Manitoba-born Catherine Pacak used to live in Kenya, which is where she learned that “poa” is the Swahili word for “cool.” In this life she presides over a by-appointment loft (where she also lives) on a tucked-away side street at Queen and Sherbourne. Her client base is mostly busy 40- and 50-something executive women who don’t have time to search through stores. Lines are culled from Germany, Brazil, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Argentina; blazers are $325 and up, pants from $235, skirts from $225, and a cream-coloured quilted trench from Germany’s Berri is $575. Dangly crystal necklaces on gilded chains (from $125), from Montreal’s Claudia Accessories, add glitz.