The Cult Shop - Mungo & Maud

"How much is that doggy in the window?" is not the question to ask at Mungo & Maud. There is a display of canine hessian tailor's dummies sporting leather accessories, but this is not a pet shop. It is. as its carrier bag state, a "dog and cat outfitters". If that conjures images of poodles in nail varnish and canopied carbeds, worry not.

Here, the style is simple Chic. the prints toile de Jouy or ticking stripe. Animals, and owners, who shop here have excellent taste, like proprietors Nicola and Michael Sacher who three years ago acquired their English setter, George, and quickly spotted a gap in the market. "There was nowhere to buy items such as dog beds and bowls, or even leads, that looked attractive in my house and were not super-exclusive," says Nicola. With a background in TV production and a husband working for Marks & Spencer (he is a member of the founding family) she figured they had the perfect combination to run this unique project.

It took two years of research to complete the product range, a quarter of which is made specially, and to find a suitably elegant yet neighbourly shop, in always-interesting Elizabeth Street, Belgravia. Opened earlier this year and already a favourite with locals such as Philip Treacy - it caters to his two new Jack Russells, replacements for the late, lamented Mr Pig - it is so successful that both the Sachers have given up their other careers. Running it with Nicola's brother, at least one of them is generally to be found serving in the shop, which they adore. "When you love animals, it's a pleasure to hear about other people's," says Nicola, "and customers' ideas are very important to us."

Mungo & Maud - the name is made up. Nicola feeling these are exemplary monikers for a dog and cat respectively - cleverly looks as if it has been there for ages. It has original Victorian moulding, plain white walls, a painted pale grey floor, massive reclaimed wood and untreated steel shelves and spherical glass lights, their brass fittings carefully aged With lemon juice. Just inside is a large metal waterbowl to refresh canine customers. Dogs and owners are made equally welcome.

Most of the own-label range is in simple neutrals, with muted colours and plenty of natural leather. There are leather and striped webbing collars and leads, dog treats in hessian bags and metal bowls mounted in acrylic. The Sachers also searched widely for the rest of their eclectic range (including a stylish woven leather dog basket by French leather accessories designer Henry Beguelin, from £950) and it all comes wrapped in grey tissue paper and an old-fashioned paper bag. None of this may mean much to your average pooch or moggy, but for their owners it makes pet-needs shopping a pleasure for the first time.