Let’s not beat around the bush: the name of this shop (pronounced Pop Car) kind of sounds like some sort of Pokemon sub-species. To clarify, this is not a bad thing and, is in fact, endearing. Located amongst the cluster of terrace houses-come-boutiques on Paddington’s William St, it is by far one of the most welcoming and humble of these. In other words, the shop assistants are not assholes, which is sadly typical of stores that stock garments fiscally equivalent to the average month’s rent. But, seriously, what would you choose? Shelter (pschh…boring) or Dries Van Noten shoes (so worth being temporarily homeless for).  

Carrying on with the Belgian designer theme, Poepke also stocks Ann Demeulemeester and Bernhard Willhelm, so one feels as though they are browsing through an avant-garde Antwerp concept store. What? We can pretend. As well as this, countless other European labels are stocked including Ina Seifart and Mykita from Berlin, Paris’ Maloles, London locals Eley Kishimoto, Joseph and Linda Farrow, and Swedish staples Cheap Monday. Australian offerings are not forgotten, with 2 by Lyn and Tony, Bassike, Rittenhouse, Stefan Lie, To Sir With Love, and also NZ’s Nom*D. It’s totally understandable if you’re getting spine tingles and sweaty palms just thinking about it, so stop freaking out at your desk and go there. Now.