artENA is a fantastic little boutique located right around the corner from Galata tower. It is…read morefilled with clothing, jewelry and shoes ranging from larger brands to pieces made by local designers. The prices range from rather affordable to slightly splurgy, but there are items available and pretty much every price point you're looking for. I was first attracted to a large array of jewelry hanging on the left wall of the store. I'd been looking for a great necklace to purchase on my trip to Istanbul, but hadn't yet found anything that really struck me. Then, I walked into artENA. What a beautiful selection of hand crafted necklaces by local designers and the shop owner herself. I tried on a few pieces that didn't quite suit me while the shop owner brought more more similar styles by the same designer. Eventually, another item caught my eye and I tried it on, fell in love with it, and then learned it was actually made by the shop owner herself! This still remains my favorite purchase from my Istanbul trip! There's also a nice selection of clothing from cute to a bit... interesting. Most of the items for sure were statement pieces. Some on the racks had tags cut out with sizes remaining in what looked like familiar styles and fonts from large chain brands. Other pieces appeared to be more limited creations. There was also a rack of sale items with everything for just 65 lira. There was a gorgeous green cocktail dress I found for this steal of a price, but alas it just didn't quite fit. The shoes available here all appeared to be very well made and were super stylish in bright, bold colors. Some of these were even designed by the shop owner's daughter! My purchase was wrapped up in a cute fabric bag along with a business card (which is how I remembered this shop to write a review). This necklace still remains my favorite purchase from my Istanbul trip!

Leila Boutique was a great find after a day of shopping in the more touristy areas. I was looking…read morefor leather goods made in Turkey and Leila has them. She also sells jewelry, t-shirts and small ceramics all of which are designed and made (in some cases by hand) in Turkey. I was delighted to stumble upon this and recommend it if you are looking for something unique.

I didn't know about Oysho until my friend who I traveled with told me a coworker of hers…read morerecommended the brand. So this was our first time going into an Oysho store. My experience was ok. The employees were discussing and going over something behind the register counter, which is fine. But we had some questions regarding the fit, and they would answer really quick and then go back to their discussions. It was nice that they spoke English, but they still weren't very helpful. I asked one of the girls politely if she could measure me and she seemed like she didn't want to do it. Then she told me I am a small, but I was asking about the cup size. She proceeded with saying they don't have my size, that the store doesn't carry any C and D sizes. She told me I can just go with a size B, which doesn't make sense because it's not my size. All I ended up getting was a pack of organic underwear with cute llama prints on two of them. My friend got a pink puffy jacket with a hood that can fit inside a small pouch and several packs of underwear. Overall, the clothes are made of good quality because they feel great and the tags say organic cotton. The prices are pretty high but it's good quality, not cheap materials. The store accepts cash and card. Bring your ID for verification for the card you're paying with. By the way, the underwear was still big on me when I tried them on at home. I purchased size Small, they don't have Extra Small. The employee said S would fit, but she was wrong. So double check your size before purchasing. Undergarments are final sale, so no returns.

While walking around checking out the neighborhood, I stumbled upon this fast-fashion store. I…read moreliked the clothing styles on the mannequins by the entrance so I got lured inside. Then I discovered that this store had another floor! I strolled around looking at the clothes and really liked the styles. It's like classy, elegant, and sophisticated styles mixed together producing different tops and bottoms as well as dresses. It's like if Zara, H&M, Banana Republic, and maybe Forever XXI had a baby, the offspring would be BSL. But! BSL is still very unique and definitely has great looking clothes at affordable prices. It reminds me of Bershka too. The fitting rooms are downstairs. The staff members don't speak English, so I used Google Translator to help with our communications. While I was looking through clothes for my size, the employees offered to help me find my size. That was nice of them. Checkout was very easy. The register is pretty close to the entrance. They accept cash and cards. Bring your ID because they asked me for ID to verify my card. Also, I suggest double checking the stitching, seams, and the clothes before leaving. When I got back to the hotel, I found a little stain spot on the striped pants and lace-thread coming out of the laced top. But it's alright, because they are not very noticeable. BSL is now my favorite clothing store in Turkey!