First published on 1 Dec 2011. Updated on 27 Mar 2012.
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Fashion
205 Nanchang Lu, near Shaanxi Nan Lu
205 Boutique is actually several stores under one roof: the ground floor houses Roommate, run by a trio of Korean fashion bloggers (www.Hee-J.com), and stocks affordabled Korean, Taiwanese and Japanese clothing including. The second floor is currently given over to Swedish bridal label LOVA's swooningly romantic collection of wedding dresses, while upstairs in the attic is a great little affiliated gallery selling original framed fashion illustrations (under 500RMB).
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Books
325 Changle Lu, near Shaanxi Nan Lu
Garden Books is the first and last stop when looking for English language books thanks to its international new releases and diverse back catalogue. Expect to find the latest titles as soon as they come out, alongside more obscure releases such as British journalist Caitlin Moran’s How to be a Woman (180RMB). You can also grab a decent cappuccino (29RMB) at the in-house cafe (with wi-fi) along with a delicious gelato (20RMB/one scoop) from La Perla.
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Vintage
84 Fenyang Lu, near Fuxing Zhong Lu
This charming, cluttered space appeals with an alluring mix of high-end yet affordable second-hand clothing (gorgeous retro dresses go for around 300RMB) and local indie designers like punk jeweller Josie Chen, Snoozer Loser and in-house label Kaileeni. Affable owner Cairn Wu Reppun (Pictured above) is on-hand to dispense her personal styling services along with organic Hawaiian honey (260RMB/8oz jar) from the family farm.
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Home & Interior 126 Caoxi Bei Lu, near Sanhui Lu
There’s a point about half-way round the IKEA circuit where you feel you’ll never get out. If the flatpack gods do spare you, you swear you’ll never return. And yet, we regularly find ourselves back among the simply stylish, affordable furniture and accessories, buying much more than we’d planned to. We sometimes wish it weren’t, but it’s still our go-to furniture option.
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UPDATE: This shop has now closed down. We will update the list as soon as possible.
Accessories
1417 Huaihai Zhong Lu, near Fuxing Lu
Adorable doesn’t even begin to describe this tiny treasure-filled pop-up store – only open until March 2012 – which stocks a mix of own-brand and imported jewellery and accessories sourced from London, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore. Every month brings a fresh crop of designers; new for December are Little Odd Forest, L’Ile Aux Ashby, Kandura and – in a recent foray into clothing – the debut collection from Shanghai-based designer Aijek. Particularly delightful are the ‘Made By Hand’ necklaces (from 1,800RMB) by co-owner Chiewling Tan, which incorporates vintage brooches from London’s Portabello Road market.
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Food & Drink
25 Yongkang Lu, near Jiashan Lu
With over 150 boutique beers from 25 countries, Cheers In stands out from the growing crowd of boutique beer shops in the city. Every space in the cramped shop is filled with an obscure beer. They’ve got Estrella Damm’s Inedit beer (55RMB/750ml), known as ‘the El Bulli beer’ after it was developed by the team at the world-famous restaurant; Belgian trappist brews (such as Orval, 28RMB/330ml); and a reasonably-priced range of more familiar brands such as Guiness, Leffe and Rogue (15RMB/330ml). It’s easily our favourite booze shop in town and, lucky us, a new branch is set to open this month on Beijing Xi Lu.
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Vintage
87 Wuyuan Lu, near Wulumuqi Lu
Challenged but never deposed, queen of Shanghai’s retro boutiques Lolo Love Vintage relocated this year from its 696 enclave to a fabulous lane-side location complete with sunny terrace cafe. Inside, the theatrical space drips with nostalgic glamour, with trinkets like old typewriters, silver compacts and toy dolls crowding in. Sourced mostly from Europe, the vintage goods include a well-priced selection of spangled party dresses (420-880RMB), kooky hats (360-580RMB) and some pretty 1950s lingerie.
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Menswear
777 Julu Lu, near Fumin Lu
Shanghai’s first international menswear boutique remains the go-to store for hip casual-luxury labels with over 52 brands like Rag & Bone, Band of Outsiders, and Opening Ceremony. Recent arrivals include Baron Wells, Timo Weiland, Warriors of Radness, Our Legacy, Norse Projects, Creep, and Industry of all Nations – plus they’ve recently started stocking homegrown labels such as threeSociety and Flying Scissors. Sick of your Feiyues? Check out their designer sport shoe alternatives, including Clae, Generic Surplus, Adidas and Nike (from 799RMB).
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Designer
184 Fumin Lu, near Changle Lu.
Our top bricks and mortar pick, Beijing export Dong Liang Studio is a temple to cutting-edge homegrown fashion. Stunningly set over three floors of a light-flooded lane house – complete with a tiny balcony, garden and resident cat – the comprehensive selection of designers covers local labels such as He Yan, Na (too) and Miss Mean, as well as hard-to-find brands otherwise only available online or elsewhere in China, such as Beijing’s Vega Zaishi Wang, Xiamen’s Sankuanz and new Guangzhou design house Ricostru. Prices start from just 500RMB for clothes. An added, unexpected draw is the mini-gallery, currently showcasing photo-installations by local artist Maleonn. A must for anyone remotely interested in emerging or established Chinese fashion design.
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Everything
www.taobao.com
Taobao isn’t perfect. It’s hard for people who don’t read Chinese to use, and made even harder by Chinese banks that seem hell-bent on obstructing online transactions. Buying items without being able to see them up close means you risk ordering clothes that don’t fit, incompatible electronics, and items that are just plain worthless. But Taobao is also the place where shoppers can reap the benefits of three of China’s great strengths: its mammoth manufacturing machinery, cheap postage, and flagrant disregard for intellectual property rights.
The selection of goods and brands available has lead to countless ‘Taobao has everything’ gasps, prices are unbeatable, and thanks to the power of consumer comments, the service is, on average, more polite than most offline stores. There are several guides and agencies to help you use Taobao (we recommend taobaofieldguide.com), and ways to get around interacting with banks, for instance by picking up Taobao charge slips from post offices or convenience stores.
You might argue that Taobao isn’t exactly a shop, but it’s a single shopping destination whose thousands of creative and committed shopkeepers demand a spot on this list. For us, that spot is number one.
For more see our feature on how to get the best out of Taobao.
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