Mass affluent in Moscow

A guide to the best 'bridge' brand stores in Moscow

Having shopped mass market brands ad nauseam but still not affluent enough for a TSUM walkthrough? This naturally brings up the question of what actually to wear then. Well, you have basically two options to choose from. The first one is emerging domestic labels that don't have to bow to commercial needs and are unrestrained in their imagination. The other option is to go for international brands with the price point between luxury brands and mass market brands.

The latter is quite a segment we should say. We'll spare you of the all too familiar list of the usual suspects (think well-established middle up retail chains like Pinko, Stefanel, Gant, Tommy Hilfiger, Uterque, and Calvin Klein) to highlight the less popular labels and stores that stock them.

The Tsvetnoy department store is perhaps the first venue that pops up when looking for a mix of fancy yet not exorbitantly priced labels. Just to give an idea of what to expect, the department store boasts the only stand-alone All Saints store in Russia. The store is most likely to be appreciated by aficionados of grunge fashion, subdued neutral colours, and easy-to-wear styles. The store is above all a go-to destination for leather jackets, versatile jumpers for sort-of cold weather, and denimwear. The first and second floors of the department store feature quite a few shop-in-shop gems like JNBY, Wood Wood, ASH, Eleven Paris, and Trends Brands.

Fashionistas of either gender seduced by the 'Made in Britain' appeal are sure to love UK Style. The store started out as a British heritage brands specialist by selling pieces by Barbour, Aquascutum, Mackintosh, and Margaret Howell. Over the time, 'UK Style' has significantly extended the brand array to cover a selection of Scandinavian, French, and American brands as well. So, nowadays UK Style carries Mary Katrantzou, Maison Kitsune, and even Opening Ceremony and A.P.C. However, tweed suit jackets, essential duffle coats, and voluminous cashmere jumpers are still all there.

The selection of items at the Nebo Concept Store is not in the least less interesting. Basic as they are, all pieces are painstakingly curated: only quality materials and the brands that have some history behind them make it into the store: the domestic Grunge John Orchestra. Explosion, Cote & Ciel (France), Human Scales (Sweden), 08sircus (Japan), Hansen (Norway), and the like. The store buyers are partial to Nordic brands.

Au Jour Le Jour, Sandro and Maje are among the French brands carried by the store that stand out. Au Jour Le Jour are all about unbridled style prints, rainbow colours, and insane trimmings like fur pom-poms, tassels, and patches. Sandro and Maje epitomize what is commonly dubbed in Russian glossy titles as "Parisian chic". The lesser known yet as "French" brands are available at the Parisienne multi-brand store.

Don't overlook the domestic labels either: certainly pass by I am Studio, Cyrille Gassiline, and Pepen. These labels have succeeded in scaling up they productions, which was instrumental in their dropping down the price if compared to most other Russian-based companies. If you're looking for knitwear, then go no further than Mir Stores, Norsoyan, and INS.