Fashion: clothes and shoes in Madrid

Branches of chain stores such as Mango, Zara, Cortefiel and Springfield are scattered all over the city and at sale times in January and July there are often some great bargains to be picked up. If your tastes run to the more select in the fashion stakes try some of the shops listed below.

Adolfo Domínguez, c/José Ortega y Gasset 4 & c/Serrano 96 Métro: Serrano. The classic modern Spanish look - subdued Colors, free lines. Domínguez's designs are quite pricey but he has a cheaper Basico range. Both branches have men's clothes; women's are only available at the Ortega y Gasset branch. Mon-Sat 10am-2pm & 5-8.30pm (Serrano branch open at lunchtime).

Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, c/Marqués de Riscal 8 Métro: Rubén Darío. Outlet for the striking clothes and accessories of this movida designer. Mon-Fri 10am-2pm & 5-8pm, Sat 10am-2pm.

Ararat, c/Conde Xiquena 13 Métro: Chueca & c/Almirante 10 & 11 Métro: Cheuca. A trio of shops with clubby Spanish and foreign designs at reasonably modest prices. Men's clothes in c/Conde Xiquena, women's in c/Almirante. Mon-Sat 11am-2pm & 5-8.30pm.

Berlín, c/Almirante 10 Métro: Chueca. Women's clothes from vanguard European designers. Mon-Sat 11am-2pm & 5-8.30pm.

Blackmarket, c/Colón 3 Métro: Chueca. Adventurous clothes for women. Mon-Sat 10.30am-2pm & 5-8.30pm.

Camper, c/Gran Vía 54 Métro: Callao. Spain's best shoe-shop chain, with covetable designs at modest prices. There are lots of other branches around the city. Men and women. Mon-Sat 10am-2pm & 5-8.30pm.

Caracol Cuadrado, c/Justiniano 6 Métro: Serrano. Bargain store selling last season's designs from big names, including Sybilla - Spain's trendiest designer. Men and women. Mon-Sat 10.30am-2.30pm & 5-8.30pm.

Ekseptión, c/Velázquez 28 Métro: Velázquez. A dramatic walkway gives onto some of the most moderno clothes in Madrid, from Sybilla and Antoni Miró, among others. Expensive. Men and women. Mon-Sat 10.30am-2.30pm & 5-8.30pm.

Excrupulus Net, c/Almirante 7 Métro: Chueca. Groovy shoes from Spanish designers, Muxart and Looky. Men and women. Mon-Sat 11am-2pm & 5-8.30pm.

Glam, c/de Fuencarral 35 Métro: Gran Vía/Chueca & c/Hortaleza 62 Métro: Chueca. The clientele and the clothes wouldn't look out of place in an Almodóvar film. Mon-Sat 10am-2pm & 5-9pm.

Hernanz, c/Toledo 30 Métro: Tirso de Molina. This shoe shop stocks alpargatas - espadrilles - in just about every imaginable Color. No cards. Mon-Fri 9.30am-1.30pm & 5-8.30pm, Sat 9.30am-1.30pm.

Josep Font-Luz D'az, c/Serrano 58 - patio Métro: Serrano. Beautiful, minimalist shop, selling original and expensive women's designs by this young and muy de moda Catalan duo. Women only. Mon-Sat 10am-2pm & 5-8.30pm.

Manuel Herrero, c/Preciados 7 Métro: Sol. Traditional shop specializing in leather; particularly good for coats and jackets.

Sybilla, c/Jorge Juan 12 Métro: Retiro. Sybilla was Spain's top designer of the 1980s - a Vivienne Westwood of Madrid, if you will. She remains at the forefront of the scene, and her prices show it. Women only. All cards. Mon-Sat 10am-2pm & 4.30-8.30pm.

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