When I first moved to Budapest in 1999 shopping was much more difficult than it is today—both for food and clothing. In those days many expats still made regular trips to Vienna to shop, and even basic items (contact lens solution comes to mind) were hard to find in Budapest. Now the many international specialty food shops; international clothing chains; and many, many malls make shopping remarkably easier. Far better than the malls, however, is discovering the growing number of local designers (the best place to do this is at the monthly WAMP design market, coming up on June 27th).
But I still like to take the occasional day trip to Vienna, just a two-hour drive from Budapest. Inevitably, I spend most of my time at the Naschmarkt where you can shop, have coffee, shop some more, and then have drinks and dinner. Afterwards, I like to head over to my favorite Viennese neighborhood, the nearby 7th district, where the cafes spill out onto the sidewalks and every block holds at least one little quirky boutique. I recently wrote about shopping in the neighborhood, which is the city’s center of creativity.
Here are a few shops that were left out of the article:
At Art Point (Neubaugasse 35), Russian-born Lena Kvadrat (pictured below) is influenced by men’s clothing, and many of her designs incorporate men’s shirt or suit fabric, cuffs, or collars. Ulliko’s (Kirchengasse 7/4) designs are characterized by symmetric lines and the colors black, white, gray, and red. Ina Kent (Lindengasse 46) creates beautiful multi-functional leather wallets, bags, and purses, only available in Austria (pictured above). Check out Elke Freytag (Lindengasse 14) for elegant and feminine designs, with bold colors and cuts. Maronski (Lindengasse 1) sells colorful and functional cotton outfits, several of which can be worn multiple ways.
If you’re interested in checking out some of these shops June 25th would be a good time to do it. The neighborhood’s shops and businesses are throwing a huge party which will include art exhibitions and concerts. And plenty of shopping, of course.
I already know what I’m buying on my next trip to Vienna.
–Carolyn
