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

Of all the UK fashion brands that have come to Cairo, New Look is best
known for its cheap take on high street fashion and the latest seasonal trends.
Although customs and currency exchange do not make this brand as cheap as it is in the UK, it
still offers shoppers the opportunity to indulge in funky trends that may not last
another season (ahem, sheepskin gilets) without breaking the bank.

Located on the
third level of Citystars’ Phase 2, New Look is dominated by its women’s
section, with an unfairly tiny corner devoted to menswear. The women’s section
includes basic tank tops (40LE) and leggings, a jeans corner featuring skinny,
super-skinny and bootleg jeans (around 200LE) as well as jeggings (175LE) in UK
sizes 6 to 16.

The Spring 2011
trends and colours are featured heavily at New Look, from a 70s bird-print
viscose blouse with an elaborate bow, to the layered pearl necklaces and flower prints. The shop has a collection of
women’s lingerie and nightwear, including two-packs of bras (125LE), black
negligees (399LE) and a faded blue, camisole-shorts nightwear combo with
a broderie anglaise trim (179LE). A corner of the shop also features plus-size range:
Inspire (UK
sizes 18 to 36), including skinny jeans (229LE) and a loosely structured flower
print dress (319LE).

What New Look
does best, in this reviewer’s opinion, is its shoe and accessory sections. Not
only does the shoe section feature styles straight off the runways; but they’re
also surprisingly comfortable with sizes reaching a wide-fit 41 (very rare in Cairo) for very
reasonable prices. Flats and sandals cost around 150LE, sneakers around 120LE, high
heels in leather and suede average at 250LE, while knee-length suede boots reach
599LE.

Accessory-wise,
New Look’s items are often cheaper than those at Sfera and Promod: jewel-and
feather-encrusted hair accessories range between 50LE and 90LE, funky print
scarves cost 90LE and a sizable jewellery collection offers the latest styles
for under 200LE. The bag section is also decent, featuring flower clutches, duffel
bags and lace black bags with golden chains.

The biggest
downside to New Look is its sorely underrepresented men’s section, featuring a
paltry collection of cartoon t-shirts (119LE), basic t-shirts and polo shirts
(two for 89LE). A faded grey pinstripe jacket (599LE) and a rather unfortunate
Christmas-themed blue and red sweater (150LE) are among the ‘trendy’ items.
However, the shop does salvage itself with a small but promising collection of
canvas and leather high-top and low-top sneakers (219LE) in white, charcoal grey and black, with some designs including electric fuchsia soles and
linings.

New Look is a
strong contender to H&M’s throne in Egypt as the best source of cheap,
funky and young fashion. It may not be the best in quality, but it’s
worth browsing for its shoes and accessories.