One day to go for another major bash and the mailboxes, both real and virtual are being swarmed by invitations for one the biggest events in the city involving more than 200 shops along with retailers, brands, customers and party animals. To get the most of the 4^th edition of Vogue Fashion Night Out, draw a map and look for the events that appeal to you the most. Follow some of our suggestions and go for it.

 A good place to start you Vogue Fashion Night Out is the affluent and hype neighborhood of Principe Real where you can currently find the biggest concentration of good and edgy Portuguese design. This area of town is home to EmbaiXada, the brand new conceptual shopping gallery in town. Here you can find some of the most original products in Lisbon, mostly of Portuguese provenance, like MUU and other items selected by Linkstore; cork shoes, clothing and accessories at the Intemporal Store; or creations by Storytailors fashion designers. Use the opportunity and marvel at the wonderful view to the front garden and to the Botanic Garden in the back of the building.

A couple of meters from EmbaiXada take to Real Slow Retail Concept Store and check this store’s items and the pop up event by Pois Selection, a venture by two French girls who fell in love with Portuguese products, selling them in pop-up events and in some Lisbon hotels and with plans to extend their offer to the online world. The event relies on the collaboration of Italian Motor Village who will give you the possibility to win a Shopping Day in Lisbon worth € 500 driven by a chauffeur. All you have to do is join three friends, take a photo with the new Lancia Ypsilon Fashion which will then be published in the Italian Motor Village’s Facebook. The prize goes to the photo gathering more “Likes”.

By the time you leave this place the presentation to the press at Amélie au Théâtre will be over and the general public can check the new surprise project by scent and grooming company 100ML “Por ti perco a cabeça”. While in this shop take the opportunity and check the selection of products from Portugal in this store with a French name. And since you are in that street check the work by some of the best Portuguese and Portugal-based designers like avant-garde jeweler Valentim Quaresma, who recently opened a temporary store in right next to the main street, and menswear fashion designer Nuno Gamma who celebrates in 2013 twenty years of a coherent career and for long a true reference in Portuguese fashion. Lidija Kolovrat and Alexandra Moura in Rua D. Pedro V are two of the places who do have to visit for their great shops featuring their own creations and work by carefully selected designers .

Take a short break from the crowds and take a deep breath before reaching Avenida da Liberdade, the Lisbon boulevard of luxury dreams and head to Forum Tivoli where Philosophie is preparing a big bash featuring a set by star DJ Diego Mirnada, a catwalk presentation and wine and vodka tasting, along with the possibility to buy a Missoni, Cheap Monday or Red Velentino dress and a pair of Repetto flats if you were unwise enough to bring your high heels and are now walking like a crippled. Just opposite, Be Code teamed up with Janela Urbana site and promises big animation too, amidst the shop’s selection of Patrizia Pepe or Twin Set. Some meters down the road, Hotel Fontecruz, a new party hotspot in Lisbon will be hosting Vogue’s Fashion Night Out official cocktail. Down  the Avenue and now that you are in the luxury haven of Lisbon take a look at Stivali, one of the best multibrand stores in town offering Dior or Dries van Noten just to name a few. And while in this avenie, do check Montblanc and you may have the opportunity to win of these remarkable pens. And when reaching the square Restauradores take to the magnificent Palácio Foz where Escola de Moda de Lisbon will be hosting a fashion show and the creations by its highly skilled students for the Spring/Summer 2014.

You are now downtown and you’d best walk up Chiado, another busy shopping mile. At Geox, blogger and fashion adviser Monica Lice is there to advise you on the most suitable shoes for you. Practically, next door admire the comprehensive offer of Swarowsky at the sound of Raquel Prates who will be the DJ that night. Cross the street and take to Levi’s store at Rua Ivens where you can try a Levi’s full look and who knows win the possibility to leave the store without having to pay for it. Walk up the street in the direction of the iconic café A Brasileira and check the shoes at Zillan temporary store featuring selected models by this Portuguese brand. And the best way to culminate this big shopping spree is to visit United Colors of Benetton on the other side of the street. This Italian brand teamed up with its creative offshoot Fabrica and Vogue and decorated the façade of the 4-storey building with sentences by Vogue writers stating what fashion is for them. This event will feature also a photo exhibition where some Vogue Portugal pictures will be reinterpreted with illustrations.

