Brussels - Grey office blocks and European Union civil servants - that's the common image of Brussels. But behind this cliché lurks a colourful scene waiting to be discovered especially for followers of fashion. A walk through downtown Brussels reveals a palette that reaches from chic boutiques to shrill trendy shops.
"Most people think of fashion only in terms of haute couture from Paris or London, but Brussels is right at their doorstep," said Anne Weger of Belgium's tourist bureau in Cologne.
Aside from that, Brussels has long since become known for more than its lace. In the past 20 years, it has morphed into a hip address for creative fashion. Belgian designers such as Cathy Pill, Oliver Strelli and Jean Paul Knott are sought-after labels across the globe.
Brussels strives to match the example set by Antwerp, which until now has been known as Belgium's fashion mecca. Designers like Dries van Noten of Antwerp made Belgian styles famous in the 1980s.
While the Antwerp style is often described as avant-garde and dark, Brussels style is more romantic and playful, said designer Eva Gronbach of Cologne, who studied at La Cambre fashion school in Brussels. At the same time, the designs are not as colourful and as skin-tight as French fashion.
A walk through Brussels' fashion scene begins optimally at Rue Antoine Dansaert near the stock exchange where one designer boutique follows the next. A favourite place to visit is Stijl, which was opened in 1984 by Sonja Noel, an event that laid the foundation for what was to come in Brussels' fashion scene.
Stijl features canary-coloured dresses with fuzzy fur collars beside stiff dresses cut like kimonos and leather coats with integrated dirt spots. Most, however, comes from fashion designers in Antwerp. A few doors down designer Annemie Verbeke offers casual knitted dresses and a black-and-white collection with elaborate details.
"We have an international clientele in Brussels because the city attracts visitors from all over the world. That gives us a lot of freedom when coming up with the designs," said Verbeke.
A must-see on any tour of Brussels' clothing stores is hat maker Christophe Coppens' shop where hats of every shape, size and colour are available.
Linda van Waesberge, the spokeswoman for an organization that represents Brussels' fashion designers, said a hat with integrated hand prints is typical Brussels' style, elegant, but also perhaps a bit brash and amusing.
Visitors might also detect the smell of a clothing factory in some of the shops. Some junior designers have their ateliers right behind their salesrooms so that tourists can glimpse how the designs emerge and see individual pieces being sewn together.
In addition to a visit to Rue Antoine Dansaert and the environs, it's worth having a look at St. Jacques quarter where the boutiques and bars serving gays and lesbians can be a bit shriller. They are in stark contrast to the particularly noble shops on Avenue Louise and Boulevard Waterloo where established labels such as Gucci and Armani abound.
A shopping trip through Brussels' does not have to be outrageously expensive, said van Waesberge. Vintage clothing shops like Idiz Bogam in the Dansaert section sell retro clothes for 50 euros (68 dollars) and designs by Johanne Riss are tossed into the bargain bins with other designer names for 5 euros and more.
Bargain hunters also can look forward to annual special sales. This year on December 12 and 13 a sale of designer dresses is planned. And from October 24-26 an exhibition series with 40 shows will give visitors an idea of the creations of Brussels' fashion designers.
