Shopping in Bangalore is nothing short of an art. This article will give you a quick overview of some popular stores for items that are frequently bought. We’ll cover:

Clothes

One place you can start off with is ffolio. This boutique stocks more “wearable” clothes than some of the other boutiques. ffolio always has both ethnic as well as western wear. The westerns definitely require a fairly well-moulded body for the best effect, but the ethnic wear is less demanding. In fact, if you don’t mind spending a little more than you would at other places, then ffolio’s Indian wear is definitely worth buying. More often than not, there’s an exhibition of an up and coming designer’s lines, and these are always worth a second glance. Even when there isn’t an exhibition as such, there are always plenty of designer labels to keep the fashion-conscious shopper happy.

Munish Hinduja’s Scandale, a boutique, and Manoviraj Khosla’s Kingfisher line of apparel are also for lovers of designer-wear.

Now we move on to places that are more affordable and less bohemian.

Shoppers’ Stop is the place to go if you want to do comprehensive shopping without traveling too much. Leading brands like Lee, Laungani, PepperTree, Pepe are available. So are cosmetic products by Revlon, Lakme, Biotique, Pierre Cardin, Chambor and Elizabeth Arden. Go ahead and pick up some designer perfumes by Calvin Klein, Escada and Nina Ricci, if you can afford it! There’s a good collection of jewelry, shoes and other accessories.

If you are pushed for time, but have to buy a lot of things, this is the place for you. Even otherwise, it’s worth checking out Cotton World is another good place for anyone who likes trendy, affordable clothes which won’t fall apart in the washing machine. It’s an especially popular place among young people (teens to twenties). They stock cool shirts in a range of designs, and there will definitely be something for everyone. They have long and short skirts, shorts, dresses and crinkly pajamas. What I really like is their t-shirts, which have really funky designs, and often have funny things written on them, like “He who laughs last thinks slowest.”

FabIndia is a fabulous place for buying Indian clothes. They also stock skirts, shirts, shorts and western dresses which have Indian prints. Incidentally, you can buy curtain material and Durries (traditional Indian woven carpets) from here. They also sell incredibly yummy cakes and stuff. (Definitely try the chocolate cake.)  And they sell some other cool things, which make great gifts. Don’t miss FabIndia, especially if you’re not Indian! You’ll virtually buy out the whole place!

Jewelry

Okay…jewelry! This is classified as Serious Jewelry (like precious metals and stones), Light Jewelry (like costume jewelry, semiprecious stones and silver), and what is popularly called Junk Jewelry (which is very popular among school- and college-going students).

Buy Jewellery online You can now buy jewelry online for yourself or gift it to your near and dear ones. Just a click away.

Serious Jewelry
If you want to buy gold, diamonds, emeralds and similar precious stones, you should head for Ganjam or Krishnaiah Chetty and Sons. These places basically keep traditional designs. However, if the design of your dreams is not in sight, go ahead and describe it to them. They’ll be more than happy to create it for you!

Light Jewelry
If you want to buy costume jewelry, the best brand would be Estelle. It’s good quality, gold-plated stuff and there’s a large variety in the designs. It ranges from cute stuff to formal stuff, so if you like modern, gold-plated jewelry, Estelle is for you. Estelle is available at Shoppers’ Stop, Topaz, and a number of other stores.

Junk Jewelry
This is something that you’ll find basically on roadsides of Commercial Street and Brigade Road, and on the side streets off these areas. Shopping complexes like Devatha Plaza also have junk jewelry. The best thing to do if you’re shopping for junk jewelry is to take someone with you, someone who is well acquainted with the city, and who can bargain convincingly. If you have a foreign accent, you’ll have to pay higher prices, so you’d do well to let someone else do the talking for you. If anything about you indicates that you’re rich, the shop owners will overcharge you, so avoid wearing overly classy clothes and don’t pull up in a fancy car.

Gifts (for yourself and others)

Ahhh…Gifts…There’s a million billion gazillion cool things to buy and almost as many cool places to buy them from. Here’s a list some popular places where you can buy an assortment of things.

Now you can also buy a variety of gifts online to surprise friends and family at Bangalore or in India, Just a click and you have lit up a couple of eyes. Buy just anything from Music to Books to Jewelry to Toys or even some atta-dal (i mean Groceries).

Raga’s
This place stocks terracotta jewelry, cool T-shirts with Indian motifs, funky candles and other stuff. It’s a very popular place.

Archie’s
Mostly cards, stationery, posters, and mugs. Also things like friendship bands, stickers and the like. There are outlets on Brigade Road, St. Mark’s Road and Commercial Street. There are many other outlets all over the city as well.

