Little Department Store Finery in Eppendorf

Sylva Kairies fulfilled her dream of having her own store in mid-April 2016 with Little Department Store. Now she's wooing women with labels from Paris, Stockholm, Milan, and New York. The focus of the minimalistic store is the casually elegant lifestyle of city girls.

I immediately fall in love with the high-quality cashmere scarves from Filippa & Florentine, which come in several beautiful colours. The scarf collection was designed by Sylva Kairies herself. Sylva keeps production within Germany and Italy, valuing sustainability. Alongside her own label, Sylva Kairies also offers select international brands that have never before been available in Eppendorf.

I discover dresses and shoes from established designers such as Vanessa Bruno, Carven, Mother, and Common Project, as well as lesser known labels like Forte Forte from Milan- still something of a hidden gem with a similar style to Isabel Marant. Scandinavian brand ATP's (All Tomorrow’s Parties) puristic sandals are also incredible. All models are made by hand and treated with a special plant-based colouring method.

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Purse-lovers will be blown away by Alesya Orlova's bucket bags. The Hamburg designer has only been on the market since Autumn 2015, but is already very successful. Her handbags remind me of Mansur Gavriel's hobo bags, which caused so much hype in their time. For the rainy Hamburg weather, Sylva Kairies brought raincoats from Rains into the program. The Australian label's casual pieces are highly regarded by bloggers including Pernille Teisbaek.

This visit I fall back in love with a ring by jewellery label Sophie by Sophie, who combines classic timelessness with her own unique touch in her designs. Maybe next time… Until then, I'll enjoy the aroma of a Maison la Bougie candle – only available in Germany here – and the thought of stopping by more often in the future.

Birgit Rohrbeck

Guest Author Hamburg