Effortlessly Charming | Eclectically Chic
Step off Panjim’s main 18th of June Road, wander two blocks back and you’ll find one of the city’s most enticing, eclectic and effortless charming retail spaces. Set amidst the endless rundown offices, ICICI banks and apartment flats, this is one old Portuguese colonial home that’s taken on a whole new life in recent years.
Beautifully maintained, bright in colour and showcasing a recent Jaadugar by Srijanartwork spread across its side wall, its hard to miss the place, especially now that the trendy Black Sheep Bistro has just opened shop in the front portion and is attracting quite the crowd on its own.
And yet it’s this quaint little boutique found along the lane, up the steps and onto the side patio that has been pulling people in for the past four years. Spread throughout two small rooms lies a vast assortment of carefully curated and beautifully styled collections, designer wares, one off pieces, accessories, found objects, housewares and more. Not at all the kind of place to look for your standard mass market pieces but rather housing items all hand picked by Sacha and her team, each telling its own story with every detail. Along the window hangs a string of old handwritten letters and postcards sent in from clients, designers and friends. Quirky little trinkets, handmade ceramics and boutique teas compliment pure silk tunics, maxi dresses and leather flats. A seemingly endless selection of jewellery is displayed casually a top numerous tables while a small menswear section finds space in the cabinet below antique china.
This unique combination of luxury boutique meets hidden treasure trove is what makes the shop such a destination for fashion conscious shoppers across Goa. Describing her clientele as a mix of all ages, people who’ve grown to see the shop as more of a place to connect, share and explore fashion than simply shop.
Understanding that when you step into the store it’s not just a blouse you’ll be picking up but an afternoon you’ll end up spending catching up and discovering all the new little wonders that have made their way onto the shelves. Maintaining a personal connection with each of the designers and makers they carry in the store also lends a hand to the kind of collective space the shop has become.
Having grown up in this same old house that now hosts her shop, Sacha often reminisces of the days when all that surrounded the patio were gardens and her neighbour’s fields but a lot has changed since then. Even more so in the last four years since moving back to Goa after a long stint in Mumbai. And while the shop may be nearing the end of its slow, whimsical days as its increasing popularity and newly acquired position as a hot-spot for creative social gatherings thanks to the success of ‘The Summer Project’, she is happy to see the shop’s growth and evolution as a whole continues to be largely organic. Much like her path within the industry itself, there was never any specific plan or set ambition to one day run a store, rather a natural procession of events which lead her back to her family home and with it a desire to bring her favourite elements of a lifestyle in fashion to the sleepy streets of Panjim. Starting out with one rack of clothing collected from designers she had grown to love and support during her time working as a stylist and lifestyle writer at Elle India, Conde Nast and GQ in Mumbai, along with a mix of cushion covers and homemade cookies her mother prepared in the kitchen upstairs everyday.
Unfortunately the cookies didn’t last but word got around about the kind of exclusive pieces suddenly available at the shop and support quickly followed. Gradually increasing the number of lines carried and growing the assortment of products but always focusing more on bringing in the things they truly loved rather than highlighting the hottest trends of the moment. Making Sacha’s Shop one of Panjim’s finest, a truly unique little boutique where one is always sure to come away with something, whether they’d gone in looking for it or not.
Jewellery | Clothing | Accessories | Housewares | Art
Example . tilla . Savio Jon . Queen of Casual . Rose Tree . Flame . Naushad Ali . A/Aisit . Ninushka . Paromita Banerjee . Maku . Not Like You . Caught in the Wild . Sunieta . Goa Solo Andata . Joli . Suede . Emma Caine . Lisa Jackal . Labrador . Tea Trunk . Naiade Plante
Hours | Monday - Saturday | 10am - 8pm
E526 Swami Vivekananda Road | Opp the Old Passport Office | Panjim | Goa 403001
All photos courtesy of Sara Visconti