if they were a foreign student who went home for the summer, or just didn’t have a buddy who had a pickup truck. I guess when everyone takes the subway, those are in short supply.

Makes one think about getting one of those studios in NYC for a month to camp out just to see what can be had. Sort of a midcentury modern stakeout. Maybe not, as a “cheap” studio apartment in town is quite hefty, but everything is relative. I was shocked when I met someone with a $2,500 hole in a wall. They said they lived in a “rent controlled” building. Seems like that is OUT of control rent. I would need rental assistance big time if that was the going rate for 400 square feet. I don’t think the furniture would earn their keep.