Help: Shopping in Buenos Aires
 

Any store recommendations in the BsAs leather district for leather jackets? In our last visit, we went to Murrilo but could not find any store that carries jackets as good as the ones we could get at Casa Lopez. We ended up with buying it from Lopez.

We are hoping that we could do better this time. Thanks

What were the shortcomings of Casa Lopez?
I will be visiting Buenos Aires in Nov. 2006 and shopping for a great leather jacket is one of my priorities.
Please share what you learn on your trip.
Buen viaje

Murrillo 666 is where I usually shop. My wife bought an excellent lambskin jacket on our last trip.

Casa Lopez offers quality for a price, which is the only "shortcoming" of this excellent store as far as I can tell...

Hey Doc! Mind if I ask about how much your wife paid for her jacket? Just want to see if that is something we should persue.

I apologize if I gave offense with my question. The OP seemed to be reluctant to buy from them and I was curious why.

I saw many beautiful jackets at Patio Bullrich and Gallerias Pacifico. I didn't check the prices because I was so busy buying every purse in sight!

Sharon,
That's another thing on my shopping list!!! I better take an empty suitcase!

I'll take you shopping where the locals go, lady from New Mexico!!!

Doc, Sage from Athens, or whatever: the lady from New Mexico is waiting for an answer to her question!

It was posted almost 4 hours ago!!!

abqdeb: You can buy the suitcase there! Try Skin, Prune, Prego, Lazaro oh there are tons of them, each one with more beautiful purses!!!! I brought home 3 for me and one for a friend, not to mention wallets, shoes, silver jewelry... I went from a carry-on on the trip down to checking my bag (but having all my new stuff in my carry-on) on the way back. You'll have a ball.

Av,

You want to take me shopping?? Cool! Let's go! Will you hold my purse while I try on clothes?? LOL! My husband has to come to. I am planning to do some shopping at all the ferias on Saturday and Sunday, but would love to find some wonderful leather goods at reasonable prices. I'm sure that's easier with a local! Email me at [email protected].

She paid U$145 for a hip length, lined lambskin coat at Murrillo 666. I don't remember whether that was the original asking price or not. In any case, ask if there is a discount for cash.

ABQ Deb,

I have gone shopping with friends who tell me I can nod and smile in the stores, but should not speak because the price will go up once I utter a word or two and the locals discover I am not from around there....So having AV along will probably save you enough money to purchase another Prune purse :)

Lady from New Mexico: as you know, this is mostly for LOL!!!

More seriously, if you want to go to one of the places where the locals go, try Unicenter, which is a few miles out of town.

This is the way MauraNYC described it on Sept. 18 in my "The REAL Buenos Aires" thread: "I also enjoyed seeing the very nice shopping center and supermarket, I think the biggest I have ever seen with the cheapest prices I have also ever seen!"

Thanks Doc and Av, That's a great price for the coat. I will try to make to make it there! AV, the unicenter sounds cool, but not sure if there is enough time (or is my husband has THAT much patience for shopping)! I will definitely be on the lookout for purses.

Leaving tomorrow---- thanks for everything!

Don't forget to post your trip report!
Buen viaje.

Definitely will post.... or else I would be in big trouble around here!

AV, Unicenter.

Is there a Metro line to get there?

Afraid not. More later.

The way to go to Unicenter is by cab, preferably a radio taxi called by your hotel, as is always my advice.

I estimate it could cost the peso equivalent of about 8 dollars, plus 8 dollars coming back.

If you go on a weekday morning, there should be few people, more people in the late afternoon and even more people on weekend afternoons, particularly now that the Xmas and New Year's shopping season is starting.

They open at 10 AM and close at 10 PM.

We have been to BA twice in the last 3 years and bought wonderful custom made leather jackets from SILVIA y MARIO at the end of Florida opposite the Marriott..Wonderful service .Measured on tues ,ready by thur..they even shipped another to the U.S for a relative who admired our purchase..Same size so they got it to us in 2 weeks..VERY REASONABLE ...

Barry, what does very reasonable mean?

I just got in this forum by coincidence. Leather in BA??? Barry, you got the answer: SILVIA and MARIO.Across from the Marriot Marcelo T de Alvear 550 BA. The best leather, i got cashmere and silk sweaters for very reasonable prices and I got a lambskin leather jacket, beautiful and good price. But overall, the service you get there is wonderful. I was helped by several employees and Silvia herself and her son and daugther. I was taken upstairs where they have their factory. Leave your order and you will have it in a few days. Believe me, we spend hours there and later in the afternoon we were served with nice treats. Dont hesitate to email me with questions. I walk all over Florida avenue and we felt the most comfortable at Silvia and Mario...

I second all of that from humphrey and we also got to go upstairs to the "factory" and pick out the leather and buttons and even design our jackets and coats and a vest....We also bought several sweaters.I think we spent on an average of about $150.00/item .I am sure that is about 70%s less than anything I have seen here for a custom fitted anything.

Out of curiosity, I pullout my VISA statements. My wife bought two jackets from Casa Lopez last April for u$376 (a$1090) and u$548.84 (a$1590). These include the VAT tax that we received the refund at a later time.

I do not know what kind she bought. But, I know that they are not made out of gold.

We must do better this time.

I also bought a beautiful red leather jacket at Casa Lopez. It was around $500 US but is not like anything I will see at home. I didn't want an ordinary black leather jacket like the ones I see in US stores.

You see, I can justify anything!

I bought a beautiful reversible zip-up goatskin jacket at Silvia & Mario. It was custom made with all the changes I wanted and mailed to me in the states. It's feather light and fashionista friends say it's worth at least double what I paid in BA.

Apart fr gd leather - what are their other styles like (in clothes)? I'm petite & in some countries I can't shop. I was told by an Argentinian shoe repairer that Argentinian leather is better than Italian, though someone else reckons Turkey has the best leather.

I would think that Argentina would be a cheap destination right now...correct me if I'm wrong.

Argentina was a cheap destination two or three years ago. It is still somewhat inexpensive, but costs have gone up, particularly for tourist related services such as airfare and hotels. Airlines that offer domestic flights in Argentina restrict foreigners to the purchase of full fare tickets, which means the cost of a ticket is often higher than for flights of the same distance within the United States. The same is true with many hotels, with foreigners often paying more in Buenos Aires than in New York....particularly for the international chain hotels such as Sofitel.

Argentina as a bargain travel destination is much more of a challenge these days, but it is still a beautiful country.....

Meals and ground transportation are still very inexpensive.