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Converse
Stock up on canvas All-Stars in a full palette of colours. Who cares if there's no arch support when your sneakers looks so cool?
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Damas
Damas may not be the most innovative jeweller in Dubai, but with over 50 stores, it's the most trusted. Among the diamonds and gold, look for classically styled pieces and big-designer names like Fabergé and Tiffany.
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Deira City Centre
Though other malls are bigger and flashier, Deira City Centre remains a stalwart for its logical layout and wide selection of shops, from big-name chain stores like H&M and Zara to independent shops carrying good carpets, souvenirs and handicrafts. You'll also find the city's best supermarket (Carrefour), good food courts and a cinema.
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Dubai Festival City
Billed as an 'urban retail resort', Festival City is so massive that you half expect to see a 747 parked outside. It encompasses a whopping 2.8-million sq ft, including 600 stores - 25 of them 'anchor stores' - 100 restaurants and cafés, outdoor performance spaces, and three enormous hotels, including an InterContinental and a new Four Seasons golf resort.
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Dubai Shopping Festival
Every year from mid-January to mid-February, the month-long Dubai Shopping Festival (www.mydsf.com) draws hoards of bargain-hunting tourists from around the world. This is the best time to visit Dubai: aside from the huge discounts in the souqs and malls, the weather is gorgeous and the city abuzz.
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Early Learning Centre
Parents: if you're travelling with little ones and failed to pack enough toys to keep them entertained, fret not. Early Learning Centre stocks great games designed to get kids thinking and develop key learning skills. And because they're not always easy to figure out, they'll keep children busy for hours.
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Emilio Pucci
Emilio may be dead, but the signature swirly, colour-saturated paisleys he made famous in the 1960s live on. The tailoring is exquisite, the fabric's drape elegant and the psychedelic prints acid-trip ready.
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Etro
Italian designer Jacopo Etro's exuberant paisley designs are inspired by his travels. Borrowing ideas from around the globe, his exotic collections have featured richly coloured chiffon kaftans, Rasta shawls and textured ponchos, patchwork and mirrored skirts, sari-style tops, and embroidered belts and handbags.
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Faces
Before Faces opened, women had to fly to Paris to purchase hard-to-find cosmetic and fragrance brands. No more. Sniff out Serge Lutens, L'Artisan Parfumer and Annick Goutal, among others.
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Fidel
Fidel's minimalist flagship Dubai store stocks little else but funky Fidel T-shirts, t-shirts, hoodies and club-kid sneakers. The look is very back-to-school in the OC. If you're over 30, you may feel old.
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Five Green
You may get lost trying to find the city's leading indie boutique and concept store, but it's worth it to meet the cool kids of Dubai's retail scene. Aside from art installations and kick-ass international magazines, Five Green carries cool unisex labels like Fidel, Paul Frank, BoxFresh, Xlarge, and Upper Playground. It also stocks Pink Sushi, our fave local designer due to its fantastic bags and skirts made from checked gutras (men's headcloths).
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Fleurt
Comb the racks for funky-smart fashions by Betsey Johnson and Soul Revival, among other progressives. The collection is refreshingly offbeat, with spangles and sequins, curve-hugging lines, and cheeky party frocks.
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Forever 21
Cutting in on H&M for affordable style and selection, this is one of Dubai's largest stores, with a big range of youthful, affordable fashion and accessories.
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Gallery One Fine Art Photographs
For an arty souvenir, consider a colourful Arabian abstract image, pop-art screen print (say, maybe a camel-crossing road sign), or a black-and-white photograph of Dubai's bustling Creek scene or famous wind towers. The problem will be choosing which you like best.
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Gift World
Imagine yourself in Aladdin's Cave as you bump your head on the hanging Moroccan and Syrian lamps while rummaging through Oriental bric-a-brac, ranging from Bedouin jewellery and beads, to sequined bedspreads and dizzyingly patterned camel cushion covers. It's around the corner from 2000 Horizon Antique.
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Ginger & Lace
Ginger & Lace stocks an eclectic selection of colourful, whimsical fashion by high-spirited New York designers Anna Sui and Betsey Johnson; German-bred Ingwa; Melero - love those sexy halter-top dresses; Tibi for Capri-style chic; Indian cult-label Ananya for signature bejewelled kaftans - a favourite of Madonna; and Australian brands Wheels and Doll Baby for the closest to rocker-bitch drag you'll find in Dubai. There's another at Wafi City.
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Global Village
The carnival-like Global Village runs from December to March in Dubailand. Think of it as a sort of World's Fair for shoppers. Each of the 30-some pavilions showcases a specific nation's culture and - of course - products.
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Gold & Diamond Park
A cooler alternative to the Gold Souq in the hot summer months, the air-conditioned Gold and Diamond Park houses over 30 retailers and 120 manufacturers in a traditional Arabian-style building, plus a lovely café. Too bad it's in the middle of nowhere. Plan to bargain.
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Harvey Nichols
The cool, contemporary design of newcomer Harvey Nic's - the largest outside the UK - and its discerning fashion collections are already drawing Dubai's fashionistas here in droves. The store's signature offerings - from a Personal Shopping Suite to exclusive concierge service Quintessentially - suit Dubai's VIP-loving shoppers to a tee.
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Ibn Battuta Mall
The 14th-century Arab scholar Ibn Battuta travelled 75,000 miles over 30 years. You'll have a better idea how he felt after trekking from one end of this behemoth mall to the other. The architectural theme and decorative elements reflect his trip from China to Andalusia; look for a full-size Chinese junk lying on its side and a fabulous Persian tiled dome. If you're too exhausted to walk back to your starting point, hop on the golf-cart shuttle (around Dh5 ).
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International Alladin Shoes
Every souvenir shop in Dubai sells colourful sequined slippers and gold-threaded curly-toed shoes from Pakistan and Afghanistan, but Alladin was the first and still has the best quality, selection and prices. The teeny-tiny slippers are a hit at baby showers.
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Jet Set
The ladies-only salon at Grosvenor House is vaguely reminiscent of the beauty parlour in the 1939 film The Women - we only wish we spoke Arabic to keep up on the gossip. Great for a wash-and-set and mani-pedi before a big night out.
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Jimmy Choo
Jimmy Choo became a household name after his shoes began making regular cameo appearances on Sex and the City and adorned the feet of stars. Italian architects Vudafieri Partners and Lena Pessoa created the luxurious look of the Dubai flagship store, which features mirrored tables and suede fittings. Remember trying (and dreaming) is free.
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Jumeirah Emirates Towers Shopping Bouvelard
This exclusive shopping arcade in Emirates Towers is home to swish designer boutiques such as Armani and Gucci on ground level, and Pucci and Jimmy Choo upstairs, along with our favourite, chic Villa Moda. Noodle House is here when you need to refuel, and The Agency for shopping post-mortems.
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Karama Shopping Centre
An ugly concrete souq, Karama's bustling backstreet shopping area has dozens of little shops selling handicrafts and souvenirs, 'genuine fakes' and cheap clothes. Prices are low, but bargaining lowers them further - be aggressive: the spruikers are accustomed to tourists. Listen for the cries of hucksters hawking pirated copies: 'Dee-vee-dees! Bloo moovees!' The municipality seems to look the other way.
