Colombo’s ascent into the heady heights of style is no chance encounter, but a result of ideal conditions. Sri Lanka’s flourishing garment export industry, a source for many prestigious European and American brands, ensured necessary exposure to high fashion and a new designer culture in Sri Lanka.
Talented Sri Lankan craftsmanship and skills guarantee the finesse and quality necessary for high-calibre garment manufacture and with a lucrative exchange rate for foreign shoppers ($1 = SLR 31 or $1 = SLR 197 approximately), regional visitors to Sri Lanka are returning home with so much more than souvenirs.
Dress boutiques and fashion stores blossom like tropical flowers in Colombo’s high-end shopping locations and are fast turning into a major attraction for shoppers from around the world. Sri Lanka is attracting a lot of interest from the tourists around the region who are discovering new facets to the destination including the fantastic shopping offered by the island nation.
Stores in Sri Lanka offer surpluses from the export-factories in Sri Lanka of leading European and American fashion goods at fantastic factory-rate prices which are usually a tenth of their street prices in Europe or America, supplemented by a range of imported designer-originals, purchased direct from manufacturing outlets, again with attractive price dividends.
For avid seekers of chic, Colombo has turned into an exciting one-stop shopping experience with a global reach and stunning range at affordable prices. Scaling the heights of chic with highly visible success is Colombo’s Odel unlimited at Alexandra Place. It offers a truly impressive array of choices for clothes and accessories for all seasons and reasons, winter and summer, formal and casual.
Shoppers (around 40% are foreign visitors) get the opportunity to shop for famous labels such as Calvin Klein, Levi Strauss, Ungaro, Gucci, Armani and Hugo Boss, sports brands Nike and Puma, designer watches from Swiss brands and perfumes from high end cosmetic firms, among others.
Odel buys directly from designer factory-outlets abroad and export surpluses of foreign manufacturers in Sri Lanka. Prices can vary from Rs. 70,000 ($609) for a Kenzo original suit to Rs. 450 to Rs. 600 ($4 to $5) for locally produced export surplus items.
Many international fashion brands are available in Sri Lanka including Ralph Lauren, Levis, Cacharel, Gap, DKNY, Dolce & Gabbana and Armani among them. Accessories include Diesel Shoes, handbags and a range of dress jewellery, belts and perfumes.
Sri Lanka also has its own House of Fashions superstore - a homegrown Marks & Spencers type store in downtown Colombo. Catering to a mix demographic and not excluding anybody by being exclusive, House of Fashions has a well loved people-friendly image, with throngs of happy shoppers flocking to its spacious, well-stocked showrooms.
House of Fashions’ range, quality and prices are indeed irresistible with a product range that includes chic designer lines for summer and winter, for men, women and children, beach and sports clothes, lingerie, nightwear, shoes, handbags, luggage, belts, costume jewelery and other accessories. Designer labels seen here include Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Victoria’s Secret. In recent years, several new trendy clothing stores have opened up including Romafour who specialize in women’s wear, men’s wear and kid’s wear and quality accessories.
Gabbana - Sri Lanka’s exclusive men’s designer store is a new addition to Colombo’s fashion industry. The exclusive designer store opened its doors to the fashion conscious male in Sri Lanka, offering the best in international labels and fabrics.
There are many places to find bargains in Colombo such as Beverly Street, Cotton Collection, Hameedias who specialize in men’s suits - both readymade and tailored and Barefoot who are better known for their handloom and a wide range of items including hand-woven fabrics such as tablecloths, bedspreads, curtains, creative soft toys from mice to elephants, gifts, home décor, antiques, books, sarees and exclusive designs in hand-woven cotton and silk. Modern shopping malls and specialty stores across Colombo carry high quality goods at very affordable prices.
GeeBees Clothing at Duplication Road Bampalapitiya offers a one stop store for all western, eastern, bridal-wear, men's ensembles in both formal and semi formal silhouettes from all parts of the world.
Whatever your taste in clothes, Colombo’s outlets are there to be discovered and enjoyed. Take a taxi stop for coffee and return elated, with everything from a tailor-made suit to a whole new wardrobe. Things have changed in this area over the years, as has the rest of the island. The bottom half of the beach strips contains several of the older and less expensive hotels, while the northern half is lined with more of the top end brand hotels.
