Vitamin C

The two girls behind Bandra’s new fashion store bigC – one sporting a giant bow on her head, the other wrapped in a bubble gum shawl - seem to wear a mixed expression of apology and annoyance. Spend a few minutes at the store and you’ll know exactly why. Plagued by its Linking Road location that‘s surrounded by tacky street stores, the bigC has a ton of shoppers popping in to use their best and long-practised haggling techniques. But the girls stick a “No Bargaining, Please” sign on the wall, and return to their seats and smiles.

Bangkok Returned

Opened four days ago, bigC (their last name is Chablani) is your typical Bandra boutique - think Izzo -  that comes bearing bounty from Bangkok and Hong Kong, differentiated by what seems to be a fun eye for women’s fashion. Thankfully, there are virtually no lycra dresses and drape-y tops that you usually find at stores of this kind. Instead, bpb saw cute casuals that don’t promise supreme quality, but are mostly priced below Rs 1,000! See product slideshow here.

What: New fabric store Neel, shop no G-1, Heera House, 1^st Road, opposite Madhu Park, Khar (W), call 26492600, Rs 1,299 for a meter of feather fabric.

Why:  While a lot of this day-old store is all shine and shimmer, your eyes will be baled out by some fun fabric with panels and poufy satin feathers, ready to be turned into flapper dress or mini. Also see batik prints, fish scale sequined patterns and if you like it wild, animal prints. Georgette of the jungle!

When: You want a new jersey.

Sew Me!

The vintage sewing machines are cool, but we’re not quite sure how empty Snapple bottles, beer pints and old records fit into the decor at Mineral, designer Priyadarshini Rao’s flowery new flagship store for women's apparel in Bandra. I’ll get that ruffled shirt in baby brew please.

Runny Yoke

Adding a peaceful sea-green hue to Bandra’s busy Linking Road, Mineral opened a few days ago with casual designs and a handful of denims. While the floral dresses with crochet detailing will immediately evoke Chemistry's racks, the kurta tops and multi-hued cotton shirts bring on flashes of your last visit to an export surplus store.

What: Made-to-order light fixtures by Sapna Bhavnani, to order email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it start at Rs 3,000.

Why: If Scottie can’t beam you up, Sapna Bhavnani will. While designing the new Mad O Wot salon at a “top secret location” (more on that soon!), the quirky hairstylist designed this creepy-cool Head Light – a bald mannequin face with bulb attached. We convinced her to take orders from bpb subscribers and she agreed, saying she had other juicy lamp chops as well. We don’t doubt it.

When: You want to scale new lights.

It was as we tumbled out of Design Temple, Divya Thakur's super cute store in Colaba (updated with bar stools and free wi-fi - they've canned the cafe idea for now), that one of us Scouters spotted the colourful terracotta sign jutting out of the first floor of an old, beautiful building. Tiffany Tiles and Stones it said, in cheerful blue and yellow, reminiscent of sunny Goa on a dreary monsoon day. How could we resist?

Up we trekked over a wide, dusty staircase rimmed with wrought iron railings and into one of those old Mumbai apartments that strike envy in our hearts every time: wide windows, airy rooms, tall, tall ceilings latticed with wooden beams. Quoting price, please?

Owl Play

But it was another kind of square footage they were selling here, pretty heritage tiles and mosaics that could creep up your wall. We particularly loved a pensive owl made from dull shards of gold and silver, as well as a heavy Scrabble tile better, which we're turning into a table top. Our new intern spotted a heavy pillar swirled with ochre and grey mosaic, and decided it would make for an awesome outdoor shower pillar. Clever girl, she.

Our eager attendant at the store told us that Tiffany Tiles and Stones has been around for "more years than he can remember", and specialises in heritage tiles, having won several heritage awards over the years. He offered to cut us a good deal if we told our friends and family about the store, so be sure to mention us when you go!

See our slide show from Tiffany Tiles and Stones here.

Getting there: First floor, Sargent House, opposite Electric House, in the lane behind Bombay Electric, Colaba, Rs 2,500 for an owl mosaic.

What: Tetris lamp at Shady Ideas, Suburbia Mall, same compound as Shoppers’ Stop, Linking Road, Bandra (W), call 8108154448, Rs 3,500.

Why: A black handmade paper lamp with an unfinished game of Tetris printed on – buy it just for bricks? This fun light we spotted at Shady Ideas, a newish lamp-only store that besides paying homage to video games of the 80s, also does fixtures using multi-coloured tea glasses and a Rubik's cubes.

When: You want to bring home the Light-house Family. Open from 1.30 pm to 10 pm.

