Shopping in Mumbai

With a rich tradition of textiles, art, and antiques, India is a shopaholics dream, and Mumbai is where you you’ll find the best that the country has to offer.  Most of the glitzier hotels have their own in-house art and antique galleries where you can browse through sandalwood and rosewood furniture, Kashmiri carpets, dancing Natrajas, and countless bronze statues of Ganesha and Laxmi.  Don’t expect bargain prices though since you’re paying for the classy environs and the location.  Despite the relaxed atmosphere, many consider hotel shopping to be sterile and flat – a sharp contrast to what you’ll find once you venture into the streets.  For the more adventurous, the eclectic Chor Bazaar (literally translated as Thieves Market) beckons with its old and dusty shops that sell everything from old gramophones and lamps to colonial furniture and crockery, pottery, brassware, and other such gems.  The shopkeepers here are street smart and have a reputation for fleecing the most hardboiled art connoisseur.  Shopping here is a terrific experience, but don’t make fancy purchases unless you really know your Victorian from your Edwardian.  

Clothing and Textiles

Mumbai’s designers have, in recent years, become popular with the likes of Liz Hurley and Naomi Campbell who regularly turn out in the lavishly embroidered and embellished Indo-Western outfits that are the signature designs of the city’s couturiers.  The Colaba and Fort areas house up-market stores that stock the best names in Indian couture while the likes of Chanel and Louis Vuitton are located in pristine five star arcades.  Head to Fashion Street for a staggering selection of discount priced clothes – most of these are export rejects or surplus, and haggling is expected…even encouraged.  For more traditional fabric shopping venues, stop by at one of the cottage industry or handloom emporiums.  The choice is restricted to vegetable dyed cottons or other natural fibers, but prices are reasonable and will give you a rough estimate of what textiles here should cost.  

Jewelry

To better understand India’s history (and fascination) with gold, make time to visit Zaveri Bazaar, a cluttered area packed with family run stores that sell gold and diamond jewelry.  Designs range from exquisite pre-colonial work to more contemporary pieces, and although this doesn’t exactly count as bargain shopping, prices aren’t extreme either.  A pair of diamond ear studs might cost around a hundred dollars (if you bargain well).