MARISTELLA & LA BOTICA

Maristella González, from Panama City, Panama,  is owner of the supercool store La Botica and street style blogger at pytinpty.com

How do find the clothes for La Botica? At some point I discovered all these online shops like Nasty Gal, Pixie Market and Need Supply. Through those I found out about all the brands I have now. Minkpink. Wild Fox. I began to meet people in showrooms who recommended other brands, like Evil Twin. This dress is Evil Twin, actually. That was when I was living in New York.

What inspired you to start the store in the first place? I studied graphic design [Maristella received her master’s from Pratt in 2009.] and I just didn’t want to work at an ad agency. I had a job at a magazine [Blank] for a year.

I had already started bringing clothes [to Panama] and selling them in June and July of 2010. I did a happy hour sale for example and it went really well. I did Glam Night Out.I did those things for a year. At the same time I was working at the magazine and doing freelance graphic design.

I had been lusting after this space for a while and just as I quit my job the furniture store that was here closed. It was like it was meant to be.

The storefront opened on December 17th 2011. 

What places in Panama do you recommend?  I basically go out to El Apartamento. I also go to the art galleries, such as Diablo Rosso and Los Del Patio.

Recommended restaurants? I really like Market. It’s one of my favorite restaurants. David [Henesey] who owns La Posta, Elephant Grill and La Chesa is a genius. He’s the best restauranteur we have. Maito. You have to go before you leave. [Mario Castrellón] is a really good chef. It’s like sophisticated Panamanian food. He has patacones, but they’re hashed. He serves ropa vieja but with sweet potatoes. It’s so so good. It’s also a really good place to hang out and have drinks.

La Botica carries clothes from Cheap Monday, Free People, BB Dakota, Wild Fox, Evil Twin, Minkpink, Matiko, Leviticus jewelry, Thief & Bandit jewelry and more. Go visit the store and then go back again because more brands like Dolce Vita, Deuxlux and Jeffrey Campbell are to going be added real soon.