 If you survived the night and refrained from trying all the cocktails, there’s a lot to do in a September night in Lisbon. If you carrying dozens of bags and stumbling because you did not resist the drinks and the bargains, head home. There will be more next year as this world event is here to stay.

Embaixada is as of today Lisbon’s most recent lifestyle venture. Located in a 19 century palace in new-Arabian style this new retail project rests on an innovative concept in the Portuguese capital, accommodating a range of shops focused on Portuguese products and others backed by national entrepreneurs. Located in a privileged location, two days before the opening we give you what promises to become a new meeting place in the city.

Palacete Ribeiro da Cunha is one of the most iconic buildings in the affluent and groovy neighborhood of Principe Real. Built by a man who made his fortune in Brazil this building has had different tenants over the years, haing been bought by Eastbanc around four years ago. The operation falls within the Principe Real Project, started by Eastbanc Portugal, a subsidiary of Eastbanc Inc., that has bought so far 20 buildings in the area, totaling a € 50 million investment to date. With a strong focus on the preservation of the architectural heritage, one of the key areas of intervention of those in charge of this urban project is the provision of commercial space for retailers with differentiated projects.

Alexandra Moura, Lidija Kolovrat, Nuno Gama and Ricardo Preto are some of the Lisbon-based designers who have rented retail space to Eastbanc south and north of Embaixada, the new project in this palace, accommodating retail spaces for more than 15 mainly Portuguese brands. The initial idea was to open a hotel here, designed by Portuguese star architect Souto Moura. The project was halted, but will be retaken at some point and the current shops in the building will establish a lively dialogue with the future hotel. Dialogue and community are some of the key aspects of this operation and highlighted by Anthony Lanier, president of real estate empire Eastbanc, the man behind the renovation of this part of town and who engaged in the major renovation of Georgetown neighborhood in Washington, now a hype place in that city. “The aim is to involve the community and should we had built a hotel we would not rely on the involvement of the local community. But with a shopping centre like these we can rely on the community’s involvement who will have a place to visit and to enjoy, aside from given Lisbon and tourists the possibility to acquire original Portuguese products”, Catarina Lopesm head of Eastbanc Portugal said during the press conference presenting the whole project.

Embaixada is indeed the right place to look for Portuguese products with a twist. Going through the shops we came across a myriad of products, some of the up until now only available abroad given their owners’ strategy to focus on exports. Boots from the Alentejo painted red or cork shoes from Land Collection, both available at the Louvre Museum store but not in Portugal, blankets by Ecolã and bags made of bio wool by Sennes that you might have seen a in store in Europe but not in town, or that particular furniture or clothing item that you saw in an aspirational or edgy magazine but never got the chance to buy in the country where it was produced.

Embaixada is here to provide retail space for Portuguese designers and brands but also for Portuguese entrepreneurs representing foreign brands. Moleskine, for example, is currently using this space for a limited period to show its full range of products. Others like Linkstore have chosen this mall to open their first multishop targeted to sophisticated men and offering high quality Portuguese and foreign brands from Bernardo shoes to Mercedes-Benz sunglasses.

Food and drinks, concerts and artist showcases are further uses of Embaixada. At VLA records, a cult shop offering old and new records and book mainly by Portuguese artists we spoke to Teresa Lopes Alves who told us of the plans to host monthly showcases in this building and where you will be given the possibility to enjoy music from Portugal, bringing back some names and bands who have made their reputation with their original projects in the 80s and 90s. By the time we left the place some retailers were still busy making sure all is set tomorrow when Embaixada will host its launching party and Friday when it will open to the general public and bring a new life to this already busy and groovy neighborhood.