Bargains galore in Little Pakistan

The storefronts don’t exactly scream “style destination,” but Blessed be Allah: there is some fine shopping along the stretch of Coney Island Avenue between Foster and Avenue H that we’ll affectionately call Little Pakistan. (By the way, is it kosher for infidels to mention Allah—in a nice way?) When Brokelyn style scout Eliza Gran went on a recent jaunt, phrases like “exactly like John Robshaw” (about block-print fabrics for $4 a yard) and “Omigod, just like Calypso!” (cotton sequinned pajamas, $30) were all over her lips and money was flying out of her wallet (in singles).

We’ll start with the fabric goldmine, Hina Sari Fabrics/PAK U.S. Travel, which wouldn’t let us take pictures inside. That’s a shame because the sign (below) certainly isn’t a tip to the miles of groovy fabrics that you can buy for $2 to $4 a yard—vibrant linens, eyelet printed cottons, other weaves we don’t know the name of but would like to see on the dining room table.

If you’re an Etsy type or a have-the-dry-cleaner-make-custom curtains person, this joint should be your first stop. Forget the Garment District in Manhattan, forget EBay. “Fabrics are my life,” said Eliza. “And I’ve never seen anything like this place before.”From there it was onto House of Fashion, where cute kids’ bracelets (below) were $1 a dozen, and embroidered cotton tunic tops in pastel colors—good beach coverups—were $8 a piece.

At Future Fabrics (below) Eliza found tons of thread and a pair of hot-pink linen pajamas that she couldn’t resist.

Finally, at Zoque, Eliza flipped over some traditional Pakistani slippers ($15, top photo). Really? “They’re great slippers for around the house,” she said. Well they are more interesting than Old Navy flip-flops.

Hina Sari & Fabrics, 1099 Coney Island Ave., 718-692-0707
House of Fashion, 1103 Coney Island Ave., 718-434-3515
Future Fabrics, 1078 Coney Island Ave., 718-421-1251
Zoque, 1062 Coney Island Ave.