From colorful t-shirts to half a million kuai watches, herewith a round-up of the city's newest boutiques from bling to bargain...

Louis Vuitton

opened up its newest enclave of luxury a little over a month ago, setting up shop in Plaza 66. It marks the French brand's 16th Maison internationally – markedly glitzier than your not so common-or-garden LV shop, they house everything from womenswear to kids' shoes, men's tailoring to monogramming services, as well as offerings above and beyond for inevitable celebrity shoppers. Here in Shanghai, fashions are spread across three floors – 'Women's Universe' up top, 'Men's Universe' in the middle, and less exotically named 'Watches and Jewelry' on the ground floor. Connecting all that is a spiral staircase of marble and gold, lots of chrome mirrors, more gold, antique luggage, wood paneling and gold. As you'd expect, it's got bling by the bucketload. It's the fourth floor where things get really exclusive, though, with an invite-only Apartment boasting a hair salon and lounge where VIPs can ponder their purchases away from the riff-raff. It's already in use, apparently, and a chatty sales assistant flashed us an iPhone pic of the rather gorgeous and apparently age-defying Gong Li on a recent shopping trip. She might have been eyeing up a 90,000rmb sequined evening dress, or perhaps a customized soft leather bag for 77,000rmb – although chances are she didn't snap up the only item conceivably in our budget: a 1,400rmb keyring. Well-heeled fellas can choose from a mind-boggling 64 finishes of customized shoes, whilst the Maison stocks one of only eight watches ever produced depicting Shanghai's skyline in diamond and gold, yours for 465,000rmb...

Stella McCartney

Hot on the heels of kitting out team GB for the London Olympics, British designer Stella McCartney has opened up her very first freestanding boutique in China. The Brit-brand has been making inroads to the Middle Kingdom for some time, but up until now, only through other retailers. Not any more! Located on the first floor of the barely opened Réel mall on Nanjing Xi Lu (and next door neighbors to McQueen's first Shanghai boutique, no less) its clean, white interiors, and fun parquet flooring showcase tailored dresses, shimmering lamé jackets and towering platform shoes in unpretentious style. A lifelong supporter of PETA, there's not a scrap of leather or fur to be found amongst McCartney's offerings. And frankly, who needs it when instead you've got the very lovely and eminently flattering Ottavia for a rather less attractive 24,800rmb. Dubbed 'The Miracle Dress', it combines the illusion of an hour glass figure with structured panels to, you know, hold everything in. Seen on the likes of Nicole Scherzinger, Kardashian matriarch Kris Jenner, and Kates both Moss and Winslet, it's something of a cult buy, if that's your thing. More affordable is the Falabella faux leather iPad case, yours for 3,100rmb. For the complete look, come October, Stella McCartney children's wear and lingerie boutiques will open up on the mall's fourth floor.

MIXR

Recently opened in Jiashan Market, MIXR has been making quite a splash about town with regular lifestyle events held in its lovely, sunshiney space. Teaming up with the likes of health gurus, The Wellness Works; makeup artist, Cindy Wang; and toe-tappers, Zumba Shanghai, the biweekly happenings mark phase one in MIXR's grand plans to build up a community of fashionistas and, obviously, shoppers spanning both local and expat scenes. They'll be expanding on that idea within the next month via a dedicated online platform, combining e-commerce, editorial content, and a fashion forum. That's all well and good, but what of the clothes, you ask. Well, the focus right now seems to be on mid- to high-end global brands, with an emphasis on Italian and Spanish labels. For lots of them, MIXR marks a China debut, with another reason to browse being the store's commitment to working exclusively with brands boasting internal production facilities – what that means for us shoppers, at least in theory, is a certain standard of quality. It also means what's on offer is pretty pricey – think super soft cotton tees by Rose A Pois for 700rmb, or chic, light jackets by Annie P for 1,900rmb... Other brands that caught our eye was blossoming Italiano group, Denny Rose, and cozy knits by Madegre. Also good to know, there's up to 50% off instore styles for a few more days...

Majority & Minority

Last but not least, Japanese label Majority & Minority celebrated the opening of their very first international boutique earlier this month, setting up shop in the all-new Agile International Plaza, yet another glitzy mall close to People's Square. First up, a bit of background: established in Osaka almost ten years ago, the chain now boasts five stores in Japan, with plans afoot to open another in Shanghai inside Pudong's Xinmei Plaza this October. Anyways, their newest premises is bright white, minimalist chic, and a smart setting for M&M's mainstay: colorful basics and simple shapes, with a close eye for detail and some surprising embellishments. Right now, that includes some interesting takes on zippers, incorporated into everything from jewelry to simple tees. That's not going to appeal to everyone, granted, but they're nicely executed and far from cheap-looking. A perforated summer dress caught our eye (700rmb), as well as basic tanks in a rainbow of colors for 219rmb a pop. Clothes are made right here in Shanghai, with designs differing ever-so slightly from what's on offer in Japan. Fun, affordable and currently with up to 40% off, it's worth a visit for office-chic and weekend downtime.