Browsing through Ediots.in (Urban Dictionary definition unpublishable on bpb - find it here) reminded us of the stand-up comedy show we attended at Cafe Goa earlier this evening – only some of the jokes are funny, both sex and Anna Hazare are brought up, and there’s a faint sense of misogyny running through the material: merely one of the models on the Ediots website is a female, and none of its online retail partners offered shirts for women.

Cracking Yokes

Run by three guys in Nagpur “who are still wondering who they are”, Ediots features T-shirts in primary colours with slogans stamped across them – a premise that is now extremely familiar, with T-shirt companies teeing off (sorry, we couldn’t resist) willy nilly. Some of the versions offered here, however, made us laugh out loud – “Bajaun Kya (Radio)” and “I don’t care which came first, I eat them all”. Be careful about passing one of their jokes off as your own at the next poker game, though – they threaten to sue anyone who misuses their material under the Indian Copyright Act. Taking the shirt off your back?

Ediots can be found on a bunch of retail websites like Myntra.com and Tradus.in, and also at Bliss in Mumbai and Pune.

Getting there: Visit www.ediots.in for designs, Rs 399 for a tee.

Body Amour

Rimmed in serrated stars and perforated by perfectly shaped holes, shackles have never been sexier. Neither has the ball and chain, in this case re-imagined as a two-part earring, or wide, brutally beautiful rings that bind fingers together. All of these come from Peace Treaty, a socially-conscious accessory design studio that originated in Rome and which takes symbols of incarceration - handcuffs and spikes, blades and fences, locks and keys - and turns them into fiercely gorgeous jewellery pieces.

The Gold Standard

A collaboration between product designer Farah Malik and marketer Dana Arbib (the former is a Pakistani Muslim, the latter a Libyan Jew), A Peace Treaty promotes the craft of artisans in geopolitically unstable regions such as Afghanistan and Pakistan. The website currently showcases two collections - Thar, created by craftspeople living in Rajasthan and the Kurdish-made Sunari line. Both are similar and aesthetic, and made us feel like we've suddenly stumbled upon a treasure trove of jewellery owned by our still-stylish great grandmother. Vintage point, anyone?

Dye Another Day

Also available are silk and cotton scarves in delish hues (indigo blue, rust, a washed out, romantic cloud gray), inspired by West Africa and featuring Nigerian techniques of dying, block printing and weaving. The Rs 3,000 and up price tag for these is a little steep - comparatively, the jewellery is a much better buy - but hey, it's for a good cause.

Although a lot of the best pieces are sold out on the website, there's plenty of loot to choose from. We suggest you browse through, and give Peace a chance.

Getting there: Visit www.apeacetreaty.com, approximately Rs 3,000 plus shipping for a bronze amulet ring, all designs shipped to India.

What: The Stiff Collar – an online shirt shop, visit www.thestiffcollar.com, Rs 899 for a shirt, free delivery within a week

Why: The “somewhat snooty English shirts” – with longer tail, slim cut, barrel cuffs, split yoke and stiff collar - at this new e-shop will ensure you’re the fancy pants of the office. Run by Kabir Hingorani, whose family set up one of India’s first readymade shirt brands in the 50s, The Stiff Collar features about a dozen designs with quirky descriptions (the white poplin shirt is “sort of what Ralph Fiennes wore in The English Patient. Would go well with khakis and gin”) and a reasonable Rs 899 tag. Jeeves would approve.

When: You’re looking for Cuff Parade.  

Rise of the Silver Surfer

You know those days where doing nothing is an art? Those days are numbered, is the first thought that will skateboard through your head at lightning speed when you visit the new Quiksilver and Roxy store at Phoenix Mills, where outdoorsy clothes and accessories compel you to get off your a** and do something, anything  – go  surfing, learn to skateboard, plan a vacation, get a six pack or even a boy with a six pack.

Mad Men and Their Board Rooms

The international fashion brand that draws inspiration from boarding mainly targets the youth, with the Quiksilver part of the store reserved for men, and Roxy for women.  In a sea of mediocre printed tees and casual checked shirts, boys will be instantly attracted to reversible board shorts printed with vibrant water pistols and capsules that go a yummy neon green when turned inside out. Shirtless himbos who like it more subtle, see the orange-yellow pair that’s basically like a Californian sunset on your bum. Priced at Rs 3,959 (about a grand more than the US price) these don’t come super cheap, but there aren’t too many good places for men to buy swim wear in Mumbai. Match these with fun flip flops (Rs 1,295), bronze aviators (Rs 5,900), travel carry bag (Rs 2,295) and beach of your choice.