(Photo: Brad Paris)

You're an institution.
We’re still selling the real deal: bondage pants, vinyl miniskirts, skulls. Debbie Harry used to buy by the pound. The stuff is as classic as Giovenchi.

Who?
Giovenchi.

You mean Givenchy?
Yeah, like Audrey Hepburn made Givenchy famous? We made bondage and rock and roll famous. Well, Vivienne Westwood did, hats off to her, but we’ve been rocking them out of here since the seventies.

How has St. Mark's changed?
There’s always going to be a little punk-rock kid with a mohawk; I see them trying. I still see the crackheads and the hookers, and they’re a cute little element in a way. It just saddens my heart that if you’re poor, you can no longer move here. Where are the Basquiats? Everyone in my family is a farmer, with a little tractor and a hand-made gun rack in the back of the car. I came to the big city and lived a rock-and-roll life until the dream came true.

Which dream is that?
Being myself and spreading the good old rock-and-roll love.

Who shops at the store?
Everybody. I sold the same ball gown to a goth princess, a Long Island bride, and a violinist at the Met. We dress a lot of wrestlers.

Who doesn't?
If you’re looking for beige, don’t come.

Related:

• Archive: “Ask Shop Clerk”
• Articles by Denise Penny
• Table of Contents: Mar 14, 2005 issue of New York | Subscribe!