This is a post from the lens of a Lisbon local, with photos and advice from someone who has really been to these places.
Whenever I travel, I want to shop at stores that are exclusive to the place I’m visiting. Multinational retail clothing chains are easy to come by – I want the small boutiques, the local designers, the one-of-a-kind pieces you can’t find back home. And if I was a tourist in Lisbon, I’d want to know where those places are. Well, EmbaiXada Lx is one of them (I’ll have links throughout this post but I’m not affiliated with anyone, I just genuinely like the place and feel it’s worth talking about).
A 15 minute walk from the busy Rua Garrett will take you to EmbaiXada Lx, a shopping gallery located inside a 20th century palace that contains basically portuguese owned brands with made in Portugal products. The palace itself is beautiful, worth a visit just for the architecture itself.
Amidst the corridors of the palace, you’ll find the art gallery, that features and sells artwork from (living) portuguese artists.
I haven’t shopped at Ecolã (this time), but those colorful capes are calling my name. This store is all about a portuguese wool material, burel. I have a few pieces in burel that I purchased when I went to a factory at its birth place, Serra da Estrela, and I can attest to how warm and long lasting it is. Maybe I should make a dedicated post about it.
Here are the stores were I did shop at:
Benedita Formosinho
They have a website with a selection that matches their physical store. The brand is all about ethical production and sustainability The natural cream colour of their undyed fabrics give an air of relaxed chicness to the store. I bought the Beni trousers, with the outside pockets – they run true to size and fit perfectly.
EtikWay
I see they have a website but the Embaixada store had a much bigger selection of women’s clothes. EtikWay stocks a few different brands, like Hyena, from whom I bough a pair of pants. They still have it available (here – not affiliated) and apparently the pattern was done in collaboration with a portuguese artist, Branca Cuvier.
All of EtikWay’s brands have a strong focus on sustainability. In fact, that’s the norm with all brands present in EmbaiXada Lx: sustainability and made in Portugal.
