Monica Schnieper opened her pre-loved designer shoe and accessories store Pelle on William Street in Paddington in March 1996, and three decades later she is still at the same address, still hand-selecting every pair, and still drawing customers who have been visiting since childhood.
Pelle, Sydney’s first consignment shoe store, sits at 90 William Street in a Victorian terrace in one of the city’s most recognisable boutique precincts. By most measures of small retail longevity, reaching 30 years in the same location is an extraordinary feat. On a street where Ms Schnieper estimates only around three stores have lasted as long as she has, the anniversary feels significant.
The Bet That Paid Off Over Three Decades
Monica Schnieper brought a unique technical background to Sydney from Zurich, where she trained as a professional shoe repairer with Bally. When she took out the lease on the William Street terrace in 1996, she started with just one year, wary of committing too deeply to something untested. “I didn’t know if it was going to work,” she said.
It worked. And it kept working through the retail disruptions that have since reshaped the high street in ways that 1996 could not have anticipated. Online shopping ate the bottom out of the fashion market. Rents on desirable inner-city strips climbed well beyond what most small operators could sustain. The pandemic shut retail entirely for months. The post-pandemic cost-of-living pressures reduced discretionary spending. Through all of it, Pelle held its position.
Ms Schnieper credits the store’s resilience in part to its model. Pelle operates on consignment, meaning sellers bring or send photos of pre-loved designer items, and the store displays and sells them on their behalf. Stock turns over constantly, arrivals are unpredictable, and the floor on any given week might include Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo, Prada or Miu Miu at a fraction of the original price. That combination of freshness and value gives customers a reason to keep coming back in person, something an online search cannot fully replicate.
“I have loved recycling from the age of eight when my grandma took me to the flea market,” Ms Schnieper said. “I fell in love with second-hand and preloved and the history of what came before me.”
That personal connection to every item in the store, developed over decades and rooted in a childhood passion, is not something easily automated or scaled.
The Street That Kept Changing Around Her
William Street has transformed considerably since Pelle opened. What was once a largely residential backstreet with only a few commercial frontages gradually became one of Sydney’s most recognised boutique precincts. It attracted independent designers and destination stores throughout the late 1990s and 2000s, then watched many of them close as rents rose and the economics of inner-city retail tightened.
Neighbouring consignment store Di Nuovo ranks among the longest-standing businesses on the strip, having preceded Pelle’s arrival by three years when it opened in 1993. The parallel is not incidental. In a retail environment where the pressure on physical stores has been relentless, it is the stores with a reason to be visited, rather than browsed online, that have proven most durable.
Ms Schnieper acknowledged the losses along the strip. Around three stores, she estimates, have lasted as long as she has at the same address.
Loyalty That Spans Generations
The customers who have sustained Pelle through three decades are not anonymous. Paddington resident and fashion auctioneer Ida Combley has been visiting the store since she was a child, brought there by her mother and aunt. “They’ve been here my entire life in the same spot,” she said. “Anyone who’s a local definitely knows about Pelle.”
That multi-generational loyalty is not something that appears quickly or can be manufactured through a marketing campaign. It accumulates over years of consistent quality, a consistently changing stock and the kind of personal service that gives a regular customer confidence in what they are buying.
Australian actresses have also sought the store out over the years, a detail that initially caught Ms Schnieper off guard. “I was very surprised at that and a bit starstruck,” she said. The celebrity patronage continues, though Ms Schnieper has settled into it with equanimity.
Treating Herself More Often Lately
Despite spending three decades surrounded by beautiful objects, Ms Schnieper said she almost never kept anything for herself. The bills come first. “When that happens, then I can treat myself,” she said, before laughing. “Lately, it’s been happening more often.”
It is, in its way, the most honest measure of a business that has finally made it through the hard part.
Visiting Pelle
Pelle Shoes is located at 90 William Street, Paddington, NSW 2021. Consignment is available by appointment or by emailing photos for appraisal. Contact the store on 02 9331 8100 or visit pelleshoes.com.au.
Published 04-April-2026
