Chad Senzel has a nice rack

There is no shortage of great vintage shopping in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. However, one store is not even a store at all. It’s a clothing rack on the corner of Ludlow and Canal Street manned by a guy named Chad Senzel. I recently sat down with Senzel to learn more about the #streetrack, but was treated to a fun conversation about his personal history with fashion as well as the history of some of his favorite pieces he’s found. 

So what exactly is the #streetrack? Well, it all started when Senzel and some friends wanted to sell some of their clothes and set up a rack of clothing outside of one of their apartments in Soho, sidewalk sale style. Soon, this became a regular thing and he was setting up a rack whenever he could, wherever he could. Eventually, he could no longer keep hitting up his friends to borrow clothing racks and stand outside of their buildings, so he decided to buy his own rack and get a storage space to keep his stock in. Chad felt like he had always had the right style and opinions on vintage clothing anyways and decided that this would be the most low-risk way to do it. With no real overhead and gaining the attention that he has, he’ll be doing the street rack for as long as he can.

Chad is from Vermont, right outside of Burlington, and like most Gen-Z/Millenial cusps he developed a love for fashion through Tumblr. In fact, Chad told me a story about how he was so obsessed with Tumblr that his mom deleted his account just to get him off of it, “In retrospect, it’s so silly that that felt like that was interrupting my life, but it felt like that”. He also spent a lot of time digging through hypebeast forums where he would read up on his favorite brands. He got into vintage specifically through thrifting and Instagram. He felt that the vintage scene in Vermont was more like “elevated thrift” and “not discerning in its selection”. 

In searching for a way to connect more with fashion, Chad started working at J.Crew, what he describes as “the coolest store in Vermont, believe it or not”, during high school and eventually transferred within the company to move to New York in 2017. While working here in New York, Chad began selling clothing on the side, and when the pandemic hit and he was laid off, he finally took the leap to work on his passion project full time. During the weekdays, he sources for the rack and sells some things online, with the occasional styling or consulting project coming across his desk as well. 

Chad has some favorite items from the rack, and will on occasion keep some special items for himself. When I asked him what his favorite item he’s ever sold from the rack was, he told me about a Pucci dress from the 70s which was a collaboration with a lingerie company called Formfit Rogers. Chad went on to tell me about the history of the garment and pondered on the idea that today, lingerie leaves the house as fashion all the time, but when that particular dress was made it was a shocking concept. When he found the dress, he recognized the iconic Pucci print, and then did some research when he saw the Formfit Rogers tag and learned that it was a very sought-after collection. This is all part of the fun for Chad. He gets personal satisfaction from building his knowledge of fashion history. His favorite item he has not sold yet is a merino short sleeve Chanel sweater, “as somebody who doesn’t come from wealth, having designer items, like Chanel, feels exciting, and getting to experience something that at the store was several hundred dollars over I think is really unique, and in some regards more exciting than a several hundred dollar, rare t-shirt”. 

While he mentioned a lot of his women’s items in our conversation, his favorite thing to collect is t-shirts, keeping the best ones for himself. This is all okay since his patrons are typically more excited about what he calls “wearables”, his fun word for anything that is not a t-shirt. When I asked about what he wants to find most for his collection, he mentioned an original Paradise Garage t-shirt from the 80s. Once again, Chad explained the history behind the garment. (Google Paradise Garage, it’s worth it). He also has his eye on a few vintage Keith Haring t-shirts, which he collects, and some rap tees from his favorite artists. 

Chad describes his own personal style as “mensweary, but eclectic and colorful”. He walked me through his outfit which started with his classic seersucker trousers, “church-going” pants. Which he dressed down with a tonal t-shirt and an all over print Polo Ralph Lauren hat. He’s particular about the brands he chooses to wear, noting that his visually plain t-shirt is actually a GAP t-shirt that was made in the 90s. He also used the word “funky” to describe his style, saying that people describe the clothing he sells as that, and he feels he tends to represent that in the way he dresses.

Chad’s favorite item of clothing that is his own to keep is a Paul Smith women’s vest made of taffeta nylon from the early 90s. It has burgundy, black, and yellow stripes, with a few touches of olive and zips up the front. It has four pockets, and is lightweight, “it’s a vest you can probably wear 250 days of the year”. He loves how useful and funky it is. The items he wears the most are a pair of olive cargo pants that just fit him perfectly and a pair of Noah shorts he bought on a whim on a 90 degree day when he was wearing jeans. 

I asked Chad to tell me who his style icons were, but they aren’t your typical celebrity moodboard faces. He mentioned Chris Union, from Union LA, and @denimtears, Tremaine Emory, and Brian Procell of Procell in Downtown Manhattan. Chad also mentioned that he loves the way his friend Cole dresses (you can actually spot Cole at the rack sometimes, or follow him on insta @csillag_usa). Chad appreciates his defined style, something he doesn’t feel he has himself. After this we had a wholesome discussion about how our friends are our style icons and the importance of being able to mix designer pieces with more everyday brands like the GAPs of the world. 

Since his debut in New York Magazine, he says the rack has gotten busier. Before it was more so people walking around who stumbled upon the rack, and friends, and friends of friends, and so on. Now, the rack has become a recognizable destination. Doing the rack is the highlight of his week, so he’ll be doing the rack for as long as the weather is nice enough. He’s in the process of looking for a space to be open in the colder months, but for now, it is to be determined. You can follow Chad on Instagram @chadsenzelarchive or visit him on Ludlow and Canal while the weather is still nice.