Top Ten Style Capitals 

Want to get something absolutely fabulous for your home? Need to track down the very latest word in must-have couture? Need to top up your cool-points and make a hefty deposit into the bank of hip? 

We check out the essential shopping spots in the world's smartest cities. 

1.Barcelona

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Despite the no-frills stag'n'hen parties arriving almost daily, nothing can stop Barcelona's ascendancy into the world's super-hip league. Surely, if Beckham had chosen Nou Camp instead of Bernabeu, the family wouldn't have been so keen to leave. They'd have been regulars at the cool Cava bars of the Barrio Gotic, and Victoria would have been on first-name terms with the security guards along Plasseig de Gracia and Diagonal - for it's here you'll find brands like Chanel, Armani, Cartier, Mir�, Mont Blanc and Zara - and also Vincon, the city's coolest design store. Cooler customers, though, head to the narrow alleyways of the El Born district, where up-and-coming designers mingle with fabulous shoe shops. El Raval is the place to head for music, bric-a-brac and retro wonders.

2.Sydney

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Smart Sydneysiders are constantly looking to European fashion and design for inspiration but, once they've found it, they add a knowing Aussie inversion to it, creating something utterly familiar, and thoroughly new at the same time. A bit like the episode when Harold came back on Neighbours. Dedece is a good case in point. Once known as the Danish Design Centre, it now stocks Italian designers amid Aussie creations. It's close to the gay quarter of  Oxford Street, in Darlinghurst, the city's coolest quarter. So it's doing everything right, in short. Close-by, Master/Slave is the city's uber -stylish new clothes store (Liverpool Street), and 100% Aussie-owned and run, while 'Tight Knickers' does a mean range of T-shirts.

3.Helsinki

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So cool it even has matching weather, Helsinki's home to Alvar Aalto's organic, modernist architecture (check out Aalta House, Studio Aalto and the Finlandia Hallmaking for a quick architectural history lesson). Its venerable department store, Stockman's, sits close to the fiercely Nordic Central Train Station, and offers a good introduction to Finnish home design but, for a better (and cheaper) introduction, take a  15-minute bus ride from the city to the Iittala Showroom Outlet, the Arabia Factory shop. Iittala is Finnish glass at its most sensuous - see Alvar Aalto's famous organic-shaped Aalto vases (designed in 1936) for confirmation. Or his wife's elegant drinking glasses. You can snap them both up for a relative pittance here. Back in town, head to Provokante, in Kampin keskus, the city's swishest shopping mall, for handsome clothes at ugly prices.

4.Tokyo

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A thrilling, head-spinning car-crash of a city - Tokyo takes no prisoners. Keep your credit card firmly chained to your side unless you want to wake up next to a mound of glitching, pulsing gadgets. Heck, no, don't do that - go out and spend. That's what you came here for anyway, isn;t it? Plus Minus Zero , or "+-0", should be your first stop. It sells the latest word in chic electronic appliances designed by Naoto Fukusawa, emphasizing minimalist simple designs. His CD-Radio is a text-book lesson in less is more. Idee was one of the first to commission Western designers, but the shop itself is thoroughly Japanese - again, the philosophy here is small, sleek, and very very sexy.  Tokyu Hands in Shinjuku is the best general goods store you'll ever see. But, seriously, you have to be strict. Or you'll leave with a toilet the like of which you've never seen before. Fashion-wise, head to Aoyama, for Issey Miyake's flagship store.

5.New York

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If you've not been to New York, may we suggest that you stop wasting your time reading this and just book your tickets now. Sooner or later, you will, so you really should do it now. The city's never been so affordable. Go there and redesign your wardrobe. Men should hurry to 328 E 11th street's Odin for a well curated exhibition of the get-them-while-they're-hot labels such as Engineered and You Must Create, as well as staples such as Rag and Bone, Y-3 and Trovata. Cool jeans a speciality. Matched with stripey polos and a pair of shades, and you're ready for your big night. Women, head to Brooklyn, to the Brooklyn Boutique, on 7th Av. The mid-priced store offers exciting labels from the US and Euopre and stunningly designed jewellery, snapped up by the area's cool young things. 

