(Photo: Brad Paris)

Owner Mona Kowalska designs the clothes. What’s her style?
She’s a pioneer. Everything is curated without being overthought. Her clothing is incredibly transformative and sexy.

Sexy how?
Sometimes it’s buttoned-up. A couple of seasons ago, Mona did this very demure-looking pencil skirt, with a bondage strap that ran between the legs. The same people who come in wearing sprayed-on jeans were shocked.

What is everyone going crazy over now?
This field romper, like a bubble skirt with leg holes. Wearing it is like walking around in a cloud of starched crisp Italian poplin. People are perplexed and amused, and the obvious reference is, “Oh, it’s like a diaper.” And I’m like, “No, it’s not.”

Do you get high-maintenance customers?
Yes. Shopping in New York is so bound up in what people feel they’re worth, what they feel they’re owed. Often, going shopping is not because you need something; it’s because you want to work something out on somebody.

Where do you go after work?
Brown on Hester, for the flank steak. They have sensational food and wine. And Barrio Chino on Broome. Neither has a slavish following.

Where else do you shop?
My birthday money goes to Prada shoes. I’ll call Grandpa and tell him I bought one ballet flat with his present.

Related:

• Archive: “Ask Shop Clerk”
• Articles by Denise Penny
• Table of Contents: Jun 5, 2006 issue of New York | Subscribe!