Cool Hunting

With the ever-increasing popularity of fast fashion and the "one day it's in the next day it's out" attitude, it's refreshing to see that thoughtful boutiques bearing items of timeless design still exist. This is the premise behind Totokaelo, an e-commerce site that just finished their brick-and-mortar location in the historic Maritime building in downtown Seattle. Like its sister store Impulse, one of Seattle's top places to shop for contemporary casual clothing, mastermind and owner Jill Wenger's newest shop will carry those minimalist brands we all lust after like Comme des Garçon, Yohji Yamamoto, Martin Margiela and Acne among dozens of other greats.

Launched a few months before the physical storefront, Totokaelo online set the scene for a community spirited atmosphere by encouraging customers to create user profiles and become active on the site's blog where you'll find an open discussion on sizing, styling or shared interests such as music or where to shop in foreign cities. The storefront follows suit with a combination of well informed staff who offer attentive personal service.

Totokaelo, a Latin phrase (toto caelo) meaning to reach to the edge of the stars, is in line with Jill Wenger's aesthetics as a buyer and her philosophy on fashion. Seeking investment pieces that will carry her customers through season after season, she believes clothing should be "thoughtfully chosen, loved, and worn until they literally fall apart."