Interior Design junkies can get their fix at Ray20, on Walker Street - for sharp pieces from Scandinavia, and emerging NY designers. Murray Moss, Greene Street, offers warped and wonderful furniture which New Yorkers go weak at the knees for. And New Yorkers very rarely go weak at the knees. At least, not over a coffee table. Resurrection, 217 Mott St, is Vintage heaven.

6.Liverpool

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What? No, really. Next year's European Capital of Culture has a real vibrancy about it, not least because it's about to open Europe's largest new city centre shopping development, the billion-pound-plus Liverpool One centre. With its three-tiered shopping streets, big name designers and cool independents mingling along glass-and-steel walkways, it promises to catapult the city into the Premier League of shopping desinations, as once it was. While here, a visit to Cricket, Mathew Street, the WAG's boutique of choice, is almost obligatory, but far cooler, the men's apartment store, Microzine, Bold Street sells clobber, footwear, gadgets and books, and also does a mean coffee. For quirky, must-have one-offs, head to the brilliant Bluecoat 2 gallery, on Hanover street. The Government's Own Art scheme makes purchasing interest-free and easy.

7.Berlin

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With the largest department store in Europe, KaDeWe Kaufhaus des Westens, on Tauentzienstrasse, is a seven-floor mini-city of a store. Fabulous. Chain stores on Kurfarstendamm offer the usual suspects but Leibniz Strasse and Bleibtreustrasse are where you'll find cool fashions.

Fasanenstrasse, Knesebeckstrasse, Schlaterstrasse, and Uhlandstrasse also offer funky, Bohemian fashions, colourful and largely impractical home wares, shiny Teutonic jewellery and a vibrant gallery scene. Trust us, Berlin is THE most exciting capital city in Europe right now.  Scheunenviertel is living proof of this, with its healthy mix of smaller clothing and specialty stores. The area between Hackescher Markt, Weinmeister Strasse, and Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz offers beautiful glassware while Neue Schanhauser Strasse and Alte Schanhauser Strasse offer cool clubbing clobber and CDs.

8.Shanghai

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Shanghai is a city that loves to shop, and Nanjing street is where it's at. Sleek malls are packed with designer brands, while The Bund, the city's financial district (and a remarkable jumble of arichtectural styles) is where you'll find the more eclectic side of things. Three on the Bund, a great place to hunt down original fashion and accessories, offers individual boutique style shops. Three for Women/Three for Men has pieces by Chinese designers such as Vivienne Tam and Han Feng. Suzhou Cobblers offers delicately hand-embroidered mules and Chinese slippers at a real bargain price. An original piece of art for your feet. 

9.Brussels

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Belgium's not so boring, as Brussels' confidently proves. This sprawling, chaotic city at the political heart of Europe has some surprisingly stylish surprises up its sleeves. Sablon/Zaval is where you'll find Brussel's Mayfair, the Grand Sablon Square, lined with chi-chi galleries and boutiques. And, at Pierre Marolini, delectable chocolates.Fashions at Stijl (Rue Antoine Dansaert 74) are intensely creative, and totally Belgian. Look for Xavier Delcour, Olivier Theyskens and Ann Demeulemeesteer. Chine Collection is a must-stop along fashionable Avenue Louise - for its eastern sillks, and chiffon-infused dresses. Galeries Saint Hubert, Rue de la Montagne Bergstr. en Grasmarkt, was one of Europe's first covered shopping arcades. Its glass-topped domes still soar over some smart shopping destinations. Stop and shop here for smart Belgian-designed Delvaux handbags and scarves, costume jewellery, Belgian lace and sharp suits.

10.Dubai

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For an altogether different shopping experience, Dubai is it. Here, the accent is on collecting accessories, perfumes, one-off pieces of jewellery and, of course, gold. The Gold Souk, the most famous of Dubai souks, offers an unbelievable choice of gold items, designed to the highest levels of craftsmanship.  Remember to barter - no need to take the first price offered - and you should get a real bargain. The Perfume Souk is even more eye popping (or should that be nose-popping?). The Souk is home to literally thousands of aromas. The local perfumes tend to be very strong and spicy, but master-perfumiers can create signature smells just for you. Stallholders will happily try and duplicate virtually any perfume you want. Feel free to suggest what you think is a reasonable price, and don't be pressured into buying something you don't want. There'll be another customer along in a minute, and the stall holder won't hold any grudges!