The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Located on the constantly congested Abbas El-Akkad Street in Nasr City, Giny La Roche is a three-storey shop that offers a huge range of moderately priced ladies’ wear. It’s easy to mistake the entrance of the adjacent building for Giny La Roche’s entrance, but once you make your way in, you will be overwhelmed by the shop’s vast interior.

At first glance, most of the items at Giny La Roche might seem outdated, but once you take your time browsing through the endless racks, a few finds here and there might surprise you.

The first floor carries a wide variety of trouser suits suitable for work starting at 390LE for basic, conventional colours including grey, black and navy blue. You can also find flowing abayas – traditional Middle Eastern dress – in a variety of designs and colours starting 300LE.

Giny La Roche’s collection of evening dresses is the most impressive. Available in almost every fabric and colour you can think of, Giny La Roche should be your first stop when an occasion suddenly pops up and you need a quick outfit. While their dresses are not unique and many tend to go overboard with the sequins, beads, faux gems and embellishments, you might find a dress or two worth considering. A blue sleeveless satin dress with a beaded belt was priced at 550LE. Maxi dresses have an average starting price of 375LE.

The ground floor takes you to the casual apparel section of the shop. A leopard-print ankle-length velvet skirt was priced at 170LE. Pleather coats are also available in abundance starting 325LE, while a coat with faux fur trim sold for 390LE and a bright red coat sold for 380LE. Basic pullovers are also available in a variety of colours starting 175LE. A shabby-looking satin silver sleeveless blouse was priced at 65LE and looked like it had been brought together by leftover fabric.

No assistance was offered by the sales attendants whatsoever, which is understandable in a shop as big as Giny La Roche – understandable and extremely appreciated. The shop’s wide space also means it will take you a lot of time to meticulously browse through its racks.

The upper floor is the quietest part of the shop and at the time of our visit, no one else was shopping there. You can find a decent collection of evening dresses and bridal gowns. Although there was a huge collection to choose from, almost every dress had a little detail that added an overall feel of cheapness to it. To be fair, you might stumble across a few dresses that stick to the simpler side of things. A knee-length silver sequined dress was priced at 1250LE, and a maxi sequined dress with a sequined bolero was priced at 2200LE. Chiffon dresses start at 450LE.

While Giny La Roche doesn’t offer the most fashionable of clothing items, it doesn’t hurt to have a look there.