Fashion Street has been aptly described as common man's celebrated 'shopping arcade' It is haunted by youngsters and college going girls, who throng to the bazaar. The street is close to the famous Metro Cinema and Dhobi Talao. In fact, it is a huddle of little shops on Mahatma Gandhi Road. Readymade garments are one of Mumbai's chief exports and the surplus lands up at Fashion Street. They cost only a fraction of the price and are grabbed by fashion conscious collegians fresh off the rack. Bargaining, of course is half the fun of buying. Begin at half the quoted price and work your way gradually upwards, then follow though with a thorough appraisal of the goods: much of the stuff here is rejected by quality conscious importers and likely to have a missing button or crooked collar. But by and large the clothes are of good quality, trendy, and probably the cheapest anywhere in the world. So walk into Fashion Street and shop for your wardrobe.

Where to Shop
	Phat Fish Pali Naka Phat Fish targets shoppers who don’t mind experimenting with styles and cuts. “We revamp our stock every three months. That’s the kind of creative freedom we get in a small store,” Ashita Khurana and Pooja Thakkar (owner) explains, adding that they can afford to have unique pieces because they don’t engage in mass production.

Barefoot Almeida Park People buy clothes because they like them. And at Barefoot, the idea has never been to just sell. We want to make every customer who walks out of here happy in the knowledge that they’ve bought something that suits them.” -Papia Roy

Chemistry Waterfield Road Jhangiani says they are targeting an age group of 16-35. According to him, “Our clothes are casual and cutting-edge. We plan new collections only a month in advance and come out with new capsules every three weeks. That’s the freedom I have in my store, that a big store doesn’t offer.”

Globus Hill Road “It is the presence of a store like Globus that has made people come to Hill Road to shop. Otherwise, this was never a destination for upper middle-class shoppers,” says Mukesh Gajra, general manager, operations, believes that Globus has been responsible for defining trends across stores on Hill Road and cites that as an example of their reach.

DNA 1 Firdaus Apartments Union Park Although most of the clothes stocked at the store for men and women are from the in-house label (DNA) there are also a couple of clothes from the Far East. “We believe that Bandra is the place to shop. People come to shop here from all over the city. Also, as a suburb it is very central. That is why we felt Bandra was the ideal location for us to open up a store.” Designers Dipika Lal and Anirudh Singh (owners)

Loose Ends Waterfield Road Madhu Goswami (owner) believes that being at the store helps her keep a check on trends. “I design my stuff, so I can tell people what will suit them keeping in mind their tastes. Things like colour, style and cut are very important, and I can help people with that. I can’t afford to leave those things to hired help,” she says.

Magnolia Shop No 2, Dunhill Dome St John’s Road With so many boutiques already vying to provide Bandra shoppers with everything from a killer kurti to a cool capri, how does a new store make an impression? Swarna Gupta, owner of Magnolia on St John’s Road, says her USP is to offer exclusive, fun and affordable clothes.