MusicWorld
This is a music store of truly international standards. Located on Brigade Road, it has a large variety of cassettes, audio CD’s and CD-ROMs. There is enough space for you to walk around. They also have a number of listening booths. The staff is discreet and very helpful.

Fast Forward is a similar place, and also worth looking at.

You can try the HMV outlets, but frankly, they don’t hold a candle to MusicWorld and Fast Forward. Some of these outlets are on St. Marks Road, M.G. Road, and Brigade Road.

Arihant Plaza
Overflowing with fake brands at dirt-cheap prices. You get a lot of stuff that’s imported (and not legally, either), which you won’t find in other places. You’ll find virtually everything here—trendy clothes, accessories, shoes, perfumes, cosmetics, cutlery, chocolates and innumerable other items.

Arihant Plaza is located opposite the beginning of Commercial Street. Symbolically enough, it’s underground!

Westside
Located on Commercial Street. The top floor has lots of lovely stuff, right from cool mugs to tablecloths to cushions to candle-stands. It’s not particularly inexpensive. It’s worth a look. (They also sell clothes, cosmetics and jewelry.)

Strand Bookstall
Located in Manipal Centre, it is the book-lover’s dream come true. They actually encourage browsing, and they have comfortable and strategically placed chairs where you can sit and browse! And they always have a twenty percent discount on their books. The collection of books is really good, and just in case you don’t find the title you’re looking for, you can leave your name and number…they’ll get the book and then inform you. This is what a bookstore should be!

Another good bookstore is Sankar’s. They also sell a lot of magazines. They have outlets in the airport and in the Taj Residency.

Gangaram’s
All sorts of books, from fiction to fact. They stock textbooks, technical books, CD-ROMs. They also have cards, stationery, diaries, planners and little knick-knacks. It’s pretty big, and spread over four floors. They don’t like browsers.

Popular Shopping Areas

Brigade Road

This is a popular hangout for young people, because there is a lot of entertainment available, as well as a lot of shopping options.

You’ll get just about everything here. There is Rex (the best movie theatre in town). There is Cyber Café (coffee and the Internet). You will find a bowling alley, a discothèque, a video game parlor, eating places (including The Only Place, which serves great steaks and desserts) and Nilgiri’s (which is a really good grocery store). There are showrooms for brands like Lee, Van Heusen, and Louis Phillippe. You can buy a lot of unbranded clothes, shoes and jewelry as well.

There are malls like Fifth Avenue and Mota Royal Arcade, which are worth exploring. You’ll get a range of items and the stores range from low budget to exorbitant.

Commercial Street
This is a strictly shopping area. You won’t find entertainment outlets as you would on Brigade Road. Here, you can buy clothes, dress materials, jewelry, and food.

Woody’s serves good South Indian food. They also have continental and North Indian items, but I personally suggest you go for the classic masala dosa. Nothing beats it! (Unless, perhaps, you make it everyday at home.) This place is definitely value for money.

Coffee Day is popular with people of all ages. The ambience is excellent—informal, discreet and generally appealing. They have different kinds of coffee, and they also have items like sandwiches, pizzas and pies. And of course, you can surf the Internet. A friend of mine once told me that you could do just about anything there as along as you don’t burn the place down. That’s a little exaggerated, but the management does allow you a fair amount of freedom. You can ask them to play any cassettes that you may have brought along…

Natural’s is heaven on earth for ice-cream lovers. For Rs.22, you can feast on the most delicious and exotic flavors imaginable. They use real fresh fruit in their ice cream. This is not to be missed.

The Cakeshop of the Taj, with its pastries, cakes and patties, is located right next to Natural’s. Indulge your stomach by eating some of the Taj’s goodies, and topping it off with dessert at Natural’s!

The side streets are definitely worth exploring. You never know what you might stumble upon. Clothes and jewelry here tend to be inexpensive, especially if they are unbranded. The clothes aren’t of particularly high quality, but if you’re not too snobbish about it, you’ll find some really good deals. Most people do not remember the names of the smaller stores, because it really does not matter. Just go ahead and look around!

M.G. Road

M.G.Road is a very popular commercial area. There is a large number of sari stores, like Deepam Silks and Prasiddhi. There are plenty of stores that sell saris as well as other clothes. The Raymond’s and Cotton World showrooms are located here. Go ahead and browse—as a shopper it’s your prerogative!

There are two movie theatres—Plaza and Symphony. Gangaram, a well-established bookstore, is a very popular stop, as is Higgin Botham, which is also a bookstore, but much smaller.

Jamal’s is frequented by buyers of china and cutlery.
There’s a lot to see, so you should allocate a goodish amount of time and explore.

The best part is, M.G. Road is right next to Brigade Road! Rejoice!