Last week we went shopping at Fashion Street, a row of around 250-350 shops on Mahatma Gandhi road. This place is a tourist attraction of sorts as it is known for its reasonably priced cotton ready-mades. But it was disappointing.
I mean, everyone knows that the name may be Fashion Street but its not hi-fashion, but a few years ago one could pick up some decent stuff here. It was a place to slum it out actually, hunt for some gems in the plethora of cottons. This time I picked out some night clothes. Nice pajama and tops.
You get all sorts of clothes here, ranging from long and short T-shirts, trousers, shirts to childrens’ clothes. But the variety that you get at Bandra and Hill Road is missing. In fact I think Hill Road is the best place to shop if one wants good cotton ready-mades. Fashion Street has remained what it is only in name. But people still throng the place. Gets difficult to walk there at times.
One has to bargain like crazy. Bring down the prices at least by one third or maybe even half. Generally one can pick up a pyjama and top for around Rs 120/- or so. But if you buy more than one, you could get it even for Rs 80/-. If you buy just a shirt it could be around the same price…it depends on one’s luck actually…how far late it is on that day, whether its a week-day (fewer customers) or if there is some sort of defect in the piece. That is a must. Checking for defects.
A few days ago the cops conducted a raid on this place. Sure, the hawkers here are licensed, but they have permission to sell within a 1 x1.5 meter area, and some have a 1.5 x 3 meter area. Many shop owners had violated these rules by making extensions. Basically the idea is to make this place look ‘neat and organised.’ The idea is to beautify Fashion Street. All thats fine, but its time they improved the quality and provided more variety to shoppers.
There is parking right in front of the shops. To reach Fashion Street, you take the left after the Parsi Tower of Silence, if you are coming from Churchgate station.
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