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La Blanca: Erratic Prices at Heliopolis Womenswear Shop

reviewed by
Basma Mostafa
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La Blanca: Erratic Prices at Heliopolis Womenswear Shop

Fashion-conscious ladies often find a hard time locating shops in Cairo that offer high-quality fashion at moderate prices. Unless you are willing to drop a week’s pay on a single clothing item that looks somewhat decent, Cairo is not the best destination for fashion-seekers.

La Blanca is one of those shops that offers a lot of modish women’s clothes. But like all things nice, they come at an oh-so-high price. We were smitten with an über-trendy black coat, but, we all but had a minor heart attack when we caught sight of the hefty price tag; the 1175LE coat, we decided, was not that stylish anyway.

With a sinking heart, we started looking around the shop for more affordable items. A plethora of leggings starting at 80LE  were found everywhere around the shop. Said leggings were available in a variety of colours, including bright orange, black, brown and grey. The shop also offers a collection of skirts; a knee-length pleather skirt was available for 240LE and a black pencil skirt sold for 195LE.

While most shops organise clothes either by colour or function, we couldn’t pinpoint a particular pattern for organising the clothes at La Blanca, which made for a slightly uncomfortable shopping experience.

The sales attendants don’t hover around; they let you do your own thing and are helpful enough when approached for assistance, but they mostly let you shop in peace.

Although many items were overpriced, La Blanca had a few discounted items as well. A plain white blouse sold for 195LE instead of 425LE, a black and white jersey dress sold for 295LE instead of 375LE, and a knee-length strapless dress with a front zipper was priced at 295LE instead of 445LE.

La Blanca also had a collection of blazers, though quite limited. A black blazer (495LE) made of leather and velvet looked as if it were seamed together using leftover fabric.

The shop also had a varied collection of accessories, purses, scarves and belts. A basic, simple black handbag sold for 295LE and belts started at 150LE. A pair of beige boots was priced at 300LE, but they looked a little too worn-out and shabby.

A short flight of stairs tucked behind the cashier will take you to the shop’s second floor where the evening attire is located. La Blanca’s collection of evening dresses mostly consisted of knee-length, strapless gowns.

A glittery golden and black dress was priced at 395LE, while a leopard print asymmetrical dress sold for 345LE. A silver sequined jacket (575LE) and a strapless glittery green blouse (195LE) were also available.

What we like best about La Blanca’s evening gowns is that they tend to stick to the simpler side of things. Without too many embellishments, sequins or glitter, La Blanca’s dresses would cost you more than 300LE, but they offer good value-for-money.

Although La Blanca might not be your first stop when on the lookout for quality, affordable fashion, it never hurts to give it a browse anyway.

360 Tip

Driving to La Blanca in Korba only means you will stay stuck in your car without finding an empty parking spot.

Best Bit

The super-chic black coat

Worst Bit

Many items are insanely overpriced, but isn't this the case with many things in this city?

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