His and Her Guide to Shopping in Madrid
Madrid is Spain’s central hub for business, history and culture. With that also comes fantastic shopping for all budgets. While most shopping guides will be subtly (or not so subtly) written just for women, this guide knows that men have Euros to burn too and there aren’t many cities better than Madrid, which boasts some of the best dressed men and women in Europe.
Girls & Guys
In the last few years Spanish fashion brands have crept onto the High Streets of other European nations. The growing success of Pull & Bear, Desigual, Mango and Zara has defied the recession by offering both men and women colourful, interesting and different affordable fashion. These and more Spanish and international brands can be found on Madrid’s main drag Gran Via.
If you are seeking designer and luxury brands and don’t mind their heart rate-increasing price tags head out to the picturesque area of Salamanca where in addition to all the usual French and Italian suspects of haute couture, you’ll also find flagship stores for Spain’s home grown talent like Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, Loewe and Victorio y Lucchino. This area is transformed during September’s Madrid Fashion Week, which is already nipping at the high heels of Milan, Paris and London as the fashion event to be seen at.
Madrid is also dotted with a number of the Spanish retail royalty Corte Inglès department stores and for a one stop shop that only stocks Spanish brands find the not-very-Spanish sounding Deli Room on Santa Barbera, which stays true to its name by displaying men’s and women’s clothes in cake fridges.
For the Ladies…
For the best ladies’ budget fashion, find the Spanish brands Blanco or Lefties, which will do their best to dress you from head to toe for well under 100 Euros. Should you consider this still be too pricey and not nearly as much fun as rummaging for pre-loved vintage treasures, don’t miss out on El Rastro’s Sunday morning flea market where at the right stalls you can pick up clothes from the 80s, 70s and beyond for under 10 Euros. Another popular spot for vintage shopping is Retro City in the trendy Malasaña area.
And finally don’t overlook the shops you’re used to back at home. It’s well known that Swedish brand H&M has worked with high profile designers like Karl Lagerfeld to create limited edition lines in UK, well a collaboration with Belgian designer, Maison Martin Margiela, was recently released exclusively in all Spanish H&M stores. Furthermore Mango and Zara are considerably cheaper in their home country and will likely be selling different clothes to the ones stocked in other countries.
For the Gents…
Despite soaring heat in the summer, Madrid men will still pull off a suit in style and catering to this are a number of great shops. Back in the upmarket Salamanca you can have a shirt made to measure at Yusty and the beautifully designed interior of Gallery sets the standard for its collection of clothes by the best men’s designers.
If you walk away with a purchase from Man 1924 on Claudio Colle you will automatically be walking away with a bag of cool as this shop keeps Madrid’s most stylish in threads. If it’s good enough to be featured in chief street style photography blog Sartorialist then it must be worth a look.
As often happens, men’s vintage shopping is a little overlooked in Madrid, but is certainly not a lost cause with bargains to be found at Humana, a charity shop selling a fine collection of men’s pre-loved clothing and accessories at very reasonable prices. This is a secret the girls will want to know about…
Tips for all…
Madrid is a great city to wonder and shop around, however it sadly has a mixed reputation in regard to pick pocketing so keep your belongings and shopping money safe.
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Photo Credits: rromer, corremadrid, LB & Roberto Sena, Sylvain Bourdos, Juan Antonio Flores Segal and chusoart
