Have you ever heard of anyone complaining that Barcelona is a conservative place to be? Quite likely not, as this city is among the most alternative or open-minded on the planet.
The same applies to many sides or urban life and culture here – you will always find variety and interesting new choices. Therefore, lovers of fashion will have a huge selection of less mainstream products and shopping experiences to choose from. Read on and get to know the best of Barcelona’s alternative fashion spots!
The fact that less predictable fashion is now trendy, and that social and environmental consciousness is a must for many, vintage shops have arrived at most of the central areas of Barcelona. In addition, the city benefits from areas that as a whole can be categorized as very alternative or even hippy-ish. Gràcia has an endless selection of eco and bohemian fashion, and for these shops, you need to head to streets such as Astúries, Verdi, Torrent de l’Olla (and the many many small streets around these). There is also a good Humana charity shop on Astúries.
Another bohemian area with plenty of alternative shops is El Born, where you have all the streets that surround Passeig del Born and Carrer de la Princesa. But Born is largely made up of shopping streets, so you better just explore as many of the tiny streets as possible! A great vintage shop, although suitable only for the luxury-compatible wallet, is Le Swing on Carrer del Rec. This shop is worth seeing just for the wonderful and timeless designer stuff.
Finally, for those looking for the most unpolished and alternative shops, you have El Raval, the edgiest of the three areas. Here you have more specialty shops for those in favor of a specific style, such as punk or pin up. The vibe in Raval is way more daring, rock and roll or anarchist even, so this is exactly the place to be if mainstream could not interest you any less.
In addition, El Barri Gòtic, the Gothic area, has some streets similar to Born and Raval, and the upper part has a nice selection of crafty fashion business – an example is Paella Showroom that gathers new designers creations under one roof. They also organize events – this is very common of the alternative shops in El Born as well, so keep your eyes open for an interesting fashion-meets-art type of evening activities!
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