Mumbai (Bombay)
Anokhi gets the East–West balance just right, with men’s and women’s clothes and bedding in block-printed silk and cotton.
Must-see shopping in South India
Pune
Sells Indian saris, silks and cottons, as well as linen shirts for men, and diverse accessories including bags and jewellery.
Gokarna
A fine selection of natural beauty products, including handmade soaps, health foods, tea and spices. Prices are very fair.
Karnataka
Fair-trade shop selling handwoven textiles, banana-fibre products and other crafts made in and around Anegundi village.
Mumbai (Bombay)
The beautiful traditional printed papers here will make you start writing letters.
Mumbai (Bombay)
Mangaldas Market, traditionally home to traders from Gujarat, is a minitown, complete with lanes of fabrics – hip No-Mad Fabric Shop has even corralled a…
Mumbai (Bombay)
Crawford Market is the largest in Mumbai, and contains the last whiff of British Bombay before the tumult of the central bazaars begins. Bas-reliefs by…
Mumbai (Bombay)
You could buy your packaged-for-tourists spices at hassle-y Crawford Market; or, you could go where Mumbaikars go, which is this fragrant market in Dadar…
North Goa
The Mapusa market goes about its business daily except Sunday, but it really gets going on Friday morning. It’s a raucous affair that attracts vendors and…
Chennai (Madras)
This fair-trade, nationwide chain sells stylishly contemporary village-made clothes and crafts. Perfect for picking up a kurta (long shirt with short/no…
Mumbai (Bombay)
Two stories up a riveting teak stairwell, with vintage Minton tiles and art nouveau stained-glass windows, in one of Coloba's most astonishing mansions,…
Mumbai (Bombay)
Inspired by the Japanese on-duty sleeping idea known as inemuri, this high-concept, made-to-order shop does extremely comfortable designerwear hand-dyed…
Chennai (Madras)
On the ground floor of this popular cafe-and-boutique-complex, Anokhi has wonderful, East-meets-West, hand-block-printed clothes, bedding, bags and…
Kochi (Cochin)
This renowned fair-trade Indian brand has fine Indian textiles, fabrics, clothes, homewares, ceramics and natural beauty products, created using…
Mumbai (Bombay)
One of Mumbai's most frenetic and fascinating, Bhuleshwar Market is an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink-type shopping thoroughfare hoarding everything from…
Kochi (Cochin)
A world of soothing pinks, greys and oranges, Niraamaya sells ‘ayurvedic’ clothing, accessories, homewares and yoga mats – all made of organic cotton,…
Kochi (Cochin)
India's largest shopping mall, Lulu is an attraction in its own right with people coming from all over to shop, hang out in the food courts or cinema, or…
Bengaluru (Bangalore)
Hugely successful chain with a range of stylish traditional clothing, homewares and accessories in traditional cotton prints and silks. Quality skincare…
Mumbai (Bombay)
High Street Phoenix, one of India's first and largest shopping malls, and its mall-within-a-mall, the luxury-oriented Palladium, is an indoor/outdoor…
Mumbai (Bombay)
This very hip designer-leather shop from Delhi features a near-all-India lineup of carefully curated wallets, passport holders, truck-style travel cases,…
Puducherry (Pondicherry)
Going strong since 1960, the Fabindia chain stocks stunning handmade, fair-trade products made by villagers using traditional craft techniques, and…
Puducherry (Pondicherry)
The kind of place where Indiana Jones gets the sweats, this antique shop sells sculptures, carved doors, wooden chests, paintings and furniture sourced…
Mumbai (Bombay)
This newer concept store is the brainchild of two French fashionistas, who have curated a potpourri of international and Indian designers to fill the hip…
Mumbai (Bombay)
Though not one official market, the street stalls and shopping arcades between Marks and Spencer and St Peter's Church offer a cornucopia of bargain…
Margao
One of Goa’s best bookshops, Golden Heart is crammed from floor to ceiling with fiction, nonfiction, children’s books, and illustrated volumes on the…
Kochi (Cochin)
Fabulous hand-block-printed dresses, kurtas, skirts, bags and shirts in floaty fabrics blend Indian and European design at Anokhi, a Jaipur brand famous…
Chennai (Madras)
Chennai's newest, most luxurious shopping mall hosts all the big-name Indian and international brands and chains, from Chanel and Zara to Bata, Lifestyle,…
North Goa
This friendly and rewarding little bookshop, at the end of an improbable, dingy corridor, specialises in books about Goa and India with a focus on…
Kovalam
Stock up on hand-embroidered, block-printed or dyed kurtas, dresses, trousers and scarves, plus bags, beauty products and homewares at India's favourite…
Calangute & Baga
A refreshingly different bookstore, in the owners’ South Calangute home, and a very pleasant Italian-style garden cafe. Come for a fine espresso and…
Mumbai (Bombay)
This top-end shop occupies the former studio of fashion designer James Ferreira, located inside his 200-year-old Kotachiwadi bungalow. It curates designer…
Anjuna
Oxford Arcade, 100m from the Starco crossroads on the road to Vagator, is a fully fledged two-storey supermarket, complete with shopping trolleys and…
Mumbai (Bombay)
Designer tees (eg 'Hipsters Prefer Kala Ghoda'), graphic prints, framed original 1940s' textile labels and other South Mumbai–centric art and design…
Mumbai (Bombay)
A classy selection of rugs, clothing, teas, stationery, aromatherapy products, brass sculptures, toy wooden rickshaws and, perhaps most interestingly,…
Mumbai (Bombay)
Wander the narrow lanes of Mumbai's jewellery market in search of gems, jewels and gold – 65% of India's gold trade emerges from here. Notable jewellers…
Bengaluru (Bangalore)
This homegrown company specialising in Indian kitsch has spread its wings to a new location at Orion Mall. Find a spark of colour in every corner of the…
South Goa
The Goa Animal Welfare Trust shop, next door to Leda Lounge, is a charity shop with secondhand books and souvenirs. All proceeds go toward helping out Goa…
Chennai (Madras)
Hidden away in a revamped warehouse surrounded by tropical greenery, Amethyst stocks luxury Indian fashion with ultracolourful contemporary flair…
Hyderabad
This business has been in operation for five generations and stocks cream, golden, white and black saltwater pearls from across the globe. A string of…
Panaji
This atmospheric place, where narrow streets have been converted into covered markets, makes for a nice wander, offering fresh produce, clothing stalls…
