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

Since arriving in Egypt,  Zara has become somewhat of a staple on the Cairo shopping scene. Ranging from basics to ready-to-wear dresses, you’ll almost certainly find what you’re looking for. Which is why we were dying to check out their Maadi City Centre branch and, more importantly, their highly talked about spring/summer line.

The shop is located directly across from the main entrance, to the right. A grey marble shop-front with a large display window and the logo embossed discreetly next to the entrance, are simple and inviting. The shop is quite spacious, with it’s proudcts divifed over two floors.

The women’s section (including TRF) is quite large, taking up the entire ground floor, with the men’s section located on the upper floor. However, we wasted no time focusing on such details and careened straight towards the clothes. And we have to say, we were beyond impressed.

Compared to last season’s less-than-sturdy summer line, this time around, it’s obvious Zara’s going in for the kill. The women’s section offers a huge array of choices, ranging from jeans that span the colour spectrum (259LE), to t-shirts with bold prints and in bright neon colours (200LE). A particularly interesting shift dress (499LE) caught our eye with its unique African-style print, as did a gorgeous, flower-print handkerchief tunic (399 LE) that’s just dying to be worn over a pair of short-shorts, or even one of Zara’s very own light denim cut-offs (299LE).

The men’s section was just as aesthetically and fashionably exciting. Their trouser collection was a whirlwind of choices, from distressed denim skinny jeans with studded pockets (499LE) to slim fit trousers (349 LE) that come in a refreshingly vivid range of colours – from plain grey to pistachio green. The t-shirts were reasonably priced and quite fashion forward. There was a particularly interesting dragon print tank top (169LE) that grabbed our attention, but even the normal printed polo shirts (229LE) were begging to be tried on.

The sales assistants were, surprisingly, very helpful without being too pushy. They gave advice and suggested complementary pieces to any item we had picked out, though paying was a long and slow process, as we had to wait for quite a while before a cashier showed up.

Due to Zara’s close proximity to Carrefour, the entrance is usually crowded and the shop itself is brimming with customers. However, we emerged from Zara with light hearts, an even lighter wallet, several shopping bags and an overall pleasantly successful shopping experience. Zara’s new summer collection is one that should definitely not be missed, and one that we predict seeing on almost every fashionista in Cairo this summer.