Shopping in Bangalore can be quite daunting if you don’t know where to look. So if you want alternatives to mall clothes, here is my basic guide for women’s clothing:
Chic Casuals
Skirts, cotton trousers, capris, interesting t-shirts (not the regular boring ones but short ones with sequins and little design elements). Also casual party wear. Price Range: Rs.200 – Rs.1000.
1) MAX – end of Commercial Street, opposite the police station. Cheerful, well-designed casuals in all sizes.
2) Showoff – Brigade Rd., opp. Brigade Towers near All Saints. Only for small framed people as they stock stuff from Malaysia!
3) HUM India – Church Street. Next to Bheema & also at Commercial St., opp. Woody’s. Various sizes, good selection of party wear and branded t –shirts. You get GAP, VonHutch, Morgan etc. (Sometimes you get one free if you buy three. Prices start at Rs.300)
4) Tibetan Market at the Indo – Dubai Shopping Complex, Rest House Rd – it’s a lane off Brigade road. Take the 1st left after Nilgiris and Fifth Avenue when you are walking towards M G Road.
Once you reach the complex, get into the basement and you could stroll through nearly 20 shops that have unique casuals – you get great polka dots and skirts here.
5) Dirty Fashions – this one is a favorite with college kids. It’s on the lane opposite Woody’s on Commercial St. and has interesting party wear – chiffon tops, sequined tops. You also get sleek formal skirts and trousers.
6) Arihant Plaza & Mahavir Plaza – next to Metro Shoes, on the right-hand side when you drive straight into Commercial St. from Cauvery Emporium on M G Road (you have to cross two traffic signals).
Here you get more than just formal and casual clothes – you have various little stores selling shoes, bags, glares, watches, jewelry and cosmetics (don’t buy important stuff like sunscreen here though – may not be fresh).
7) Gypsy Casuals – Koramangala, near Lazeez and Jyothi Nivas college.
Again, a college favorite.
Bargains and Summer Clothes
Disposable clothes for summer and branded factory outlets. Price Range: Rs.100 – Rs.350.
1) Fashion Factory – factory outlet of Bangalore’s biggest export house, Gokuldas Images. Nothing fancy here, but functional, good quality casuals.
2) Safina Plaza, Infantry Rd. – go to the 1st floor and walk around. You’ll find 2 -3 factory outlets which have cute designs. Great for linens in all sizes.
3) In the narrow lane opposite Woody’s on Commercial St, next to Dirty Fashions, you’ll see a mannequin on the ground floor that leads to a store on the first floor. Great for disposable, but interesting clothes. MUST Bargain like crazy if you look like a foreigner!
4) Commercial St. - opposite Metro shoes and Arihant Plaza there’s a crockery store in the basement. Next to that you’ll see a stairway with clothes hung on either side. Go upstairs. They have linens and can even tailor for you if you choose their fabric.
Affordable Designer Wear
Boutiques which stock young designers and prêt lines of established designers. Price range: Rs.1000 onwards for a blouse. Rs.3000 to Rs.5000 for skirts.
1) Marmalade, Next to Spratt hair salon, Magrath Rd, walk down from Garuda Mall towards Eva Mall and you’ll find Spratt in between – great sequined skirts and kitschy stuff
2) Be: - Forum Mall and Commercial St – they have Wendel Rodricks to Priyadarshini Rao. Great if you want to buy a “label”, but not so hot otherwise.
3) Aftershock, Eva Mall, Brigade Rd – prepare to be dazzled by the color and the sequins. Must-see even if you don’t buy anything here.
4) Boheme, 2nd left after India Garage, Victoria Rd – showcase for upcoming designers.
5) Collage, Wood Street, Ashoknagar – good selection by young designers.
6) Levitate at Sanctuary, Hospital Rd, behind Safina Plaza – Bohemian and Kitschy accessories and apparel. Sanctuary is a “lifestyle souk” with a café.
Hope that helped. Feel free to add or ask for more info.
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wow, thanks…. so very comprehensive!
I am at a bit of a disadvantage cause 1) I am not college age or rich, so while I dress stylishly, I am not wearing slinky or flashy clothes… and 2) I am almost 6 months pregnant so…. hahahhah.
I am a regular to commercial street… the shop owners nearly cry when they see me because I bargain them right out of their profits (I guess the shock of a firang in thali and toe rings speaking kannada really knocks them for a loop)
I also like… FABINDIA…. handloom cotton clothing at reasonable prices. kurtas, western wear, sarees, dupattas, skirts, etc. (locations all over the city including commercial street, koramangala, indiranagar, etc.). you can get anything from truly ethnic wear to fairly plain-jane stuff. I like that I can buy my churidar and kurta separate…
pantaloons… it’s in sigma mall. I like the skirts there are they have XL so I can wear them up over my big belly. They also have western wear and Indian style clothing, so you can mix and match.
The rest of my clothes I get stitched.