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Fashionistas from all over the continent flock to São Paulo for the clothes, shoes, and accessories. In fact, shopping is a tourist attraction in its own right. You can get a sampling of what's on offer six days a week: stores are usually open on weekdays from 9 to 6:30 and Saturdays from 9 to 1; many are closed on Sunday. Mall hours are generally weekdays and Saturday from 10 am to 10 pm; some malls only open on Sunday around 2 pm.
Well-heeled paulistanos famously love shopping malls, and there are plenty of those in the city. Perhaps of more interest for visitors, almost every neighborhood has a weekly outdoor food market, complete with loudmouthed hawkers, exotic scents, and mountains of colorful produce. Nine hundred of them happen every week in São Paulo, so you'll be able to hit at least one; ask around to find out when and where the closest one happens.
Antiques and secondhand furniture are the big draws at the Sunday flea market at the Praça Dom Orione in Bela Vista. You'll also find clothing, CDs, and other (mostly) reasonably priced items here. In Centro, Rua do Arouche is noted for leather goods. Rua Barão de Paranapiacaba is lined with jewelry shops and is nicknamed the "street of gold." The area around Rua João Cachoeira in Itaim has evolved from a neighborhood of small clothing factories into a wholesale- and retail-clothing sales district. Several shops on Rua Tabapuã sell small antiques. Also, Rua Dr. Mário Ferraz is stuffed with elegant clothing, gift, and home-decoration stores.
In Jardins, centering on Rua Oscar Freire, double-parked Mercedes-Benzes and BMWs point the way to the city's fanciest stores, which sell leather items, jewelry, gifts, antiques, and art. Shops that specialize in high-price European antiques are on or around Rua da Consolação. Lower-price antiques stores and thrift shops line Rua Cardeal Arcoverde in Pinheiros. Flea markets with secondhand furniture, clothes, and CDs take place on Saturday at the popular Praça Benedito Calixto in Pinheiros, where you can also eat at food stands and listen to music all day long. Arcades along Praça Benedito Calixto and many streets in neighboring Vila Madalena, like Ruas Aspicuelta and Harmonia, house boutique clothing stores.
With a deft line in cool, sophisticated fashion, Animale has long been a go-to brand for hip young Brazilian women. Known for its striking prints and sultry-yet-wearable garments, Animale isn't cheap—but these are clothes you'll be slipping into for years.
Brazilian models and soap opera stars wear this brand, which blends bohemian and bourgeois (coincidentally, the type of bank account needed to shop here).
Farm Rio is a Brazilian brand founded in 1997, known for featuring tropical prints and designs that celebrate Rio de Janeiro's culture. With a strong appeal to a colorful and laid-back lifestyle, the brand has become an icon of fashion in Brazil and abroad.
The women's clothing brand Fil du Fil maintains three locations across Moema and Vila Olímpia. Looks are casual with colorful blouses and dresses featuring prominently.
This chain is Brazil's exclusive purveyor of the French brand Vertigo. Look for party dresses in velvet and sheer fabrics.
Sophisticated, high-quality women's clothing is Reinaldo Lourenço's calling card.
The collections at Richards include casualwear for men, women, and kids.
This brand's shops, which you'll find in nearly every mall in São Paulo, are good places to buy beachwear and sports clothing.
Women of all ages lust after the simple elegance of Uma's swimsuits, dresses, shorts, shirts, and pants—they're not cheap, but they're good.
Everyday outfits with classic lines are Cori's specialty.
Here's a good place to buy men's and women's jeans, sportswear, and street wear.
