Italy is recognized
the world over as a producer of original, well-made, high-quality products.
When we talk about ‘Made in Italy’ we are
usually referring to fashion, the most successful and-according to me, at
least-the most delightful of the Italian industries. Lately, however, high
costs and the poor dollar-euro exchange rate has made good shopping tough for
everyone-residents and visitors alike.
Luckily, Florence is gearing up
for its summer sales, which promise deep discounts all across the board. Sales
are a big deal in Italy since they
happen just twice a year-July and February. In order to make room for the new
season’s collections, stores must get rid of last season’s merchandise. Thanks
to a extremely demanding fashion system, which generates tough competition
between big-name labels, sales dates come increasingly earlier each year. This
year they start the first week in July, meaning you have the unique chance to
get as much as half off on beautiful items that you can use all summer and into
the fall. Whether you live in Florence or are just
in town for a visit, this is the right time to get that perfect piece (or lots
of pieces!) of the famous Made in Italy we all love.
So bring on the sales!
Now let’s see what and
where. Although Florence has a very
small center, it is an international shopping destination. Via Tornabuoni is
one of the city’s premier fashion streets, along with via della Vigna Nuova,
and the new independent designer zone is in the Santa Croce neighborhood (see
our article ‘Inside the Designer Zone’).
This season’s
must-have items are wide-leg denim pants, neo-hippy blouses and dresses, and
the trench coat-a classic for any closet. You also can’t go wrong with timeless
pieces like the white shirt and little black dress. This last one, invented by
Madamoiselle ‘Coco’ Chanel, is
the one item of clothing that can really represent your style. Take your time
to find the one that has that little something-a beaded strap, bow or
embroidered detail that will perfectly fit you, and I don’t mean just for size!
For basic but trendy, try Benetton, Sisley and Stefanel, three Italian
department stores part of the Benetton Apparel Group. A little more expensive
is Max & Co. the young brand of the Max Mara Italian Apparel group.
Multi-brand stores like Matucci, Miss Trench and JT Casini in Piazza
Pitti are good to get a variety of styles.
Rinascente, the historic department store-a kind of Italian Macy’s-is
perfect for street-style easy items and a wide range of denim pants. Check the
Miss Sixty store at the Duomo if you are looking for young and sexy Italian denim-wear.
Brands like Liu-Jo and Patrizia Pepe (based in Florence), are higher
in price but very trendy-chic.
For accessories, head to the San Lorenzo and the
Porcellino markets where you can get good deals on bags but be aware that you
may not get the local high-quality craftsmanship that Florence is known for.
Try the Segue stores for the Benetton Group accessories lines-they’re
nice and stylish and offer extremely good deals during the sales.
If you’re in the market for a designer bag, avoid the fakes on the
street and go for an original from one of the little vintage shops around the
city. It will cost about the same price and you will have a authentic
piece.
For shoes, go to via Borgo San Lorenzo and you’ll find several little
stores with the most popular styles of the seasons.
To complete the perfect summer look, pick up some stylish Italian
hand-made jewelry. Bracelets are a summer ