Shopping for Anti-Establishment Gear

Location
Avenida Santa Fe 1670
Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Shopping

By Shawn O'Bryant

The Galleria Bond Street, located at 1670 Avenida Santa Fe, is not a shopping center for the square. The multi-level complex, and even the surrounding shops, is a massive clustering of anti-establishment culture and the inevitable accessories that go with such a f**k-the-world mentality. The smoky and sweltering hallways are lined with music stores, tattoo parlors, skate shops, smoke shops, vintage shops, punk retailers, leather goods, sex shops, hip-hop stores and piercing booths. Upstairs, a dingy bar slings beer all day, and the unflattering cafeteria-type sitting area is always packed with florescent-haired, tattooed to the teeth youth and skateboarders.

The scene is pretty fun, however, and honestly, if you are looking to get inked or pierced in B.A., it is the best place to shop around. Galleria Street is definitely the place to get many commonplace North American brands that simply don’t exist much in Argentina: anything skateboard or music orientated in particular. Expect to pay prices that reflect name brand product in the U.S. It is tough to find anything cheap, but if you really need that Notorious B.I.G. t-shirt, hair dye, a leather outfit, or some skateboard parts while in Buenos Aires, this is the best place to start.