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Tours: Shopping, No Dropping

Tours: Shopping, No Dropping

There is no better place for clothes shopping than Europe.

We’ve always looked to the continent when it comes to style. And with these stores, being able to say, “Oh, this little thing? I got it in Europe” is that much easier.

Start your shopping adventure in Stockholm, where its department stores can satisfy any Swedish style cravings (and we don't mean Ikea or H&M). For au courant designs you're likely to see on the lithe locals, P.U.B. has all the biggies over three floors: Acne, Tiger, Whyred, Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair, GANT. It might be the oldest department store in town, opened since 1882 and Greta Garbo sold hats here in the 1920s — but it's also the most avant-garde. Upscales shoppers with a penchant for more international brands (Mulberry, McQueen, Hermes, etc.) will find much to love in NK, including micro-stores by Stockholm Design House and Bookbinders Design, plus a food hall when you've got the swoons. Hipsters hail mary direct to Sodermalm, where SoFo (South of Folkungagatan) is an essential pilgrimage for cool types who like rad gadgets and vintage fashion and strutting it all in the dive bars afterwards. Herr Judit specializes in vintage fashion for men, and dabbles in home decor with two locations, one on Horsgatan and the other on Sibyllegatan. If you need some bling to compliment your finds from Grandpa and Beyond Retro, head back towards Gamla Stan for the bold masculine designs by Efva Attling.

Rivaling Sweden with fashion flash, Antwerp continues to roil with a creative energy that rewards the most adventurous shopper. Pay respects to the man that put the city on the map with his eccentric, colorful designs (and amazing window displays) at Het Modepaleis, the Dries Van Noten flagship, and then head over to RA concept store to discover incredible on-the-rise talent that's taken up the torch. To see how a designer lives, follow in the footsteps of Tim Van Steenbergen with his own picks of the city. Should you need to suit up — and at these prices you should — Café Costume offers impeccable custom tailoring, ordered as if it was a fine meal; shoes from Coccodrillo are a necessity for completing the look (though warning, you'll need the money you saved for the splurge). Fill the closet of your mind at 't Verschil, a rare treat in the rapidly-dwindling gay and lesbian bookshop world. And fill your cocoa quota (this is Belgium) at The Chocolate Line where self-proclaimed "Shock-o-latier" Dominique Persoone unveils un-PC products like his Chocolate Shooter Kits and cocoa snuff, plus sumptuous ingredient combinations like saffron and lemongrass. You might also want to check out YOUR on Kloosterstraat. This store boosts a wide variety of items from bicycles to handbags with walls filled with various merchandise.

Continue your spending journey to “poor but sexy” Berlin, a Euro wunderland that's perfect for fashionistas both on and off a budget. Let Drykorn, the self-proclaimed brand “for beautiful people," be your first stop with its über-stylish menswear from denim to jackets and shirts right down to socks. Tap global streetwear kings — Duderon, Banuq, Nudie, et. al — new at Kreuzberg's Akeef or lightly used at Goo in Prenzlauer Berg, where Comme des Garçons, Y-3 and Helmut Lang join the mix. To view or perhaps buy some noteworthy culture head to the Me Collectors Room where you can stroll through crazily curated exhibitions mashing up pieces from the 16th-century to modern day. Exit through the gift shop to pick up exclusive limited-editions from the art on view. And if after laying your head at Karim Rashid's hotel fever dream, the nHow Berlin, you want your own Clockwork Orange-y uniforms, Dandy of the Grotesque can fulfill all your steampunk sartorial fantasies. And for those of you who want more from your shopping experience, Manufactum, located on Hardenbergstrasse, offers a two-story shopping experience complete with the Manufactum Bread & Butter Shop and an espresso bar to keep your energy up.

Up in Copenhagen, the insane concentration of killer design (recently lauded by GQ) might be one of the reasons the Danes are amongst the happiest peeps on the planet. Begin the spree with some second-hand browsing in the Latin Quarter, a favorite haunt of local fashion star David Andersen. The 17th-century 'hood bustles with students — it's named after the University where Latin uesed to be spoken — and shoppers and plenty of creative energy. See Andersen's inspiration in action and suit up in sexy minimalism at his atelier on the famous Læderstræde. More clothing can be found at Pede & Stoffer and Wood Wood, which have brand lists that runs from Acne to Opening Ceremony with lesser known, but equally fab, local designers like Han Kjøbenhavn, Henrik Vibskov, and S.N.S. Herning. Next, head to Normann Copenhagen. Located in a refurbished cinema, 18,000 square-feet of sublime homeware collections with have you browsing for hours. But if it's true local craftsmanship you desire, check the online network at CPHmade or head straight to Designer Zoo where eight artisans have onsite workshops with an additional 15-20 invited to peddle their wares. Feel free to feed the beasts! With a purchase... But if it is more than clothing that you are looking for, Illums Bolighus should be your next stop. This store is full of furniture and decor that showcases the simplicity and elegant style of Danish handiwork that has made it famous the world over.

 

Advocate Channel - The Pride StoreOut / Advocate Magazine - Fellow Travelers & Jamie Lee Curtis

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