Shopping in Spain
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Siete Besos
A bijou store surrounded by bigger and shriller competition, the ‘Seven Kisses’ is an attractive treasure treat for women’s fashion. Styles can be cheeky and nonconformist but not at all vintage or jeansy. Pretty, light-hearted dresses vie for your attention with pants and tops, all at pretty reasonable prices, considering the neighbourhood.
reviewed
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Librería Berkana
One of the most important gay and lesbian bookshops in Madrid, Librería Berkana stocks gay books, movies, magazines, music, clothing, and a host of free magazines for nightlife and other gay-focused activities in Madrid and around Spain.
reviewed
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Holalá
If you’re into tattoos, Black Sabbath and can relate to T-shirts that announce ‘My Space is the Devil’, Holalá is your spiritual home. Zombie Clothing is the name that drives everything you’ll find here, from cool-again fur coats to retro sportswear that wouldn’t look out of place on a Malasaña night out.
reviewed
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El Templo de Susu
It won’t appeal to everyone, but El Templo de Susu’s secondhand clothes from the 1960s and 1970s have clearly found a market among Malasaña’s too-cool-for-the-latest-fashions types. It’s kind of like charity shop meets unreconstructed hippie, which is either truly awful or retro cool, depending on your perspective.
reviewed
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Reserva y Cata
This old-style shop stocks an excellent range of local wines, and the knowledgeable staff can help you pick out a great one for your next dinner party or a gift for a friend back home. It specialises in quality Spanish wines that you just don’t find in El Corte Inglés and there’s often a bottle open so that you can try before you buy.
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Armand Basi
Local design star Basi appeals to a 30s and 40s crowd with a slick line in casual elegance. Suits that are perfect without ties and made to impress at dinner or in the town’s top clubs match with stylish evening dresses. More casual shirts, trousers, tops and frocks broaden the range. Leather jackets and footwear complete the picture.
reviewed
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Radio City Discos
In these days of music megastores and internet downloads, it’s nice to find small, specialist music shops still going strong. True to Malasaña’s roots, Radio City Disco’s small collection of CDs and vinyl spans the 1970s, roots, funk, rock and indie, with a small section devoted to Brazil’s Tropicalismo. If they don’t have it, they promise to track it down for you.
reviewed
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Antigua Casa Talavera
The extraordinary tiled facade of this wonderful old shop conceals an Aladdin’s cave of ceramics from all over Spain. This is not the mass-produced stuff aimed at a tourist market, but comes from the small family potters of Andalucía and Toledo, ranging from the decorative (tiles) to the useful (plates, jugs and other kitchen items). The old couple who run the place are delightful.
reviewed
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Sephora
This zebra-striped temple of fragrance is the largest in Europe and has every scent you've ever heard of, along with local flavours by the likes of Antonio Miró and Jesús del Pozo. A perfume organ allows you to experiment with your perfect eau, and if you don't come up smelling of roses, they'll happily exchange your fragrance.
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Ghadamés
Here in his tiny workshop, enthusiastic Rafael Varo is one of a handful of dedicated craftsmen reviving the lost art of guadamecíes. This is a technique invented in Córdoba during the 13th century for curing leather so that intricate designs can be painted, engraved or inlaid on it. Pieces start at around €200.
reviewed
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Érase una Vez
‘Once Upon a Time’ is the name of this fanciful boutique, which brings out the princess in you (if you have one in there, that is). It offers women’s clothes, almost exclusively evening wear to suit most tastes and occasions, as well as wedding dresses. Local designers such as Llamazares y de Delgado and Zazo & Brull are behind these sometimes-sumptuous creations.
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Vinçon
Conceived in Barcelona when the city was Europe’s centre of cool, Vinçon’s presence in Madrid reflects the fact that the Spanish capital is fast becoming Barcelona’s equal. Sleek, often fun and always cutting-edge homeware and all sorts of gadgets that you never knew you needed is what it’s all about.
