There is a distinct air of maturity to Pretty Dog. The large Brown Street space reeks of the kind of style that can only be acquired after years in the game. Years (more than a decade, to be exact) of trial and error, of lessons learnt and experienced gained. Oh, and did I mention the kind of natural flair for the finer things of couture that can’t be taught? Sitting comfortably off the main drag of King Street, this large boutique is a Newtown entity unto itself.

While there are elements of Pretty Dog which typify the greater Newtown atmosphere (the familiar service and devil-may-care approach to fashion) this sleek store stands apart from all the other Newtown retail offerings. There is a seamlessness in its essence that is not solely attributable to the labels displayed proudly on its racks.

Season in, season out, owner Tanya Stevanovic fills its neutrally toned walls with rack upon rack of clothes that are avant-garde without being too condescendingly ‘fashion’ – a product of that natural style-that-can’t-be-taught. Karen Walker’s entire summer collection (Tanya believes each line has a story to tell and so does not believe in piece buying) slips along the rack under visitor’s buying eyes. While across the room tales of the new Lover range begs to be bought and loved.

Pretty Dog has not always just been about the clothes. In 2002 Two Step Gallery was opened in the store’s second room, two steps down from the main shop floor. The raw space was an instant success (think: the drawing room that China Heights would have if China Heights was a modernist stylised 1900 century Victorian mansion), so successful in fact that that Tanya simply could not juggle the store-owner and gallery-curator duties concurrently.

So, after running herself ragged for two years Tanya decided to call it a day and Two Step’s doors were closed. It was the same story with the stores own toilet-ly titled label, Stool. The label generated its share of sales and appealed to the stores discerning clientele but Tanya simply did not want to take so much time away from the main game. But now we are getting ahead of ourselves in our adventure along the Pretty Dog time-line. What of its humble beginnings?

Over a decade ago two friends stumbled upon a second-hand store standing alone on a corner in Newtown. They fell in love with the space and when the opportunity arose for them to purchase the store they jumped at it; Pretty Dog was born. When Tanya and her best friend Nady Kraljevic (now owner of the Peel the Field stores) first opened the doors the store only stocked second hand clothing. The selection of savvy, sophisticated Australian and NZ designers that feature today followed a year later. The move into high-fashion was a natural one for Tanya, a self-confessed fashion appreciator.

'I left school at 17 to study fashion' says Tanya, who is, in her own skin, an immaculate contrast to the delightful chaos that is her office. After spending some time working in a shoe store, and deciding that returning to school was not an option, Tanya transferred her passion for fashion into the Wilson Street space. The rest, as the old saying goes, is a slice of this once-scungy inner-West suburb’s fashion history.

It goes without saying that a large percentage of the Pretty Dog success story rests with the woman behind this corner store. While she may not craft all the items on sale here, Tanya’s insistence that she personally oversee all buying means that the final selection is heavily influenced by her own taste. In fact, she maintains, nothing takes up hanger space here that she would not happily slip into. It’s a rather reassuring piece of information to have imparted on you; the petite storeowner’s ever-immaculate appearance is testament to her impeccable taste.

Like all good creative outlets Pretty Dog is a constantly evolving beast. While the stores’ racks are filled year in year out with labels that Tanya personally adores – Lover, Tina Kalivas, Cohen et Sabine and Karen Walker to name a few – the ranges are always changing and the selection of labels stocked often varies from season to season. Pretty Dog currently only casts its buying net as far as our Kiwi neighbours but there are plans afoot to venture to Europe in the near future. As for what else the crystal ball holds for Pretty Dog, only time will tell. Another Sydney store has been discussed which if/when it comes to fruition will undoubtedly be a shopping destination to behold. Just don’t expect it to be anything like its Wilson Street sister is all I’m saying.