What's In-Store?
Save me, most unique stock in 10 of the best brick-and-mortar shops from Montréal to Melbourne!!
Hi! Since moving back to the US, I haven’t set foot in a clothing store—all the better, as I have $30 in my bank account at any given hour, and not that I shopped a ton in-store while living in Buenos Aires, but this week I’ve been longing for the experience of entering a really well-curated shop, knowing that it’s ripe with pieces to fixate upon and labels to add to your roster of knowledge, even if no purchases are to be made.
I’ve also longed to travel—though I spent a year and a half living, latitudinally, essentially as far as possible from my hometown, I have not spent appreciable time anywhere I’m not living in five years, and my last travel experience was an unfettered disaster, like, truly psyche-damaging and life-fucking [friendly tip: do not go on your friend’s family vacation if you aren’t CERTAIN they will throw down with their parents to defend your peace if need be]. I’ve been daydreaming a lot about being able to work with/for labels and boutiques around the world, as a copywriter or stylist or in-house yes-man or literally anything I’m somewhat qualified for.
As such, I’ve been virtually snooping around the stock of all the best brick-and-mortar, multi-brand shops I can find, from Canada to Australia with many stops in between—I’d be happy to stay on the West Coast if I could finagle my way into bare-bones employment. Maybe one day I could afford to hit up every store on this list, getting to browse non-virtual racks of Di Petsa, Ramp Tramp Tramp Stamp, Super Yaya, Fey Fey Worldwide, and more with a modicum of abandon… Anyway, I hope this roundup is pertinent to your current location or future travel plans, and please let me know in the comments or on Instagram if you’d like me to investigate a particular city or store in your area!
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Effe - Montréal
207 Laurier Ouest
Montréal, QC H2T 2N9
Effe has some of the best deals (as far as I can see online, at least) of any boutique I’ve been privy to thus far, with under-$150 sale offerings from the hard-to-find archives of personal favorite Gauntlett Cheng, deep cuts (and deeply reduced prices) of another favorite, Di Petsa (the breast-feed corset is my dream post-top-surgery garment), and sub-$100 selections from Archiving Stacks, a Vogue-noted curatorial project with an impeccable Instagram.
Bungee Space - NYC + Beijing
And
Yangrou Hutong No. 58
Beijing, China
Bungee Space is as if someone drained my lifeblood and let it calcify into a commercial space—the breadth of incredible niche brands is truly breathtaking, from my obvious pick SC103 to my recent object of infatuation, Fey Fey Worldwide (LOOK at those exclamation point togs below), to a trifecta of interrelated brands: I first fell in love with the soft hats of Poche, which has been near-defunct for a while now (but still has elusive pieces for sale on Bungee!), then was shuttled over to Little Tokyo Table Tennis (more than a brand, an LA-based ping-pong club that impresses me to no end) which is I believe by the same designer, then collaborator Homme Boy, which you know from my homecoming haul. With a billion other perfectly-curated brands, from Franscis Balken to Adam Jones, walking into either of this shop’s locations would be a nigh-religious experience for me.
Two Two - Oakland
3221 Grand Avenue
Oakland, CA 94610
I haven’t been to the bay area in so long, since before I really committed myself to the semi-bleak world of fashion writing, so I’d love to go to Oakland soon and visit Two Two. The saturated workwear basics from Meals; sculptural, reworked, low-key glamorous loungewear from Nothing Nothing2; and freaky, genderless selvedge denim by Unsettle are nothing I’d ever seen before, and I love being introduced to new brands through boutiques. The Ruth Neubauer clogs I recently acquired, and though they’re BEAUTIFUL, like, my dream shoe aesthetically, be warned: they are extremely hard, which I didn’t expect. I’m wondering if they’ll ever wear in, or if I’ll be relegated to standing in them with no lateral movement.
