Gallery Garb

Spiritual America

It’s a moment every woman is familiar with. The immediate feeling upon entering a store and knowing there it is - shopportunity, writ large. You can’t always put your finger on why, but you sure know when you see it, and you see it in spades at Claire Lemetais’ 850-sq foot fashion candy jar Spiritual America, which has risen phoenix-like from the space that was formerly her gallery Thierry Goldberg (now relocated to larger premises at 103 Norfolk Street). With the surety of an art curator’s eye, Lemetais has assembled a clap-hands-and-bow-down roster of womenswear labels, jewellery and accessories, all at the acme of cool, stylish wearability, but all with a hint of quirk or whimsy, whether from detail or design.

Lining the simple, white-washed, pine-boarded store are pared-down racks of supremely edited hip Euro and US garments from staples to essentials and the occasional flight of fancy with price points ranging from $300-$1200. Where else can you find stunning silk scarves from Milleneufcentquatrevingtquatre, Andy Lifschutz jewellery, Rachel Comey shoes and apparel, and cuddly, chill-busting Duffy cable snoods all in one place? Add a grandslam cache of Hussein Chalayan, Surface to Air, United Bamboo and AK Vintage alongside up-and-comer American labels like Marie Turnor’s leather bags and accessories, Mociun jewellery and Morgan Carper dresses, and you get why stepping in this store is a spiritual experience indeed.