Seller's Remorse: The Return

The return of Seller's Remorse, which asks vintage dealers (myself included) to what share the items they wish they never sold.

With vintage, one can often develop attachments to the items they sell and trade. When the items leave their hands, these emotional ties often take the form of regret. I hear it all the time from my peers. The remorse can come from any number of sources - personal nostalgia, pricing the item too low and leaving money on the table, the item is so rare or niche that they never find it again, or it’s just super cool.

In 2022, I started a column called Seller's Remorse for GQ Recommends. It was short-lived, but the premise was simple: invite vintage dealers, myself included, to highlight items they regret selling and share anecdotes that illustrate the source of their remorse. My theory is that their stories can provide some insight into the way they think and see the world. If you ever wondered where a curator gets their ‘eye’ from, I believe this could be a good start.

Without further ado, here are some things I sold that haunt me on the daily ———

L.A. Story (1991) promotional t-shirt

When the Pacific Palisades and Altadena fires happened this past January, I became quite sentimental about the city I grew up in. I made it a point to consume media that specifically were about or took place in Los Angeles. Books like Rosecrans Baldwin’s Everything Now, Ione Sky’s Say Everything, Eve Babitz’ Eve’s Hollywood. Movies like Agnes Verda’ Mur Murs and Steve De Jarnett’s Miracle Mile. I wish I still had the tee for one of the all-time L.A. stories, L.A. Story.

CAA t-shirt

I presume this shirt was given out to employees of Creative Artists Agency, perhaps for a company picnic or something. I love how tongue-in-cheek the back graphic is and how it plays on the classic Hollywood agent/client dynamic. Hollywood agents have this stereotype of being very self-serious and this feels kind of self-aware in a refreshing way. Tha agent’s expression is also priceless.

As a result of writing this and remembering how much I miss this shirt, I was able to find another one online. Fingers crossed it fits.

Fargo (1996) promotional window scrapper

To me, this is an example of a perfect promotional item. The frigid cold and snowy winter that the Fargo story is set in adds so much tension and a layer of stress to the plot. A perfect promotional item can evoke the feeling something gave you. And I think they nailed it here. Anyone who has had to scrape a frozen windshield in the dead of winter, while also thinking about work/family responsibilities, and also running late can attest, knows the cold can have you a little on edge.

2019 metal object thing commemorating Lawrence Weiner’s In Front of Itself installation at The Shed

I sold this recently at this past Available Works book fair. I’m not fully sure what it is, so let’s call it metal object thing. Someone on my block left this out on their curb along with a bunch of other stuff they were giving (NYC BABY!!). It commemorates Lawrence Weiner’s In Front of Itself installation at The Shed. It was the first art installation at The Shed, but more importantly, it was Weiner’s last site specific artwork before he passed away. At home, I have one of his posters from the 80s and I think it’s always great to hold on to items that represent different points in an artist’s career.

Frank Lloyd Wright Intermediate School Wildcats crewneck sweatshirt

There is a lot of Frank Lloyd Wright licensed clothing out there and with Kith and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation collaborating on a capsule in 2023, the drive to find increasingly obscure vintage pieces celebrating the architect is at an all time high. Enter the Frank Lloyd Wright Intermediate School Wildcats crewneck sweatshirt. On a superficial level, it’s a great sweatshirt with classic collegiate school style big print with a mascot. But for the FLW heads, when the piece is for a school named after him it hits quite different. It almost feels like a parody graphic, but I assure you it is a real school.

Peavey Products ‘Print Techs’ t-shirt

This was a promo shirt for the company that makes crime scene investigation equipment. I think it goes by Lynn Peavey now. I love how detailed the artwork is and appreciate the craftsmanship in the screen printing. The level of detail in the finger print is some of the best work I have seen.

The 3rd International Contemporary Art Fair in Los Angeles T-Shirt

This shirt is from the 3rd International Contemporary Art Fair in Los Angeles in 1988, which features John Baldessari’s Studio (1988). This particular artwork, as far as I know, has never been used on any other Baldessari tees. I miraculously found another one, and then sold it again. Foul me twice, shame on me, etc etc.

The New York Times Millennium Issue fleece vest

Earlier this year, I got in touch with a gentleman in New Jersey who was a retired New York Times delivery driver who had a bunch of clothing and miscellaneous items from his time working there. It was all the kind of stuff vintage dealers love to find. Items you could only get if you worked at the Times and in the case of this gentleman, items that you use while working at the Times. Many of the t-shirts I sourced from him were ones he wore while on the job, made specifically for the deliveries team. My kind of workwear.

For me, the kicker with this vest is the date. Vintage pieces with dates are always novel when it comes to concerts and museum exhibitions. But it's fun to have a piece of clothing where the timestamp is for a date the entire world was freaking out about for many years leading up to.