According to the most modest estimates, approximately 20 clubs and cafe-clubs have opened in Moscow during the last two months alone. Of course, some of them are packed and some have tumbleweeds rolling through, but they all have one thing in common: Even the most "democratic" spot has a dress code.

If you choose an upscale club like Justo, Most or Jet Set, it just isn’t enough to carry a fat wallet or a stack of credit cards, nor is it sufficient to sport a spray-on tan or smile with snow-white teeth. To feel at home with the crowd, some say, you also need to be dressed in something from Gucci, Prada or Armani or, at least, in something from Roberto Cavalli. This last designer has created a winning spring/summer collection, with lots of bright colors and funky designs. If you dress in head-to-toe Cavalli, you’ll definitely look like the living embodiment of spring or summer.

The hangout clubs like Shambala DJ Bar, Amsterdam and Chocolate are populated with hip, funky people (or at least people who think they’re hip and funky), who wear hip, funky clothes, which they buy from hip, funky stores. We visited these kinds of stores in our last style article about alternative clothing — see our Web site at www.lifestyle.ru for the article. However, there are two more stores where these clubs’ regulars like to shop: the Vivienne Westwood boutique and Podium.

The queen of British avant-garde fashion is very popular in Moscow and, thus, even her most eccentric items sell well in her Moscow boutique. Westwood regulars include handsome men who dress a bit macho, and fashion designer and artist Masha Tsigal. The Podium outlet on Bolshaya Polyanka is a new conceptual store offering jeans and clothes for the younger set. The prices are somewhat reasonable and classical items are conspicuous by their absence. The jeans here are all either distressed or flared, and jackets are either tailored to the waist or spotted. All the clothes come from D&G, Exte jeans, DKNY and See by Chloe.

People dressed in these kinds of clothes can often be seen at places like Circus or Ministerstvo; however, some prefer to buy things from less expensive labels that are barely known in this part of the world but are very popular in the West. Cool jeans from Custo Barcelona, beautiful accessories from Arrogant or Acupuncture sneakers — very convenient for dancing — with soles decorated with pictures of nude geishas can be found at Maska boutique. This store was among the first alternative boutiques in Moscow, and was once the place to go for Muscovite trend-seekers. Now most of its former regulars have defected to other boutiques, although the store is worth checking out at least twice a year.

Items from Cecil, a trendy German brand for the younger generation, can be found at the aptly named Modnaya Odezhda boutique. Now here’s a place where you can completely outfit yourself for a night in the clubs for relatively cheap, and your friends will all be wondering how you got so stylish all of a sudden.

If you’re a fan of democratic dance clubs, like Propaganda, you can pretty much go there in any clothes you like. But if you want to wow the regulars, head to the Merc store located inside the Moskvichka shopping center. It sells authentic British clothes that emulate the street hooligan-style of the 1960s and 1970s, mostly from the labels Ben Sherman, Merc and Fred Perry. As for me, I chose a black sleeveless shirt with a wacky inscription and a sporty blue pleather handbag.