So apparently, names are overrated. Just down the street from the no-name bar above Yellow Tree Café in Bandra, there’s a new export surplus store that hasn’t decided what it wants to be called yet. It’s been around for two weeks, but hey, why deal with the baggage of a tag when you can have a clean slate?

This was the situation when we visited the Pali Naka store on Tuesday August 14, fumbling from Janata to Pali Village Café, until we found what we were looking for. Inside was a man, non-committal, who explained the above no-title business quite matter-of-factly, while his spritely assistant sprouted a list of names that wouldn’t stop – “Only, Roxy, Tommy, Reebok, Adidas, Mango, Loft…”   These are some of the brands stocked at this store where there’s plenty for women, but not so much for men.

Roxy Heart

As far as export surplus stores go, this one’s well-organised (clothes are arranged by size), and comes with a trial room. Currently trending in the dominant women’s section are blouses. Sheer ones from Only with prints, cap sleeves and front ties, for approximately Rs 550 each. See black and white polka one. There are also some fun Roxy T-shirts, tacky tube dresses and blah Reebok track pants. The most useful buy here is the Rs 300 solid-coloured Adidas spaghetti strap top available in every colour of the rainbow. bpb acquired some for yoga class, as well as a silky rainforest green Loft dress (Rs 1,100) and a cool orange and pink mesh pencil skirt (Rs 650) where the brand label’s been torn out. There‘s also a pants section with Mango jeans and Tommy trousers.

Children of Men

The men’s section here is barely-there featuring Tommy Hilfiger undies and a few random tees. We imagine they’ll be stocking up soon.

Maybe this store is like Ms Golightly's cat named Cat. Maybe they’ll call it Shop. But wait, there’s already The Shop just across the road. This is going to be one hard street to navigate. Lucky for you, Janata’s boozy party packs are well (ear) marked.

Getting there: Umm, export surplus store with no name, next to Pali Village Café, Pali Naka, Bandra, approximately Rs 550 for a top, Rs 700 for a skirt.