Barcelona shopping is very practical as you have the shops concentrated in the city center. Shopping for women is the easiest in a city like Barcelona and there are shops for all budgets. You have Passeig De Gràcia with all the high-end brands from Chanel, Louis Vuitton to Scada and Furla and many others. Barcelona is paradise for shopping lovers but not only for clothes, the gourmets will love the food shopping too and the furniture and decorative shops are also a big thing in the city.
Young designers, new brands and local chains are all around the old city, so you don't need to go around the city to find what you need, it is all in the same area.
You should know that the opening times fro most shops in the center is from 10 am to 9.30pm approximately from Monday to Saturday. Traditional shops have a bit different schedule, they open at 10am until 14pm and close during lunch time until 16:30h until 20:30.
Sales in Barcelona
The winter sales start on the second week of January, on the 7th January and last until the end of February, after the Christmas period and a lot of shopping done the sales bring up bargain hunting in the city.
In summer time, the sales start on 1st July and last until the end of August, if you are visiting the city during summer it would be a good option to match it with the sales period if you are thinking about going on shopping.
Most people pay with credit card, but note that there is normally a minimum fee, something like 5 or 10 euros, if the fee is less than that you will have to pay in cash. Note that in Spain when you pay with credit card they will ask for your id card or passport to verify your identity.
If you are a resident from outside of the European Union you might be eligible to ask for a tax refund, and they return it for purchases of more than 90 euros.
Women fashion in Barcelona
Shopping in Barcelona is the best, I will show you around from most high-end places to the cheapest bargains in the city so you can decide where to go. The summary includes clothing, swimwear, shoes and cosmetics as well as plus sized clothing in Barcelona.
Cosmetics in Barcelona
Barcelona being an international city has plenty of cosmetic brands that are available in many capitals, so if you are looking for brands such as Kiehl's, YsL, Chanel or any other of this kind you will find it in many shopping centers and perfumeries and cosmetic shops across the city.
I want to show you something a bit more local and not as known everywhere, here the brands Sephora and Kiko are very popular and although they can be found in many places are not as international as other brands.
Sephora: you can find a Sephora in the shopping centre Triangle, in Plaça Catalunya and also in la Illa shopping centre. Sephora has their own brand for cosmetics apart from selling international brands.
Adonia: natural cosmetic, distributes products from brands that do not contain petroleum derivatives, not sintetic colorants, parabens and products not tested in animals. Among the brands they sell are Acorelle, Alepp, Leia, Alquimia, Logona, Anaé, Lavera and many others. Balmes street 85
miinMIIN:Corea cosmetic is famous internationally for its quality, tradition and for new innovations constantly. The skin of oriental women it is not only genetic but also due to the products used by tradition. Pau Clares street 110.
Etnia cosmetics: is a Spanish brand that was born in 2012 and nowadays has many shops scattered across Spain. Their products are not tested in animals and do not contain parabem.s They have a product line called Natur that is made exclusively with organic extracts. You can find them in Gran de Gràcia street 84 and in Carretera de Sants 70.
Women shoes in Barcelona
Scarpe, Querol, Bosanova, Padevi and many more brands of shoe shops that sell known brands such as Mustang and they look like any window shop of any country. What is special about a location is either some kind of shoes typical from the place or brands that are created there. Find below some shoe brands that are made in Barcelona:
Arianne: is the brand by Ariadna and Ernest made in Barcelona that has the personality of the french ladies from the 50s, is a mix that works between the fashion of nowadays and the past. They work with different colors and shapes. Esquirol street nº5
Eva vs Maria: another made in Barcelona shoe brand by Eva, who has a strong background of crafts and a relationship with leather since her childhood. Her style for women shoes reminds me of men shoes but enhancing the feminine style of your feet.
Camper: is a very known Spanish brand, stylish and fresh designed shoes for women and men.You can find them in many locations, one in Passeig de Gràcia nº100.
Apart from brands that create their designs in Barcelona, there is something more to be aware of when buying shoes in the capital. There are two kinds of shoes that are typical from Spain and why not, buy them in Barcelona it would make the perfect souvenir:
Espardenyes
The espardenyes were the shoes peasants wear in their rural environment, but they were not worn by people in the city since it seemed low class. The espardenyes are very comfortable and perfect for summer time, the below ones are not the traditional ones, the ancient ones are flat, no heel and the strips go around your ankle and are tied up in a bow. The most famous place to buy them in Barcelona is the Manual l'Alpargatera, they started producing them in 1940 and from then they have done different designs more fashionable and wearable for these days. As you can see you can even wear them with your wedding dress as I did in my
Catalan rural wedding, there are many designs for all occasions.
Avarcas
Another classic of Spanish tradition but this time coming from the Balearic islands. The avarcas are the typical from Menorca island, in the 19th century those laboring the land needed a shoe that was optimized for their hard work. They used old tires to make a solid sole, their feet were then protected from rocks and any obstacles in the road. Avarcas Castell Menorca is a famous brand of avarcas coming right from the island most traditional way of producing them and they have a shop in Barcelona. Argenteria street, 61 Barcelona.
Women clothing in Barcelona
One of the top picks of brands in Spain are the ones belonging to Inditex group that have all these brands that probably ring a bell: Zara, Oysho, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius. Bershka and Pull and Bear. If all these brands have something in common is that they are mid-range, Bershka for the youngest of the house, followed by Stradivarious, and then Zara and Pull and Bear for women on their 20 something and thirties.
The interesting thing about Inditex is that their clothes change every week, there is a wide variety and there are new arrivals all the time, so it is unlikely that you will see the same things this week and the following one.
For high-end international brands such as Chanel Passeig de Gràcia street is your place. If you are more into the mid-range I would recommend you Pelai street and Rambla Catalunya (careful, it is not the famous Ramblas, is a street near there) both of them are in the city centre.
You can also visit a shopping center in Barcelona and that would give you the chance to visit many shops of different kinds all in the same place without having to go up and down the city. If you are into artisans and more made in Barcelona products, go to
Gràcia area or to El
Born.
Plus size clothes shopping
My favorite is Violeta by Mango, a brand from Mango clothing that focus on plus size, it is a mid-range brand and it is business casual clothes and some informal but mainly focused on blouses, cardigans and suits or suit kind of trousers, perfect for work.
There is one Violeta in Rambla Catalunya and also has presence in different shopping centers.Clothes are comfortable and they take into account the natural curves of your body. Rambla de Catalunya, 76 and in The Illa Diagonal shopping centre. Elena Miró (El Corte Inglés- Av Diagonal 617-619) is a brand for plus sizes from 42 to 58 European sizes, as well as Marina Rinaldi (Passeig de Gràcia, 23.
Disclaimer: top picture of shop window by Jeremy Segrott