Sunday is for ...

It’s really not that easy to write about shopping these days. Nothing looks exciting enough to buy. We already have three of those at home. It’s unseasonably cold and windy. And all that consumer confidence data is telling us we’re not alone in feeling ho hum about anything that involves out of pocket expenses. So when you find out we’re writing about Maremagnum you think we’re going to tell you to go shop there. You are so wrong.

Because really we see two options if you feel more like lining your pockets than shelling out. Stay at home and read about everybody else’s batty anti-recession spending and feel secretly superior. Or win Maremagnum’s Un Domingo Diferente video contest (and the 1500 euros that goes along with the fame and glory.) Maremagnum? Because, no, it doesn’t have to about shopping, doesn’t have to include Maremagnum, doesn’t even have to be made in Barcelona. It just has to be less than two minutes about how you like to spend your Sunday without including any sexually explicit content (we’re not including that to be smart aleck-y, it’s right there plain as day in the contest rules.)

Read the rules, shoot your thing and get it all done before December 17. Easy as pie.

Palm Sunday

Even as the windows of bakeries all over the city fill with monas (the chocolate masterpieces children receive from their godfathers on Easter Monday,) Rambla de Catalunya lives its fifteen minutes of Easter fame from the Thursday through Saturday before Palm Sunday as it fills with stands selling palmas, palmones and the toys and candy that adorn them.

On Palm Sunday it’s the godmother’s job to make hang the palmas (intricately woven fresh palm fronds for girls) and palmones (tall plain fresh palm fronds for boys,) with ribbons, toys and candy – everything from lollipops and chocolate to sugar rosaries. If you’re shopping in Barcelona for Easter treats, don’t forget the miniature sized palmas and woven flowers. The pungent scent of fresh Palm means that Easter’s only a week away.

Let them eat Bread & Butter

Every six months hoards of the hip and trendy from all over come to shop in Barcelona. Not in stores though – that too, but their mission is buy buy buy or sell sell sell at the biggest streetwear trade show around.

The great thing is that the city fills up with chic boys and girls who speak a ton of languages and are happy to stand in the immense lines for food and bathrooms (word to the wise – thank you B&B for setting up a luxe ladies only bathroom trailer, you did your best.)
Besides being on the look out for the next big thing (will it be shuttershades?), there is plenty of entertainment to be had, from the circus wannabes at the entrance to the hilarious guys in the oversized sweats, to the newest re-incarnation of CBGB to the adorable uniforms for all the entrance staffers, it was a laugh-a-minute and it was
exhausting. See you in July.

Postcards from a Sale

The roscón is gone, the Premio Nadal has been given and today you’re finally starting your diet. That can only mean one thing – today is January 7th. Finally the holidays are over (except for school children who traditionally have this last day off to play with the toys the kings brought yesterday) and today the sales start. Some stores started marking down surreptitiously a few weeks ago (Biscuit and Kalma in the Bulevard Rosa to name a couple,) and many offer early discounts to the customers on their mailing list, but now the signs are up and it’s official.

From the looks of things, it’s a pretty quiet start – no pushing or shoving at opening time. The 30%-50%-Final markdown scale that stores used to follow hasn’t held for the past few years, especially since so many use “Up to 50% off” signs now, but we’ll soon know how well the sales are going, or how quickly stores are getting rid of their overstock, when we see how quickly they go to second markdowns.
For now a few notes:
Nicest sale window goes to L’Occitane, who even at sale time wants to make things pretty.

Bally seems to have closed up shop on Passeig de Gràcia for the New Year.

The biggest crowds were to be found at Camper, who had no sale signage at all.

How weird is it to see Hello Kitty in the window of Furest? Is nothing sacred?

`Tis the Season - Special Bulletin

Although anytime is a good time for savings, lately we’ve seen lots of “outlets” and “special sales” cropping up at the holidays. You must have heard of Outlet Bertran by now – they have pop-up outlets several times a year and right now the Christmas outlet is in full swing. Swing by to check out savings on everything from small appliances to clothes and accessories. Prices can’t be beat – they have ideas for presents for 1€.

Outlet Bertran:
Until December 21st
Hours: 10h - 20h
Carrer Bertran, 92 1ª planta
Entrance on Carrer Pare Fidel Fita, 4
Tel. 93 253 1187

Trying to design the perfect Christmas? Look no further than B-sign’s holiday open house where you’ll find designs by Martí Guixé, El último grito, Héctor Serrano, 2creativo, Marta Lago, Martín Azua y Gerard Moliné all at half price. Now that makes for a Merry Christmas!

B-sign:
December 18th, 20th, 21st, 27th, 28th
January 2nd, 3rd
Hours: 10h-14h and 16h – 20h
By appointment only: 93 451 9607

H&M Stampede

All of the elements of a fashion event were in place: red carpet, skinny jeans and big sunglasses, Starbucks cups, gawkers with cameras, the press. Barcelona was getting ready for H&M’s launch of the Roberto Cavalli collection.

At 9:05 there was a modest line (despite the reports from H&M press people published in La Vanguardia on Friday the 9th, it didn't turn the corner on Grand Vía until minutes before doors opened), just stretching past the red carpet zone, and one security guard.

By 9:15 the press had arrived, and by 9:35 the line was almost to the corner of the street, there were 4 security guards and several back-ups and the H&M guys serving coffee to the line were running to refill their thermoses (and snapping pics of the crowd.)

And despite a few line-butters, when the doors opened at 10 to the applause of the animal print-clad employees lined up on the central staircase, everyone proceeded to enter in orderly fashion to check out the goods, including long and short animal print dresses (149€ and 79€) and men’s and women’s tuxedos - 25 pieces for women and 20 for men.

Viva Retail!