In the back garden of Metropolitan bar on a recent Thursday, buff dudes in work boots rummaged through heaps of polyester sweaters alongside even buffer dudes in five-inch heels. Up front at the bar, the “Alotta Stuff” vintage auction and clothing swap in Williamsburg was underway and the thrifted treasures for trade were piled as thick as the hosts’s makeup. Two boyish models, Lady Havokk and Krystal Something Something, posed in Pepto-Bismol eighties prom dresses, gladiator fringe skirts, and children’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costumes.
“We’re all crazy hoarders,” explained Alotta McGriddes, one of the event’s auctioneers and hosts along with friend and fellow drag artist Thorgy Thor. McGriddles and Thor first started the event to help clear out their overflowing closets. On Thursday, bids for the 40-some auction items started between $1 and $5, occasionally reaching as high as $40. The piles of clothes in the back, which anyone could dump cast-offs onto, were free to take.
McGriddles, a freelance social media consultant by day, has gone thrifting two to three times a week at “secret, out of state” locations ever since she started doing drag about a year ago. “Just by virtue of being a drag queen, your wardrobe doubles,” she said. “My whole apartment has turned into a closet. We have racks and racks of clothes.”
In keeping with the auction’s name, the clothing was much more New Jersey yard sale than West Village vintage boutique. McGriddles wore a busting-at-the-seams sixties shift dress (“If I move it’s going to rip!”) while Thorgy Thor sported a billowy tie-dye jumpsuit and dreadlocks that resembled a Louise Bourgeois sculpture. The Brooklyn drag scene, fans say, is much more “punk” than its counterparts in other boroughs, as different from Manhattan as acid-wash from satin. If drag shows in Manhattan are about being polished, pretty, and sophisticated, Brooklyn is “a screaming sloppy mess,” said Thor. “We can get blood on an outfit and we don’t give a fuck,” said McGriddles. Click through the slideshow to meet some of the clothing swappers.
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Ruby Roo, 22, Drag Queen Ruby Roo, a 22-year-old restaurant server and student, hopes to do drag full time when she graduates from NYU in Decembe... Ruby Roo, 22, Drag Queen Ruby Roo, a 22-year-old restaurant server and student, hopes to do drag full time when she graduates from NYU in December. “I'm obsessed with shopping and vintage is my thing,” she said. “I’m from Oregon and every time I go home I hit up all the thrift stores. Now I have a good excuse to actually use all the costumes I buy.”
Photo: Rebecca Smeyne
Photo: Rebecca Smeyne
Lady Havokk, 25, Drag Queen Lady Havokk, 25, one of the auction’s two models, does drag full time and is proud of it: “I don’t have to have a day... Lady Havokk, 25, Drag Queen Lady Havokk, 25, one of the auction’s two models, does drag full time and is proud of it: “I don’t have to have a day job! I have rich Jewish parents from Connecticut!” she shrieked to a group of friends while smoking a cigarette during the show’s intermission. “Today I woke up at two,” she noted earlier. “It’s amazing. I’m not a morning person.”
Photo: Rebecca Smeyne
Holly Van Voast, 48, Topless Paparazzo Holly Van Voast, 48, spent the evening filming the show and described herself as the John Waters of Brookl... Holly Van Voast, 48, Topless Paparazzo Holly Van Voast, 48, spent the evening filming the show and described herself as the John Waters of Brooklyn’s “punk drag” scene. “It’s sick branding,” she said of her look. “No one will forget a moustache and titties.” Van Voast, who calls herself the “topless paparazzo,” has been arrested on multiple occasions for public nudity, a practice she insists is motivated not out of activism but “to promote Alotta, Thorgy, and Krystal,” she said. “They’re amazing artists who deserve recognition.”
“Holly is in no way affiliated with us,” said McGriddles later. “She’s crazy. She shows up at our events, that’s it.” Photo: Rebecca Smeyne
Keesean Moore, 24, freelance stylist/writer For freelance stylist Keesean Moore, 24, thrifting is “like a horrible disease,” he said. Still, he c... Keesean Moore, 24, freelance stylist/writer For freelance stylist Keesean Moore, 24, thrifting is “like a horrible disease,” he said. Still, he couldn’t resist a ruffly dress made out of a fabric similar to West African Kente cloth, which Moore hopes to fashion into a top. “It’s a small community and there aren’t that many people willing to spend money on crazy items, so it’s good to come out,” he said.
