Shopping in Brazil
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Mercado Municipal
This covered market is a belle époque confection of stained glass and a series of vast domes. Inside is a delightful market specializing in fresh produce and dried goods. It’s also a great place to sample a couple of classic Sampa delights: mortadella sandwiches and pasteis, pockets of dough stuffed with meat, cheese or fish and then fried. Many Sundays there is live music, but note that approximately one Sunday per month, the market closes for maintenance. Unfortunately, there is no regular schedule for these closings.
reviewed
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Draco Store
Like Galeria River a few doors down, this menswear store specializes in stylish beachwear, including well-made swim-shorts. You'll also find jeans, button-downs and T-shirts (in the R$50 to R$70 range) – the best of which bear the names of Rio neighborhoods (Copacabana, Ipanema, Arpoador).
reviewed
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Galeria Melissa
This temple to high-end footwear is worth checking out for its bold design – but don’t expect bargains. Melissa first made its name for inexpensive but stylish plastic shoes that appealed to all social classes – unusual for Brazil.
reviewed
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Mercado Praia de Pajuçara
The Mercado Praia de Pajuçara is an enclosed craft market on Pajuçara's waterfront selling lacework, hammocks, baskets and ceramics.
reviewed
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Café com Letras
Bookstore-café deeply rooted in Belo’s music and arts scene.
reviewed
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Daslu
Don’t plan on walking to Daslu. It’s against the rules to arrive on foot at São Paulo’s most over-the-top shopping emporium. A taxi is one option, though a much chicer option is to arrive by chopper at the rooftop heliport. The store itself looks like an all-white Roman villa on steroids, and over its three floors you can find every top designer, from Gucci to Tumi. Servants in black-and-white uniforms dole out free espresso, biscotti and sparkling water at bars spread throughout the store. Still hungry? There’s a tearoom, a sushi bar and a more formal dining room. Daslu even has its own harem – a sprawling series of lounges and changing rooms where mirrors are…
reviewed
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Babilônia Feira Hype
A festival atmosphere pervades this popular weekend fair. Young crowds mill through the clothing, sunglasses and jewelry stalls as live bands play nearby. There are also places to get your fortune read by misticos (psychics) or receive a henna tattoo. Food stalls (of the fried-sausages-and-beer variety) litter the fairgrounds. The event is held either in the Joquei Clube (Rua Jardim Botânico 971, Jardim Botânico) or in Barra (Av das Américas 1510). Call or check website for details.
reviewed
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Granado
A classic-looking apothecary with a name that’s been around since 1870, Granado incorporates Brazilian ingredients in its all-natural products. Favorites include the Castanha do Brasil (made from chestnuts from the Amazon) line of moisturizers, shampoos and conditioners. You’ll also find bright, sweet-smelling soaps and bath gels (even for pets and babies), scented candles, perfumes, shaving products and retro-looking bags. Other locations are in Lapa and Leblon.
reviewed
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Casa & Video
If you've lost your digital camera (or forgot to bring one), this electronics chain is a handy store to get a replacement. All the name brands are here – Kodak, Samsung, Sony – as well as some you probably haven't heard of. Prices are higher than what you'd pay back home (owing to high import taxes). Casa & Video has numerous other branches around town, including inside Rio Sul shopping center.
reviewed
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Parceria Carioca
This sweet little store sells clever T-shirts, colorful handbags and accessories, and an assortment of shoes, jewelry and decorative pieces, all of which combine elements of craftwork with contemporary fashion. As a bonus, Parceria Carioca works with NGOs and co-ops that provide jobs for artisans from poor communities. It also has stores in Forum Ipanema and Shopping da Gávea.
reviewed
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Lomography Gallery Store
The very first Lomography outpost in South America, this colorful shop and gallery specializes in the Lomo Kompakt Automat, a compact Russian film camera known for saturated colors and surreal effects (halos, shadowing). You can purchase different models here at the store, check out the LomoWall (of photographic art) and learn more about the growing fan base worldwide who are devoted to these analog cameras.
reviewed
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Mercado Municipal Adolfo Lisboa
This imposing cast-iron city market building opened in 1882, a copy in miniature of Paris’s famed Les Halles market. Although the art-nouveau ironwork was imported from Europe, the place has acquired a distinctly Amazonian character. In and around the market, you can purchase just about anything, from leather hats and índio crafts to bizarre fruits and traditional medicines.
