The cool kids are coming upstate. While New York City has been an artist magnet for decades, the Council for Community and Economic Research found it the most expensive U.S. city in 2023 — meaning bye bye Brooklyn and sayonara to the Village for most creatives without a trust fund. As NYC living becomes less feasible, New Paltz is a car ride or MetroNorth ticket away from the city and a place where artists can keep their projects alive. Enter Scry Chapelle: New Paltz’s newest alternative clothing shop run by Tom and Amy Scry.
The shop is open Friday – Monday and located at 3B Church St. Inside its cave-like atmosphere, red disco lights glide across leather and lace to the beats of electronic music. A mannequin wearing a black dress with red sequins asking “could you f— the sadness out of me” greets you near the door. Behind the desk are Tom and Amy probably offering you a complimentary drink (I got black tea with sliced fresh ginger), and their dog Casper prancing around at their feet. Bright red jackets, glittering dresses and chunky purple platforms stand out in the sea of black clothing. Next to a black-and-white video of nameless DJs twisting turntable knobs and bouncing in place is a dressing room lit up by a glowing “SCRY CHAPELLE” sign above a stone slab, but Scry Chapelle is a place for more than clothing.
The store is new to New Paltz, and the Scrys have experimented with hosting events having the idea of “retail and rave” in mind, according to Tom. “There’s a DJ happening while people are trying on shoes,” he said. The clothes for sale stay out, and people can shop while DJs mix their music. Scry Chapelle’s latest event titled “SCRY VALENTINES” took place on the Saturday before Valentine’s Day. In addition to DJ performances and tastings from two local whiskey companies, the event included a burlesque performance, tarot card readings and artists giving stick and poke tattoos and face paintings. Tom and Amy plan on hosting late night rave events on Fridays and Saturdays in the future.
The shop is pronounced “skrigh-chapel” by the Scrys, but “I like when people want to pronounce it however they want,” said Tom. “It’s named after a lot of things,” including a chapel in the Belgium town of Scry and the act of scrying, which is to see visions of the future in a crystal ball.
All the clothing in Scry Chapelle is secondhand and curated by the Scrys from different places. “It’s an alternative vibe in general. Stuff that feels like you could wear it in a club,” said Tom.
“My go-to thing is: ‘would I wear this?’ I shop as if I’m shopping for myself,” said Amy, wearing thick black eyeliner and a hooded top like a gothic patron saint. Many of the pieces are purchased in bulk from a secondhand vendor in New York City, as well as from secondhand markets near New Paltz.
“A person came in here and bought an item to wear later that night,” said Tom. “They found a cool top and then wore it to dance here, which I thought was awesome.”
Scry Chapelle pieces range from retail clothing to designer vintage. “There is some stuff for everyone. We have some H&M and some more stuff here at cheaper price points. We have some things that are sample stuff from companies that weren’t even released,” said Tom as he pointed at a dress with his skeleton fingerless glove. “This crazy dress is handmade. It’s straight from a runway show. There’s a Betsey Johnson piece from the 1980s that’s also from a runway.” Other designer pieces in the store are from brands like Hood By Air, Prada, Alexander Wang and Rick Owens. “Definitely the ones we are proud of that we have,” said Tom. The Scrys also mend and upkeep their clothing for sale — altering and fixing them up as needed. “We baby every piece,” said Tom, who showed me the Rare Beauty scent they spray on clothing to “bring it back to life if it’s old.”
The Scrys are also DJs under the name Food Stamps and are signed to Eyeball Records, the same record label as My Chemical Romance and Thursday. Eyeball introduced them to the upstate area, which led to their transition from the city to New Paltz. “New York City was fun. It got expensive. It also got less conducive for artists and less indie — just more condos and more corporate,” said Tom.
The Scrys were not looking to settle in any upstate New York town. “We tested out the scene by deejaying around the Hudson Valley a little bit to see what neighborhoods were receptive to our vibe.” The pair started doing a monthly DJ set at Bacchus as part of an event called “omgoth.” “It went really well and we were like, ‘Yeah, this town seems perfect,’” said Tom.
“New Paltz is perfect for all the indie creativity that’s here. It’s cool that people are open to that and the community has all these little indie shops, creative vibes, which is what we want. This place fits.”
Tom and Amy plan on making it so you do not have to be in Berlin or Brooklyn to hear talented DJs — they are bringing them to us. “We’ve still been in touch with our city friends. Now, we’re going to be able to have our New York City friends come up here and DJ,” said Tom. “Our Bushwick DJ friends, Berlin DJs and stuff like that are going to come out and DJ the rave events, which is cool.”
Ethical business practices like sustainability are not a bogus selling point at Scry Chapelle like it is for so many brands. The Scrys take them seriously. In addition to the clothing being secondhand, the Scry Chapelle beverage program will involve no bottles and cans to reduce waste. “Everything is going to be through kegs,” said Tom.
Tom and Amy also donate a portion of their proceeds to People USA, which is a mental health non-profit that provides crisis response and wellness services. Tom said, “It feels important especially within the artist community.” While they have not hired employees yet, they plan to pay $20/hour as a base rate. “We want to be progressive in terms of employment also, which is important to us.”
In addition to bringing raves to New Paltz, the Scrys are considering hosting DJ workshop classes on how to use equipment and making analog music. They also plan to incorporate more music into the store by selling records from artists on their record label and intend to sell other items like candles and dried flower bouquets.
“There wasn’t a place that fit what we’re trying to do here. It didn’t exist,” said Tom. “This is even creating a place for us that we would want to go to.”
