Three new and noted Shanghai boutiques recently joined the fray, bringing with them pricey Japanese streetwear, an overload of vintage whimsy and best of all, killer bunny rabbit sweaters....

BAPE

Japanese lifestyle streetwear brand BAPE recently opened up their second Shanghai store, tagging on to the two-floor I.T. shop over at Citic Square. As with the label's other stores, this one's all gray, sleek and shiny, with dazzling, flashing neon taking center stage both inside and out. Must cost 'em a fortune in electricity, but that's presumably paid back in part at least by the ASTRONOMICALLY expensive clothing, shoes and knick-knacks to be found inside. The brand's classic ape, Baby Milo and colorful camo motifs abound, as well as the odd snake on CNY limited edition tees. 799rmb for those. We quite liked a hooded 'shark' jacket, but its 7699rmb price tag less so. All of those come in men's and women's sizes, and there's also a small selection of watches (Luminox as well as own-brand offerings), Polaroid cameras and BearBrick toys. You probably have to really, really love BAPE to shop here, but either way, if you're in the area do take a look at their snazzy, flashy window display. It’s mesmerizing.

Initial

recently added to their repertoire of Shanghai shops with a new retail/dining concept, located right next to the cinema on Hengshan Lu. Truth be told, the main focus here is the café: prettily decked out in shabby chic (think distressed, whitewashed mismatched furniture), it’s the Hong Kong brand’s first on the mainland and definitely pushing all of the ‘lifestyle’ buttons. It’s also pretty expensive – 42rmb for a coffee, anyone? That aside, they’re selling pastas and sandwiches, as well as some rather yummy-looking desserts. The coming months will see an expansion upstairs as well as a bar, but we digress: we came to see the clothes... There’s a reasonable selection of vintage-inspired threads, as well as a limited collection of tea-dyed jackets, shirts and dresses in keeping with the café vibe. Elsewhere we spotted a camel-colored wool jacket, completely classic apart from interesting leather sleeves. That’s priced at 5590rmb. There’s also men and women’s branded tees at 890rmb a pop, as well as Karen Walker sunglasses from 2890rmb. What sets this Initial apart from other outlets in the city is a growing range of imported objects for the home (crockery from Europe and cool bottle shaped candles from Japan, starting from 250rmb). In keeping with the retro vibe, there’s also a small selection of vintage handbags and shoes. 4890rmb seems steep for a pair of leather knee-highs in need of a bit of TLC. Then again, they were lovely…

Triple Major

This one’s been open a couple of months already: Triple Major has made the move south from Beijing to Shanghai, setting up shop on leafy Shaoxing Lu late last November. It’s great news for lovers of hard-to-find labels and quirky fashions, and we love it. Where the capital’s store, housed in an old pharmacy, takes its design cues from a Chinese apothecary, this one, surrounded by reading rooms galore, has a more literary bent and stocks a bunch of indie mags and 'zines. There’s also a massive calligraphy brush painted on the wall, as well as central podium fashioned to look like an ink well. Clever. In terms of brands, Finnish talent Daniel Palillo plays a leading role. His cartoony style goes down a treat in the Middle Kingdom, and we especially like his rabbit sweatshirt (complete with ears) priced at 1480rmb. Other note-worthy designers include HAiK for their cool, money-printed shirt dresses (1790rmb) and closer to home, Beijing’s Digest Design Studio. We raved about their origami ‘crane’ bags in our Christmas list, and would still love to take home one of the oversized felt offerings (3750rmb). There’s shoes too, with new arrivals including chunky platform heels from Flat Apartment from 2680rmb. It’s definitely worth a look, and for more, check sister site CreativeHunt’s interview with founder Ritchie Chan.

Other Shopping Tidbits...

grandly reopened their Shanghai flagship this week, inviting a bunch of celebs to watch the lighting of that massive silver snake that recently appeared outside Plaza 66. The new design offers a spot more privacy for shoppers, but mostly an opportunity for the Italian jewelers to plug their iconic Serpenti collection ahead of Snake year in China... For the fellas, Italian label Bottega Veneta recently opened their second Shanghai dedicated men’s store in Plaza 66, and just down the road, things are hotting up at luxury mall, Réel. Awnings emblazed with the name of Yohji Yamamoto on the second floor are pretty exciting, as well as Swedish jeans designer Acne. Yay! For tots, Stella McCartney has made good her promise and opened up a children’s store on the fourth floor (what newborn doesn’t secretly hanker after a wolf-print babygrow, 640rmb?), right next to Marni Kids. If only their orange pea coats (5290rmb) came in adult sizes… Finally, those after designer delights with less of a hefty price tag should get along to The Insider this weekend. Organized by the lovely ladies at ParkLu.com, they’re promising big discounts across brands including Burberry, Jason Wu, Derek Lam and Charlotte Olympia as well as offerings from local indie designers like Bubblemood and The Hat Lab. Get your shopping fix here.