Photo: Rebecca Smeyne
Photo: Rebecca Smeyne
Mini Cupcakes, 23, Drag EntertainerPhoto: Rebecca Smeyne
Photo: Rebecca Smeyne
Anjo Mojina, 26, Restaurant Manager, and Aaron Voight, 25, Outerwear Designer Anjo Mojina (left) doesn't do drag but loves to get dressed up. “I ... Anjo Mojina, 26, Restaurant Manager, and Aaron Voight, 25, Outerwear Designer Anjo Mojina (left) doesn't do drag but loves to get dressed up. “I got this jumpsuit for my roommate who is a major club kid,” he said of a black romper with a white ribbon panel. “It’s amazingly androgynous.”
Photo: Rebecca Smeyne
Jeff Boyes, 33, Hairdresser Jeff Boyes, 33, a hairdresser, scored a sequined floral blazer that would not have looked out of place at a senior ci... Jeff Boyes, 33, Hairdresser Jeff Boyes, 33, a hairdresser, scored a sequined floral blazer that would not have looked out of place at a senior citizen casino night. “It’s very gauche, but it will work as an accent piece,” he said.
Photo: Rebecca Smeyne
Chad Baldante, 39, IT Consultant Chad Baldante, 39, an IT consultant, hopes his new Ecuadorian poncho will “scare the shit out of people on the s... Chad Baldante, 39, IT Consultant Chad Baldante, 39, an IT consultant, hopes his new Ecuadorian poncho will “scare the shit out of people on the subway,” he said while flipping around the hood’s pom-pom. “I think if I stroke [the pom-pom] people will be especially freaked out.”
Photo: Rebecca Smeyne
Photo: Rebecca Smeyne
Diba, 29, Service Industry Extraordinaire/dancer Diba, 29, a dancer, discovered a back brace in the pile of free clothes. “There’s definitely an ... Diba, 29, Service Industry Extraordinaire/dancer Diba, 29, a dancer, discovered a back brace in the pile of free clothes. “There’s definitely an element of ‘I don’t feel like taking this to Goodwill so I’ll bring it to the auction,’” she said of the item. “Still, maybe you could do a really fucked up burlesque number with this. Involving a reveal of your scoliosis.”
Photo: Rebecca Smeyne
Photo: Rebecca Smeyne
Photo: Rebecca Smeyne
Alotta McGriddles, 27, Performer/Renaissance Man “A lot of drag queens will shop at Rainbow or whatever and it’s awful. I want something more uni... Alotta McGriddles, 27, Performer/Renaissance Man “A lot of drag queens will shop at Rainbow or whatever and it’s awful. I want something more unique,” said Alotta McGriddles, 27, the event’s co-host and a freelance social media consultant by day. Among the items auctioned off by McGriddles were a Harry Potter–esque black hooded cape (fetching the night’s highest bid, $45), a flower print garden dress, and a Wizard of Oz Dorothy costume.
Photo: Rebecca Smeyne
Thorgy Thor, 28, Drag Performance Artist Thorgy Thor, 28, a “professional drag performance artist” and the co-host of Alotta Stuff, is also a cla... Thorgy Thor, 28, Drag Performance Artist Thorgy Thor, 28, a “professional drag performance artist” and the co-host of Alotta Stuff, is also a classically trained violinist and cellist who plays with symphonies. Thor first got into drag when she grew tired of performing only in the restrained world of classical music. “I’m too good for the back of the orchestra,” she said. “Now I get paid to party for a living.”
Photo: Rebecca Smeyne
James Ro, 23, BartenderPhoto: Rebecca Smeyne
Ari Rosenbaum, 27, Marketing Ari Rosenbaum, 27, was the winner of a straw picnic basket complete with a cooler and dish set. “This is Dorothy Rea... Ari Rosenbaum, 27, Marketing Ari Rosenbaum, 27, was the winner of a straw picnic basket complete with a cooler and dish set. “This is Dorothy Realness,” said Thorgy Thor of the item. “You know with this we’ll be getting fucked up on Ecstasy pills in McCarren park.”
Photo: Rebecca Smeyne
Photo: Rebecca Smeyne
Krystal Something Something, 29, Drag God Krystal Something Something, 29, one of the auction's two models, prefers the phrase “drag artist” to “... Krystal Something Something, 29, Drag God Krystal Something Something, 29, one of the auction's two models, prefers the phrase “drag artist” to “drag queen.” The difference? “Drag queens are more focused on being pretty and going for a certain look and energy. Artists are about breaking the mold.”
Photo: Rebecca Smeyne
