It's great to stock up on chocolate, waffles and sirop de Liege when you go to Brussels, but a…read morelesser-know specialty I've discovered is hats! In the center of town near the Galeries de la Reine are several old world hat and umbrella shops that are a throwback to yesteryear. I'm talking the kind of stores with only a few models in the window but lots of stock hidden in the back that you need to have the vendor go and fetch for you depending on your size and preferences. I decided this year that I was NOT going to be cold this winter. After finding a great down jacket that is cosy glamor, my target was my head and my goal was to get it covered stylishly and well before the temperature dropped. I spotted an adorable knitted wool hat in the window and stepped inside Monsel for more investigating. Turns out that there were several other models in the same style, each hand-knitted in Nepal using thick, lush wool and available in lots of wearable colors. I settled on a dark grey cap with a faint air of Amelia Earhart that has a removable next strap. For 50E, it certainly wasn't cheap, but more than worth the price for its cute/quality ratio and the fact that I'd never seen or heard of the brand before.

Sometimes you just need a hat! One of my colleagues took me here to look around and after thinking…read moreon it for several days, I decided to get a hat. They have several different styles for women and men and for those "rare" rainy days in Brussels - they have umbrellas too!

From the owner: Hi there and welcome to 2Be Brussels! We're a unique and exclusive store for men, being the only…read moreone in Belgium to focus on Men's Underwear and Swimwear. Furthermore we also sell Sportswear, Loungewear and Fashion.

I usually never write reviews, but as to what happened to methis week in this store, I have no…read morechoice but to write this. I've shopped a lot in Hunting and Collecting before. They aren't the most friendly staff, but they always had good pieces from my favorite brands and especially Yeezys which you can only buy here around Brussels. So two days ago I went in to help find my sister-in-law a sweater for my brother as Christmas gift. I was looking around and found two pieces that he would really love so I took pictures to send to her for approval. Well while I was taking them, the sales associate (the girl with dark hair) kept looking at me with this attitude and 'what are you doing' face. I was like ok, nevermind I'll probably buy them so I didn't see the problem. While they at least should recognize me because I go in quite often and mostly also BUY! Then I looked at her and she stared at me doing this weird eye-contest of who has the best 'bitch look'. I asked her 'does it disturb you if I take a picture for my brother, he'd like it!' And she answered: 'well, you better ask first' with a horrible attitude. Is she delusional thinking that I would still buy something there after being threated like this? I immediately left. They just lost a loyal customer and I'll spread the word about how bad my last experience was. What you should realize: if you want your physical retail store to survive e-commerce, then make it a fun and positive experience for your customers so that they'd love to come back over online shopping. Well, I ordered the sweaters online and they are under the Christmas tree now! I got what I needed, but they lost a sale of €500. Too bad

Very curated and artsy fartsy store. Selection is good but odd - a mix between designer brands and…read moretopshop items. There are things for both men, women and kids. It's kind of in the range between high street and boutique, and the prices are 100+ euros. Basically, don't go in here unless you got money to burn. Staff is friendly and helpful (as they should be when you drop 300 euro for a pair of sneakers :-))

Never go to rue des Tongres shop! They don't exchange if you have tried the tights, although the…read moresaleswoman tells you the contrary. In any shop, if you have a 1-month policy return, you know that people will try the article, right? They also threaten to call the police if you insist to be paid back and yell at you and your little daughter to get out of HER shop!

Insulting! Nice…read moreshop, good concept, lots of choice of styles and fabrics and high degree of customisation on a made-to-measure approach. Prices are not cheap but not over the top either. Staff friendly and helpful in choosing. The problem came afterwards... When we went for fitting my husbands (formal) trousers were clearly too short. Not just a bit on the short-side but comedy short. It is not normal to be able to see a man's socks when wearing formal trousers - despite the shop person being adamant that the trousers were fine, not too short. After us pointing out in as polite a way as possible that we would prefer them a bit longer, they said that they would lengthen a bit but the cut of the trousers (?) meant that it was not possible to lengthen more than a cm or so ( - it transpires later that they haven't left much hem to be able to lengthen... ) Second fitting still too short (although socks now covered). We ask can they be lengthened another 2 cms and are told that that would be far too long and that it would look ridiculous and that it is the fashion to have them a bit shorter - the absolute front of the woman! (Remember, these are formal trousers ...). Trying not to lose it we explain that this is not a fashion that we wish to follow on this occasion so please just make them a bit longer or we want new trousers if their is insufficient material in the hem. This is truly the worst service I have ever experienced (and I've been in Belgium for 10 years). Whether you agree with the customer or not - it is generally not a good idea to call them an unfashionable idiot. And if you make a mistake at the begining just fess up and let's see how we can work to fix it. Needless to say never going back there again.

Café Costume is a gentlemen's tailor in the heart of Bruxelles' artistic and fashion district. CC…read moredoes not do off the rack - only tailor made. And booking an appointment is necessary. There is little use in walking in on good luck. And it takes a while to get from picking up the phone to picking up your suit. Say about two months. But it's worth it. The ambience of the store is very nice, although it borrows from the popular hipster aesthetics. Think men with moustaches. At any rate, the staff is professional and really wants you to get the best suit for the best price they can offer, which depends on the fabric. They'll help you get a fit that suits your physique best. Once you pick the fit and the fabric you can customise pretty much everything, from the buttons to your initials on the inside and to the interior lining. The same goes for shirts. There was a mishap with the shirt I ordered, in the sense that the attendant's hand writing was difficult to read and I got the wrong collar. (Think Joe Pesci in Goodfellas - 70's style.) Once I pointed this out, they were fortunately very professional and offered to make the shirt with the right collar for free. Sure, you pay for quality. But if you want a top notch tailor made suit without the stuffiness that you might expect from others, this is the place to go.