Shopping

A common activity in Buenos Aires is shopping. There are shops, after shops, after shops here. It is literally never ending. There are so many little boutiques for woman that I can barely remember where I have been. Also, everywhere I turn there is another shoe store. The little no-name boutiques seems to be much of the same clothes all organized by colors and occasionally by size. There are also tons of little shops with woman’s purses, scarves, earrings and accessories. Woman’s merchandise significantly outweighs the men's. And most of the woman’s clothes are targeted to a smaller frame.

Separate from the little no-name boutiques there are some high-end brands that stand apart from the rest but they can be a bit more expensive, especially the big shops that you see in the States. There are also occasionally original designer shops thrown into the mix. It can be a bit overwhelming.

If you want to practice your Spanish, go shopping. There is always someone asking if they can help you, practically no shop leaves you alone.

For me, when I first arrived, everything seemed really cheap! And it is, if you are spending dollars for a short period of time or if you live here and you earn dollars. But when you begin to settle in to the life here and make pesos, things become rather expensive. Based on the typical pay of an Argentine, it’s surprising me that these places are so jammed with people.

I talked to many people about this and what I heard was that shopping was many times simply a form of entertainment. People window shop here and browse with little intention of purchase. Also, if you are from here and don’t have the money to buy, several shops allow you to pay in installments.

If you love to shop, especially a petite woman or a woman looking for accessories, come to Buenos Aires.