As Vogue and the Costume Institute prepare to merge punk and high fashion at the Met next week, we couldn’t help but wonder what NYC’s real punks think of it all: How authentically punk can something organized by Vogue and The Met really be?

When you think of NYC’s still-living true punk institutions–pretty much only one place comes to mind (and has withstood the East Village/Bowery’s drastic transformation): Trash & Vaudeville, which opened on St. Mark’s Place 37 years as a one-stop shop for all things punk and rock & roll–from creepers to Dr. Martens to rock t-shirts to super tight jeans to studded leather vests. Everyone from The Ramones to Bruce Springsteen to Madonna to Iggy Pop to Debbie Harry was a regular–and many of them still are.

If there is a living embodiment of Trash & Vaudeville, it’s the store’s buyer, manager and (unofficial) face Jimmy Webb, who’s worked there since he was a 16-year-old runaway and has become a bit of a legend in his own right. Here’s what he had to say about the Costume Institute exhibit and punk today.

Read more →