Pulp Reality

I have a penchant for mini-department stores.  By department store, I mean a collection of fashion, household objects and books that’s very selective and coherent in its entirity.  Colette in Paris is one example.  Dover Street Market is another.  On some level, Urban Outfitters can be in the same category.  This concept hasn’t escaped Antwerp either and might I add, they’ve got it completely right with Pulp (Melmarkt 17/1st), a store started by the editors behind Pulp magazine, a cutting edge Dutch magazine. 

The SA there kindly explained that every item was a limited edition or exclusive to the store in Belgium.  Heck, there were items here that I haven’t even seen in London!  Of course, the problem with limited edition items in London is that the abundance of people in the ‘know’ basically makes it nigh impossible to get hold of anything unless  you’re a real diehard.  Not the case in Belgium where perhaps the demand is not so great and fashion hysteria is not so hysterical. 

They stock Kim Jones for Umbro, Japanese cult toys, limited editions for Adidas, lots of Surface to Air and plenty of other knick knacks.  They also curiously sell Peekaboo Vintage which is sold in Topshop, London and originates from Portobello Road but it’s actually cheaper to buy it at Pulp for some strange reason….! 

There’s also a great selection of photography books and fashion magazines but if you’re not sated, downstairs is the International Magazine Store which literally sells every fashion magazine conceivable (ALL the international Vogues!!). 

I didn’t go to crazy even thought I was tempted by this REALLY cool Surface to Air satchel.  I bought a limited edition white gauzy Fred Perry shirt.  This is something that I haven’t even seen in the London stores which like I said, means some Fred Perry obsessed person probably bagged them all already.