I feel so fortunate to have stumbled upon this department store in the heart of downtown Ensenada,…read moreon the popular nightlife street Avenida Ruiz, that has been here since the 1940s! It's like the Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom's, or Sak's Fifth Avenue of Ensenada.
El Faro de Ensenada is a traditional, classy department store selling clothing, shoes, accessories, and lingerie for both men and women. I'll talk about the clothes in a second -- Literally the best clothing shopping I have ever found in all of my travels to Mexico -- but what I really want to mention first was the EXPERIENCE of being in this store.
It felt like traveling back in time to an era before the internet and cell phones, when shopping was still an experience. This store has mannequins in its three outdoor windows and inside all of the counters are made with some sort of gorgeous varnished wood and glass. I felt like royalty here...or like an upscale woman in the mid-1900s doing my shopping.
This store is massive. It just keeps going back and back and back. And the people who work here were so incredibly kind and helpful, while not being overbearing in the slightest. Also the dressing rooms! I felt like a queen in them. Honestly, it was big enough to be a bedroom and had amazing mirrors.
Ok now for the clothing...
They have a wide variety of styles here, so both older and younger women have their own sections here. If you like vintage clothing, this is basically the closest you'll get to it in Mexico...and it's better than you'd think. There is also mens clothing and kids!
There was A LOT of clothing so I'll just list the highlights of what I personally thought were the coolest items:
- Who here knows the brand St John? If you do, you'll know their classic knit fabric. Well, El Faro has a whole section of dresses, skirts, cardigans, blouses, etc made by a designer who uses the same lovely sumptuous knit fabrics. I won't put the prices here but let's just say, I thought I was doing the math wrong. It was mind-blowing the affordability of it and you could literally feel the weight and quality of the fabric. Some of the items I tried on that I loved were: a silver/beige mock-neck floor length dress that was sleeveless and had slight beading around the waist. It was very sophisticated and by no means gaudy. Unfortunately it wasn't my size! I bought a matching set of a black spaghetti strap plunge neck mini dress with a matching cardigan with a ribbon enclosure. There was also a peasant style purple tiered skirt with a striped rainbow ribbon waist band. Amazing stuff.
- A whole section dedicated to knitted sweaters and ponchos
- Though I am all for animal rights and am vegan, it might help some shoppers to know that El Faro carries fur capes and ponchos for evening attire
- If that other stuff sounds too classy for you, they have other stuff, like racks of various flared bell bottom leggings. Some had cargo pockets on the sides, some had y2k Ed Hardy esque rhinestones. So cute! They also had tank tops with rhinestone decals very y2k!
- Two very long racks of linen clothing by a specific designer that were gorgeous, great for any size. Pants, dresses, tube tops, shorts, etc all made in neutral color linens, some with shells sewn into the fabric or beads. A lot of it reminded me of what Marie Antoinette would have worn as her undergarments!
- Their shoe section was marvelous! Mary Janes with platform heels, in patent leather, clogs, etc.
- All the Wrangler jeans your heart could desire
- Men's clothing was very high quality. I bought my husband a collared zip up short jacket made with a blue and grey houndstooth plaid pattern. They also had knit vests, collared shirts, and even a whole cowboy section with cowboy hats, bolo ties, and those big buckle belts.
- The lingerie and pajama sections were awesome! They had stuff for all body sizes and all ages. Also great bathing suit options.
Did I mention how fair the prices were? Even for this quality stuff, I felt like I was getting a deal. Also they seem to regularly have sales and discount racks.
