Brands and Chains
The most popular clothing brands in Moscow are those imported from abroad, especially Europe, but also the U.S. You will find stores including Zara, Guess, Marks & Spencer, Puma, Nike, and many more in the malls in the city center. However, international brands like GAP, C&A, Monsoon also prevail in the multitude of smaller malls.
There are just a handful of noteworthy Russian brands and clothing stores:
Kira Plastinina (http://www.kiraplastinina.com) – the teenage daughter of a Russian oligarch, Kira Plastilina is a Russian designer with even some international success – stores are scheduled to open in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Her stores sell youthful, teenage attire and are very popular with school-age children and young college students.
Snezhnaya Koroleva (http://www.snowqueen.ru) – a chain of stores that carries a variety of brands, Snezhnaya Koroleva (Snow Queen) specializes in outerwear, and at least half of the store is usually occupied by warm leather and fur coats. This is a great place to visit in preparation for your first winter.
Non-brand Clothing
In the least expensive malls and shops, you will likely also find a range of small boutiques selling no-name clothing articles imported from Turkey and China. Boutique owners typically travel to central clothing markets (in Moscow or at major port cities), hand-pick certain items, and sell them at a significant mark-up. Many of these items may also be fake brand names. You will likely notice immediately after arriving in Moscow the multitude of people wearing Gucci hats, Dolce & Gabbana belts, and carrying Prada bags. The great majority of these are imitations from China that can be purchased in a range of qualities and at various price points – your fake Prada bag may be real leather with quality stitching, for 3000 RUR, or it may be a lower-quality imitation for 500 RUR. These imitations are mostly sold on open markets, but higher-quality imitations are also sometimes sold in smaller boutiques, who typically do not make any effort to pass them off as the real thing.
Markets
If you are looking for a bargain, you may also want to visit your local area market, or one of Moscow’s specialized open-air clothing markets. Just be sure to carefully inspect your items for quality of the fabric and seams.
The following clothes markets are open every day from 8:00 – 18:00. You can manage with English, but will get better deals if you can bring a Russian speaker to help you negotiate. (Although many salespeople may not speak much Russian themselves).
- Cherkizovsky: The biggest and best market, with prices up to one third lower than the others
Closest metro: Cherkizovsky - TsSKA Soccer Pavilion on Leningradsky Prospekt
Closest Metro: Dinamo - Tyshina
Closest metro: Tyshina
Tailors
Tailors are quite popular and easy to find in Moscow. They range from small alterations shops on nearly every block to prestigious custom suit designers.
The small shops are known as remont odezhdi – literally clothing repair. They are best for alterations and repairs, and can be found as easily as a newspaper stand (look carefully for small signs in Cyrillic; signage can be poor at times). Many tailors working here will also be able and willing to take your fabrics and patterns to create custom clothing. For the best work, though, you should visit an atelye – a true tailor. The following are among Moscow’s best:
- Ariadna
+7 (495) 290 52 53
Bol. Nikitskaya Ul. 24
Closest metro: Arbatskaya or Pushkinskaya - Imperial Tailoring Company
http://www.mytailor.ru
+7 (495) 232 14 41
Rybniy Pereulok
Closest metro: Kitay-Gorod
