The souvenir market at Izmaylovo is one of the strangest things in Moscow.  It is exhausting. It’s the kind of place where I can finish almost all my Christmas shopping and leave feeling like I’ve wasted a day of my life. There are too many things to see, and so many items are repeated at booth after booth that they quickly lose meaning and it is difficult to imagine them outside of the context of a souvenir market, to imagine them in the hands of someone who hasn’t walked down these aisles and would appreciate the intricate enamel as something unique rather than one item plucked from a sea of the same.

Buying clothing is much the same experience. Russian fashion is not as afraid of extremes as American sensibilities are so shopping for clothing is a tax on my ability to discern what bold ideas really work and which are just hideous. I honestly can’t tell if I love things or hate them because of their surroundings.

Some photos of Izmaylovo market are included in my November album