reviewed
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Escada
One step inside this rambling antique shop, and you’ll just know there’s some treasure hidden within. The only problem is that it may not fit in your suitcase. Chandeliers, papier-mâché sculptures, along with antique rings, rugs, little statues and countless other objects litter the interior of this store. Peer beneath the dust and you might find a gem.
reviewed
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Unimagem
The choice of professional photographers in the city, Unimagem has a good selection of new and used cameras (SLRs, TLRs, point-and-shoot) as well as all the accessories (tripods, film, paper). It also runs a superb developing lab: black-and-white, color, slides and, of course, digital images. It can also provide a one-hour developing service for both slide and color film.
reviewed
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Arquitetura & Decoracão (33)
One of Rua do Lavradio’s most magical antique shops, with a small assortment of antiques ranging from heavy 1930s pieces to sleek, trim designs from the 1960s. Unfortunately, most of what’s for sale is furniture, and you may have difficulty squeezing the Oscar Niemeyer poltrona (armchair) into your suitcase. Sharing the space is a small art gallery.
reviewed
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Casa Oliveira
One of several excellent music shops on Rua da Carioca, Casa Oliveira sells all the pieces that make up the rhythm section of Carnaval baterias (percussion sections). Unique souvenirs for the musically minded include cavaquinos (ukulele-sized guitars), which start at around R$150, and pandeiros (tambourines), starting at R$35.
reviewed
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Feira de Arte e Artesanato
One of Belo’s major community events, this Sunday street fair attracts massive crowds searching for clothing, jewelry, street food and more. Located between Rua da Bahia and Rua das Guajajaras, and bordered by the soothing greenery of the Parque Municipal, it’s a fun place to wander and enjoy a slice of city life, even if you’re not in a shopping mood.
reviewed
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Favela Hype
Inside the Galeria River, this stylish boutique sells daring youthful fashions for men and women. Founded by the sisters Kananda and Krishna Soaras in Santa Teresa in 2001, Favela Hype incorporates a mix of retro and vintage design in the clothing, accessories and shoes, and the label deserves credit for its socially responsible employment practices.
reviewed
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Cerâmica Mbara-yo
This is the modest shop of ceramicist Carlos Amaral, who combines traditional Aruã and Marajoara ceramic traditions with award-winning results. You can have a short tour of the workshop to see how the pieces are made. Numerous small, affordable pieces are for sale, and each has a particular tale or significance behind it. It’s between Ruas 3 and 4.
reviewed
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Sociedade Anônimo
The ‘Anonymous Society’ is a playful store full of young women’s fashions (good for both the beach and a night out) as well as colorful jewelry, kids clothes, silly postcards, bags of plastic dinosaurs, Buddhas in little cases and other assorted toys and accessories that may be just the thing for an inventive night on the town.
reviewed
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Pontal da Barra
If you are interested in doing some shopping for Alagoas' characteristic filé crochetwork, head for Pontal da Barra , a fishing/crafts village beside the Lagoa Mundaú. Women weave outside the shops that line the streets, and prices are generally the lowest around. To get there, catch any bus heading south with Barra in its name.
reviewed
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Esapaço Fashion
This long, narrow boutique has a decor and aesthetic aimed to attract a young, hip, somewhat fashion-forward group of shoppers in its form-fitting skirts, dresses and tops, flashy sneakers and one-of-a-kind jewelry. Electronic music plays overhead, and there's a tiny lounge area at the back with some art books – for the gents while the gals shop.
reviewed
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Galeria do Rock
Even if you’re not in the market for a skateboard or a new tattoo, this seven-floor shopping center is an anthropologically fascinating gathering point for São Paulo’s underground communities, from punks to goths to metal heads. Hundreds of shops hawk everything from CDs and concert T-shirts to black capes and extreme piercing.
reviewed
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Livraria da Travessa
The newest branch of Livraria da Travessa is a great place to browse. There are some books in English, and an array of colorful (but pricey) coffee-table books. There's another branch around the corner and a third Centro branch on Ave Rio Branco 44, all with in-store café-restaurants.
reviewed
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Teargas
Daring men’s and women’s fashions are for sale at this innovative store and design studio in Ipanema. Stylized T-shirts (including one bearing the company logo, a gas mask), intricately embroidered button-downs, sleek jackets, pants and jeans are suitable not just for the mass demonstration, but for the posh after-party as well.
reviewed