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Agatha Ruiz de la Prada
This boutique has to be seen to be believed, with pinks, yellows and oranges everywhere you turn. It’s fun and exuberant, but not just for kids. It also has serious and highly original fashion; Agatha Ruiz de la Prada is one of the enduring icons of Madrid’s 1980s outpouring of creativity known as la movida madrileña.
reviewed
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Undernation
Undernation would look right at home in Malasaña with hard-core clothing and accessories with black and underground slogans the recurring themes. But, perhaps in a nod to its Chueca locale, Undernation stocks brands like Franklin & Marshall and the shop has none of the grungy atmosphere that usually accompanies the look.
reviewed
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Maderfaker Industry
Malasaña’s love affair with all things retro takes a funky twist here with a line in clothing, accessories, DVDs and posters that pays homage to black music and cinema from the 1970s. The shop is understated classy, having shed the barrio’s often grungy look without losing any of its look-back-in-anger spirit.
reviewed
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Art Montfalcon
Beneath the over-arching vaults of this Gothic cavern is spread an incredible range of gift ideas and art. The most appealing are the prints of local and universal inspiration. Thrown in are original works of art by local artists, framed and ready to go, and a whole range of Barcelona memorabilia, from ceramics to arty T-shirts.
reviewed
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Mantequería Bravo
Behind the attractive old facade lies a connoisseur’s paradise, filled with local cheeses, sausages, wines and coffees. The products here are great for a gift, but everything’s so good that you won’t want to share. Not that long ago, Mantequería Bravo won the prize for Madrid’s best gourmet food shop or delicatessen – it’s as simple as that.
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Isolée
Multipurpose lifestyle stores were late in coming to Madrid, but they’re now all the rage and there’s none more stylish than Isolée. It sells a select range of everything from clothes (Andy Warhol to Adidas) and shoes to CDs and food. They have another branch in Salamanca.
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María Cabello
All wine shops should be like this. This family-run corner shop really knows its wines and the decoration has scarcely changed since 1913, with wooden shelves and even a faded ceiling fresco. There are fine wines in abundance (mostly Spanish, and a few foreign bottles), with some 500 labels on show or tucked away out the back.
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Xocoa
Tucked along cafe- and boutique-lined Carrer de Petritxol, this den of dental devilry displays ranks and ranks of original chocolate bars, chocolates stuffed with sweet stuff, gooey pastries and more. It has over a dozen other branches scattered about town.
reviewed
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Holala! Plaza
Backing on to Carrer de Valldonzella, where it boasts an exhibition space (Gallery) for temporary art displays, this Ibiza import is inspired by that island’s long established (and somewhat commercialised) hippie tradition. Vintage clothes are the name of the game, along with an eclectic program of exhibitions and activities.
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Convento Santa Úrsula
Toledo is famed for its ceramics and its mazapán (marzipan), which every shop seems to sell regardless of the quality. The Santo Tomé brand is reputable and there are several outlets in town, including one on Zocodover. Even the local nuns get in on the marzipan act - check out Convento Santa Úrsula.
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L’Arca de l’Àvia
Grandma’s chest is indeed full of extraordinary remembrances from the past, including 18th-century embroidered silk vests, elaborate silk kimonos and wedding dresses and shawls from the 1920s. Owing to its incredible collection, it has provided clothing for films including Titanic, Talk to Her and Perfume.
reviewed
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Salvador Bachiller
The stylish and high-quality leather bags, wallets, suitcases and other accessories of Salvador Bachiller are a staple of Spanish shopping aficionados. This is leather with a typically Spanish twist – the colours are dazzling in bright pinks, yellows and greens. Sound garish? You’ll change your mind once you step inside. It also has an outlet in Chueca for superseded stock.
reviewed
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Cerámica Santa Ana
Cerámica Santa Ana is one of the better-regarded ceramic shops and the building itself almost qualifies as a tourist attraction.
reviewed