Shopping At Phoenix MarketCity On A Budget: We Tried But Did We Conquer?

Known for their glamourous handbags and purses, we hit Lavie hoping to purchase a cute wallet but we were completely taken by their footwear instead. Pretty watermelon printed flip flops were enough to transport us to a Hawaiian vacation! A must buy!  Lavie had a great collection of funky sneakers to choose from and we walked out with happy feet and without a huge dent in our pockets! 

Damages: INR 10,000 minus INR 1198, which leaves us with a hefty sum of INR 8,802.

Next, we went to the Japan - based store, Miniso which sells all sorts of consumer products - kitchenware, clothes, footwear, accessories, and cosmetics are just a few of things one can find here. We absolutely loved their large collection of perfumes and couldn't resist picking some up. Although, it was a challenge selecting just one as they had amazing fragrances, ranging from floral scents like jasmine and rose to even green tea - and all for just INR 190 upwards! Satisfied with the cute fragrance purchase, we started for our next splurging destination! 

Damages: INR 8,802 minus INR 350, which brings us to INR 8,452

An oasis for any shoe lover, Centro stocks some top notch brands (Madden Girl, Clarks), as well as more budget-friendly brands (Melonz) at great rates! If you’re looking for a less pricier version of Steve Madden, check out the store’s Madden Girl line. The ever attentive store assistants will also help you find your dream shoes. The best part? They offer a six-month ‘warranty’ on your shoes — just drop by the store for a free fix if you’re having any issues. I fell in love with a pair of classic memory foam leather sandals by Madden Girl for INR 2,999, but decided to go for an equally cute pair of gold-weave sandals by Melonz for just INR 999.

Damages: INR 8,452 minus INR 999 leaves us with INR 7,453.

Indya is a brand dedicated to modern-ethnic Indian wear. Gorgeous indigo tunics, beautiful high - slit tunics paired with cigarette pants, and festive crop tops and palazzo pants sets. The variety of ethnic crop tops was enough to put us in a tizzy on what to buy and what leave! Shimmery silver crop tops with ruffled sleeves and the sleeveless paisley printed blouses were our favourites!.You can pair these with ethnic skirts or fancy palazzos - mix and match with their fabulous collection or buy crop top and palazzo sets - the choices are endless.

After some ethnic shopping, we decided to hit a Western clothing store to add to our loot and we found the perfect store just besides Indya - Gipsy! Staying true to its name, Gipsy houses a nice collection of bohemian, chic clothes. Pastel hues and lavender blues, the collection of flowery tops were screaming all things summer with prices starting from just INR 1,000. We found chic semi formal tops as well that could be paired with pants for a breezy office look. We loved their flowy summer dresses. After going through their extensive collection, we decided to go with a pretty, bohemian top. 

Damages: INR 6,253 minus INR 1,600 leaves us with INR 5,653.

Time for some accessories! We came across Voylla, a designer jewellery store with really affordable accessories - perfect for us! Their expansive collection of earrings was impressive, and more so their prices. We found some really pretty brass jhumkis which went perfectly with our new ethnic crop tops - just for INR 599! Voylla also had a variety of brass studs (for INR 399), good for both ethnic and Western wear. Apart from earrings, Voylla also housed beautiful necklaces, pendants, nose rings and much more. 

Damages: INR 5,653 minus INR 599 leaves us with INR 5,054 more to go! 

By now, our shopping bags were getting heavy but we marched on to Kazo - a clothing store selling stylish formal clothes and party wear. We realized we had not bought a dress yet, so we decided to go in for one at Kazo. Kazo also has a brilliant collection of bags to choose from - extremely chic, you can carry it for a party as well as take it along on a business meeting. The dresses were a fine balance between formal wear and party wear and we loved them all. Long, short, frilly, formal, strapless, high slit dresses, they had it all.

Damages: INR 5,054 minus INR 2,490 brings our budget down to INR 2,564. 

Similar to Miniso, Kioda is a Korean lifestyle brand - but with a completely different set of affordable goodies in store for us. Funky jewellery, printed canvas bags, cute flip flops and even an endless supply of stationery items like pencil pouches, fancy pens, notebooks with cute quotes on them. Kioda had an awesome collection of ear studs - six pairs for INR 175! Add to that a vibrant collection of nail paints (INR 295) that we had to pick up at least two of! We loved Kioda's cute animal themed face masks for just INR 259. 

Damages: INR 2,564 minus 1,024 which leaves us with a grand total of INR 1,540.

If you’re as obsessive as the LBB crew is about everything being in its rightful place, be it your bedroom, bathroom or office desk, you’ll fall head-over-heels for Howard’s Storage World. We didn’t know where to start, dashing between their handy kitchenware (check out their awesome little finger-held peelers for INR 899) and their bathroom organisers for all your makeup and bottles (prices start at INR 500). We finally decided to go for this tiny clip bottle, perfect for carrying a lunch-time beverage without worrying about spills.

Damages: INR 1,540 minus INR 399 leaves us with INR 1,141

With print media on the decline, OM Books is taking a stand. With an impressive collection of English literature (as well as a notable selection of Hindi and Kannada books), you’ll surely find what you’re looking for. The helpful sales people seemed to be well-versed with their stock, and are easily able to inform us whether or not they had a particular author. Check out their selection of classic in-house published books for a great deal, like this copy of 1984 by George Orwell for just INR 175. They also had a great selection of notebooks and backpacks, which you should definitely take a look at!

Damages: INR 1,141 minus INR 175 leaves us with INR 966 left. Success!

Such an extensive shopping trip calls for a hearty meal?  We were left with enough balance at the end of the day for a nice dinner at Shizusan Shophouse & Bar. Alternatively, you can use that money to hail a cab and make your journey back into the city.

With inputs from Akshaya Maller