Shopping Addendum: Lisbon Edition
Unpacking a list of Portugese brands
On my last few days in Lisbon, the weather was better; I no longer had to carry an umbrella wherever I went and the long-missed sun made its effort to light up the city well-known for both its visual feast of pastel colours and the quintessential azulejos (Portuguese tiles) used on public buildings and private homes alike. Lisbon was at last revealing its true colours in all shades, lucky me!
Currently enjoying more offline shopping than online, I made an effort compiling a long list of cool shops and flea markets to visit during the trip, like the one I did for Kyoto, imagining myself checking in each of them and going home a happy girl. Always an enthusiastic travel shopper, I have also upgraded my baggage allowance from a 10kg check-in bag plus one personal bag to a doubled number of 25kg, although everyone else around me said staying 7 days in a city just 2.5 hours flight from home during cold season, the original baggage allowance should be sufficient (shrug).
Looking past the new and trendy, I usually shop vintage before digging into designer and independent brands for clothes. Perhaps the majority I visited in this trip were too touristy? It turned out vintage shops and flea markets in Lisbon weren’t as exciting as what I expected. Still, I found some good ones to share.
THIRD THRIFT STORE
A vintage store that has a POV and not like the rest. Clean, curated, classic and chic. The 4Cs I adhere to when shopping preloved. The store is nice and spread out so you can browse the racks without feeling like it’s a workout just to move some shirts around, which adds up when you are in winter layers. They have a good mix of women’s, men’s and unisex pieces. With the quality I would say their curation is highly affordable hence dangerously tempting, too.
AQ2
Just up the road from Third Thrift Store, AQ2 is giving off similar vibe because the two shops are connected. Here you can expect cool people flipping through clothes with their cute pet dogs. Compared to Third Thrift, AQ2 offers a broader range of designer pieces and workwear, which I had a splendid time trying on archived pieces by Issey Miyake and Dries Van Noten.
MESS VINTAGE
A little gem hidden among the cobblestone stairs in Rua São Marçal. I love how their clothing selection is well-cared (you can smell it) and every piece is handpicked with personality. Greeted by the shop owner herself, I tried on a preloved Fila wool jumper with half zip and quilted shoulder pads. For months, I have been on the lookout for a heavy wool jumper to style with a preppy shirt and tie. This jumper ticked most of the boxes, except the shoulder pads were a little too big for my already broad shoulders, I had to leave it for the right person.
Having a penchant for cool and unique finds, the thriving independent shop scene in Lisbon is hard to miss amidst its cobbled streets and historic landmarks. Particularly within the districts of Príncipe Real, Baixa-Chiado and Alfama, independent clothes shops and boutiques are cocktails offering a unique blend of style, quality and personalities.
FAIRLY NORMAL
An eclectic concept store I almost missed during a heavy rain day. Pictured was their flagship store with high-quality and responsibly made menswear crafted by local Portuguese factories. What’s not in frame were the luxe looking surfboards placed opposite the clothing racks which hinted customers of their take on integrating traditional menswear with urban element to those that live, work and surf in Lisbon. Anything but ordinary.
THE FEETING ROOM
Honestly I fell in love with this concept store the moment I stepped in: Good scent, creative visuals and a wide selection of Portuguese brands and independent labels. One of which is called A Line, a local brand that designs and only made their collections locally using top-notch natural materials. Delicious, so I bought a crisp shirt with voluminous sleeves from them. A skill my grandmother taught me while shopping years ago is to turn the garment inside out and examine the seams. When I flipped this shirt over, the seams reminded me of those passionate and skilful craftsman labels made in Japan (iykyk).
On the sale rack, a mustard cardigan with tie collar popped out from the others. The fabric felt warm and soft, I read from the tag and it’s a brand I have not heard of before: FRNCH. There were three racks of clothing on sale and the majority of those that I pulled out were surprising from this French brand. I realised I might have low-key found another new brand to check out.
STRÓ
Ongoing with my search for quality local brands by free flowing on the streets of Lisbon, I serendipitously came across this nonchalance textile design shop with a range of products from fashion accessories, garments to home decor pieces, all in muted colours. After learning about Stró's small-scale production and supply chains to be locally based which enabled them to protect Portuguese workers and factories, I ticked off an item that has long been on my purchase list — a slightly chunky black pure wool jumper.
Note: Their garment collection is available offline only.
LUVARIA ULISSES
Keeping my (unvisited) favourite to the last! Walking past this tiny niche gloves shop that fits no more than 3 customers and has a queue outside every time I went, one could only read Google reviews and Tripadvisor for more information. Being in the business for the 100th year since 1925, Ulisses gloves are entirely handmade by glove makers in a nearby workshop. Similar to Stró, Ulisses is best suggested to visit in person for a sublime shopping experience.
There were also shops that I failed to remember the names and locations but managed to take a snap:
Do I regret spending extra on baggage allowance? Not at all! Lisbon is a magnificent and vibrant city in many ways and I truly loved the independent shop scene here: It was rife with good quality (KEY #1) and has a generally sensible price point (KEY #2), which is something I wish to see more of back in my city!
Hope you enjoyed reading this travel edit. Have a great week!
Chris
Catch up on my previous posts:
I love your new white shirt, Chris, and I always turn things inside out too. 💕I felt like I was browsing through the stores with you, thank you so much for all this wonderful Lisbon consignment style. I have the pants in the picture with that mustard card from the FRNCH label. They will be featured in my next post. 😁
Loved this little tour of Lisbon, I think it really captures that magic of going offline and experiencing all the depth and texture of seeing things in person.