Soop Soop - Toronto
1319 Dundas Street W.
Toronto, ON M6J 1X8
Toronto seems to be, from my research for this post, by far the best city for in-store boutique shopping. Sub-$150 Vaquera t-shirts, more Gauntlett Cheng, and novelty wear by an unhinged artist I love, PZtoday (please look at their Instagram), mark this shop as the equivalent of Disnelyand for a capitalism-resistant killjoy who still needs to placate their id with conspicuous consumption every once in a while. Not particularly proud of any of that, but I’m fiending to go to Toronto, if anyone can dream up a way to fly me there…
Stand Up Comedy - Portland (OR)
511 SW Broadway
Portland, Oregon 97205
I somehow feel like I first learned about one of my soul-brands, SC103, through Stand Up Comedy, which I evilly never visited during my two-month stint in PDX (in the absolute worst height of the first pandemic winter, so it might not have even been open. Idiotic time to try out a new city). I don’t even understand the level of post-post-post*** irony its aesthetic operates upon to be able to deploy Comic Sans so casually and effectively, but I’m scared and impressed, and hope to Chihiro-style beg my way into a job there if I end up back in Portland soon. Come Tees + Kapital + most of the brands I frequently cover for my work at Magasin bode so well for this shopping experience.
Distal Phalanx - Melbourne
The Nicholas Building, Suite 603, 37 Swanston Street (level 6, suite 3)
Naarm/Melbourne, Victoria in so called Australia [sic]
I’ve never been to Australia, and to be honest, it scares me—any land that could produce both Julia Jacklin and my doomed long-distance crush is a little too powerful, tarantulas and dingos aside. I appreciate Distal Phalanx’s copious land acknowledgements on its site, and was happy to see the brilliant Aussie brand oft-mentioned on HR, Ramp Tramp Tramp Stamp, featured prominently, alongside imports Lucila Safdie and Maroske Peech, two labels I’ve had my eye on for the past year. This whole store is one click away from e-girl, but it’s an important, Australian click that renders everything a little more adventurous and comfy… basically, these pieces look like they’re meant for someone who touches grass.
Maimoun - Los Angeles
8400 W 3rd St.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
You’ve most likely already heard of Maimoun a million times by now, and I couldn’t confirm whether its brick-and-mortar is currently active or not (when I have spending money, I’ll make a pilgrimage and report back), but it’s de facto the coolest store in LA. It hosts a slew of Super Yaya’s newest pieces, was an early adapter of Mozhdeh Matin back when it was still Mozh Mozh (how I learned about the brand) and now stocks its best backless gowns and beyond, and it brings Salter House to the West Coast, which feels kind of wrong even though I know it’s right. I almost didn’t include Maimoun on this list because it’s so frenetically popular amongst the fashion set I felt kind of ridiculous, but to omit it would be even sillier, as it’s truly the boutique of the 2020s.
Retail Pharmacy - NYC
39 A Henry St.
New York, NY 10002
This shop always makes me think of Cat Marnell—so quintessentially NYC, so chaotic, so liable to make a drug-based joke. Some of my favorite brands sell here, including the also-beloved-by-Julia Fox Jaded, the nascent knit label Dazy Chains, Ben Doctor, and Evade House, but I love coming here (virtually, as I left NYC before it opened and haven’t been back since) to find new designers and budding brands, as its curation is chaotic but sharp—there’s always something to latch onto, even if the overall semi-crusty aesthetic isn’t really your bag.
Lucky Jewel - NYC
9 Monroe St.
New York, NY 10002
Basically the eager little cousin of Café Forgot, which I did not include on this list, because I don’t like CF that much as a space or in terms of the kind of community it’s created, but that aside, Lucky Jewel is at its best in the accessories department. I’ve shouted out Stomach of Your Dead Soulmate before many times for its iconic printed beanies; I love Bella Carlos’ work visually but will warn you that their (soldering?) methodology creates jewelry that’s liable to bend and break, as I learned from experience years and years ago with a now-defunct necklace; Nora Izu creates jewelry that’s not as groundbreaking but still quite beautiful and comparatively hardy, which counts for a LOT in my book as I’m prone to ruining delicate things.
100% Silk - Toronto
1558 Dupont St.
Toronto, ON ON M6P 3S6
Finally, 100% Silk is an OG of this boutique scene, having opened in 2018 (I know, only six years, but this type of store is truly so new) and again, residing in Toronto (I really need to get up there). The shop curates from around the world—Après Ski from Spain, Dubié from Argentina, Kepler from London—and often has great sales. It’s a solid, steadfast store with the sweetest employees, and I hope to visit sooooon!
I hope your week has been charmed! Thanks again for your patience while I try to figure out how to live all over again, and job ideas/referrals still so very appreciated.
<3 HR
Maroske Peech is Aussie 💗💗
I own the exact Ruth Neubauer camo clogs pictured here (that I purchased from twotwo!) - they will never break in. surrender to them and you will unlock pleasures never known