Todd Selby - The Selby Is in Your Place

IF THERES ONE THING that unites us in New York City, its

not love.

Its not loyalty or intelligence or pride. Its not even
money. The particular type of thread Im thinking of falls
closer to envy. It runs through us like thread through a
needle. Everything we do is stitched in its color.

Theres this thing we New Yorkers do when we walk
down the street. We look in the windows of other peoples
apartments. We dont do it in a creepy, stalker way. Its
nothing like that at all. We do it more in a curious, maybe
even competitive way, although thats not to say its in a
negative way either. In this city were always looking over
each others shoulders. Theres always a hotter person we
could be going out with. Theres a cooler job just around the
corner. Of course, someone elses apartment is always better
than our own. The grass is always greener on the other side
of the fence, but we dont have green grass here, and we dont
have fences. What we have are fishbowl-type windows that we
look into so we can judge your life. Is it better? Is it worse?
Our competitive streak is closely linked to our drive to do
better. Its what gets us out of bed in the morning. Its what
gets us to wait in line at sample sales in the pouring rain or to
the gallery opening we have to attend. Were a greedy bunch
when it comes to our time and our goals. A materialistic
bunch, too, but also a determined one. Basically, we all just
want cool stuff. And we want it now.

Gore Vidal once said, Whenever a friend succeeds, a
little something in me dies. We judge that success by where
we live and what we own. Sometimes were lucky enough to
get to peek inside someones apartment or house. We get to
compare, and then we get to despair. Todd Selby has taken
that luck and multiplied it thirty-two times.

Ive known Todd for almost ten years. In fact, the second
article I ever published was about him. It was something I
wrote for Vice magazine. I had heard about a secret clothing
company whose owners wouldnt give interviews and
wouldnt reveal themselves. They were called Imitation of
Imitation of Christ, which everyone at the time thought was

pure genius and really funny. Turns out it was just kind of a
prank that William Eadon and his best friend, Todd Selby, set
up. When I got to meet this genius in person, I found out
we were the same age, twenty-three. He had a mess of curly
hair, and wore a fanny pack and some sort of ironic Gucci
sweatshirt. The year was 2001. None of us really knew what
the hell was going on, and, meanwhile, Todd had figured out
some way to make that work for him. I liked that, and weve
been friends ever since.

Have you ever seen his apartment? I think hes had a
few, but the one he currently lives in isnt that big a deal. Its
great, dont get me wrong. Its a simple East Village studio.
The perks include a clawfoot tub and a decorative fireplace.
Big whoop.

One thing I can say about Todd that completely refutes
my envy theory is that he never seems jealous or envious at
all. In fact, Todd has always just been a hard worker. If he is
competitive, we would only know it by his drive and ambition.
Todd will always make time for a lunch meeting or just a
fun casual hangout, although beneath the surface he is busy
plotting his way to the top like the rest of us. Todd does it
with a smile and a warm hug. I think thats a good thing. So
while envy and competition keep someone like me tuned in
to The Selby, fascinated with how the rest of the world enjoys
their totally awesome lives (because everyones place is totally
better than mine, duh), Todd seems to have approached
the project from a different place. A place of curiosity and
celebration, and (sigh) fine, I guess, even love, too.

All of the subjects in The Selby want to be friends with
you. They want you to see their cats, the weird ceramic
sculptures they bought on the side of the road in West
Virginia, their collection of Chanel shoes. And you want to see
those things! The Selby has encouraged not only our inner
voyeur, but also our inner exhibitionist. I think I can speak for
everyone when I say that it feels fucking great.

When Todd asked to shoot me in my apartment, of course
I agreed, but at the time I didnt realize how huge the project
would turn out to be. I made a few mistakes. For starters,

I didnt vacuum. (Why didnt I vacuum?!) I didnt realize my
big red dress would be so big on me, my makeup was sparse,
and I made a weird choice to get into the shower (???). I
loved the pictures, but every time I see Todd I bug him to
shoot me again. I have new cool things! I tell him. New
outfits! New furniture! Ill even vacuum! I fight for a revisit,
and he kind of just laughs. My whole thing is, because I crave
everyone elses nest, Im thinking that people absolutely need
to crave mine. And the answers on my questionnairethose
can be better, too!

Like I said before, envy is the thread. And Todd has
sewed us an entire wardrobe out of the stuff. But if envy is
a sin, Todd has changed that, too. Looking through these
images, you might find yourself feeling just a little more
intimate with a person youve never met, and might never
meet. But you know their stuff, you know their bedding,

and with each tiny object theyve collected, you know them
better, maybe better than some of your closest friends. So,
yeah, I hate everyone in this book because Im jealous, but
I also kind of love them because they collect weird and
sometimes even ugly things, just like me. Theres hope in
these pages. And that means theres hope in envy. And if
theres hope in envy, I think its safe to say theres hope in
everything. And that everything starts in a very special
place: home. Its where the heart is, after all.