The 10 Best Boutiques In Mexico City For Christmas Shopping

For stylish shopping and design-forward boutiques featuring handcrafted jewelry and hand-stitched blouses, come to Mexico City. At Christmas, in true Mexican style, the city dresses up with ice rinks, nativity scenes, and more festive lights than a decadent downtown department store. Made a list? Checked it twice? These are the best boutiques for naughty (and nice) gifts in Mexico City.

1. Carla Fernández

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Carla Fernández’s eponymous boutique is the place to snap up inspirational (and authentic) clothes. In 2013, Carla was the recipient of a Prince Clause Award, which acknowledges artists who positively impact their communities through their work. Her focus is on preserving and reinventing the textile legacy of indigenous and mestizo communities of Mexico. With her team, Carla works in partnership with local embroiderers and manual weavers, and ensures everyone is fairly compensated for their work. Ethical and delightful!

2. Goodbye Folk

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This notable vintage boutique in the Roma district caters to shoppers with an eye for retro designs, band t-shirts, quirky unisex clothes, and shoes in all styles and sizes. They can even custom some to fit – you’ll definitely want a pair of the spangly Ziggy Stardust style boots. Biker jackets and Hawaiian shirts, worn-in women’s jeans, and Western-style shirts; you can browse for hours in search of one-off treasures, many at bargain prices. As a bonus, they have a built-in barbershop out back – so get a trim while you have a think about what to buy.

3. Arroz Con Leche

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Shopping for baby clothes is way more fun than shopping for grown-ups – especially at the excellent Arroz Con Leche (Rice Pudding), a childrenswear boutique that takes inspiration from adult designs, then shrinks them. Think embroidered blouses and brightly tasseled tops (a hint of Mexico), but things you could also wear to the supermarket. There are a few Mexico City branches, but we recommend the swanky Polanco boutique. After all, Christmas is for kids.

4. Sangre De Mi Sangre

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If you’re hunting for jewelry, come to Mariana Villarreal’s Sangre De Mi Sangre, also in the Roma district, where many of the best shops are. Mariana’s devotion to handmade jewelry has elevated her store to one of the most desirable boutiques in the capital. The beautiful collection is edgy but subtle; spiderweb necklaces have never looked this cool. It’s definitely a pricier option, but worth the investment – especially if you’re thinking of popping the question this Christmas.

5. Punto I Coma

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Let’s be honest, Christmas shopping can be a chore, so if you’re not a huge fan of trekking around hundreds of stores, Punto I Coma might be just the place for you. You’ll find a range of brands and products in one place, including babywear, chocolate, wellness gifts, and accessories. Punto i Coma is a solid all-round department store, and it also has a good café, so you can put your feet up with a coffee when the retail therapy ceases to be therapeutic.

6. Boutique Bloom

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Bloom is blossoming. It opened its first store in 2006 at the Antara Polanco shopping centre, then followed it up in 2012 with another at Park Plaza Santa Fe. Created by local fashion designer Raquel Juan Marcos who’s lived in Paris, Rome, and New York, Blossom has no shortage of womenswear lines, including finds from Diane von Furstenberg, Zimmermann and many more only stocked here in Mexico. Magpie-eyes at the ready…

7. Fábrica Social

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Fábrica Social uses local textiles to support local people. Eschewing mainstream design, this cute boutique in Mexico City’s historic centre works with indigenous communities to bring their one-off designs to a wider market. You can tell the threads are crafted by artisans with hundreds of years of history at their fingertips. Traditional Mexican embroidery freshly woven in on-trend colours, and layered A-line skirts are strikingly different, and could be straight out of Frida Kahlo’s closet, if she was still alive today.

8. Naked Boutique

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Founded in 2009 by Deya Tarno, Naked Boutique is another of Roma’s top stores that specialises in up-and-coming Mexican brands such as CIHUAH and Sandra Weil, both among Mexico City’s top designers. If you need a little help deciding what to buy, they offer a personal shopping service (sadly no elves), though you won’t be short on ideas. Montserrat Messenger’s fringed ponchos never go out of style, and are particularly cozy at Christmas time.

9. 180 Degrees

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Opened in 2011 in trendy Roma, this unisex concept store strives to promote Mexican brands, highlight authentic Mexican design, and focuses on sustainable growth. There’s a lot of menswear to choose from: zigzag beach trunks twinned with Italian wood framed glasses, handmade tweed jackets, and trendy trainers. Manager Bernardo Lopez clearly knows his customers and their desire to be surprised; though the boutique officially has two floors, there’s a small, secret hotel on the third floor. There’s a nice line in accessories too, including bags, notebooks, and socks – perfect for stocking fillers.

10. Lago

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Lago is in good company on stylish Avenida Masaryk, Mexico City’s most important retail stretch. The shop’s known for showcasing up-and-coming Latin American designers, among them Colombian jeweler CAPA and Mexico’s silk-loving Cynthia Buttenklepper. It’s crammed not only with fashion, but also with covetable ceramics, homewares and potions from the likes of medicinal apothecary Relato Nativo and the Yucatan’s Sandovalis, who specialise in artisanal perfumes. A cut above your regular duty-free fare, and a real treat for someone special this holiday season.

Additional reporting by Joe Varley

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