Keep Calm and Go Shopping

One day Bimba & Lola dress literally saved my date. As usual, I thought I had nothing to wear when suddenly I came across this store. It’s pretty neat, cool and trendy, and their great shop assistants helped me find the right size and even the accessories to go with the new outfit. That night I looked elegant like a lady.
Here they always have new collections coming. Girls who are mad about bags and shoes won’t leave this place with empty hands - come and choose from a variety of flats, sandals, wedges and pumps. The store offers a combination of reasonable prices and great quality. Just two weeks before the sales you might accidentally drop in for a one-day sale when you can get up to 40% off some items. I never pass by Bimba & Lola without stopping at it and, frankly speaking, leave a considerable part of my salary here.

D409 is a multi-brand store with a new brand joining the club every year. In the summer of 2011 it was ZU+Elements. Prices are not that affordable: you can hardly buy €250 sandals on the spot, but they have sales. The place is not that touristy and most customers are local fashionistas so there are good chances to find your size on sale.

An attractive pseudo-vintage store with good music and trendy books on art. Vintage aficionados regularly spend considerable sums of money at Holala. Highly recommended for original jeans, denim jackets and cowboy boots with creaking thick leather soles.

La Riera Baixa is a street packed with vintage stores. A trend that has lately become very popular in Barcelona is to mix second-hand clothes with experimental collections by young local designers. That's more or less what you will find on La Riera Baixa. The only exception is Lailo vintage shop where they sell theatrical costumes and period items. The owner is an old lady who is so confident about the exclusive character of her goods that she'll never give you a discount even on a shabby sweater with moth holes.

A shop for travellers, Mama Benz is a great place to pick up some take-homes. Here you'll find mugs with city prints, travel magnets, city guides in English and Spanish, clothes and backpacks made from organic materials, bottle openers, notepads and a thousand of other souveniers.

http://www.mamabenz.cat

Advertising of this Catalan brand catches tourists' attention as soon as they arrive at the airport. The clothing is quite peculiar, with intense prints and flamboyant colours but beautiful. For a second season in a row, Christian Lacroix presents the brand's capsule collections, which fundamentally differ from the main line. Prices are above the average. When your purchase exceeds 100 euro, you get a 10% discount as well as a 13% income tax refund.