this shop is like a magnet for women, so get out of her way and just wait outside... and hand her…read moreyour wallet too.

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!

The MAPP store in Brussels kinda stole my heart. Especially the men's collections were strikingly…read morebeautiful. You can find brands like OMSK, Tigersushi Furs, Henrik Vibskov and Commune de Paris. For the rest: great accessories, magazines and other stuff too. Prices are higher than in the typical chains, but you can see the difference in finishing and originality. It certainly has my seal of approval.

From the owner: Accolade is in business since the beginning of the nineties and in 1996 they decided to sell mainly…read moreleather bags and original accessories.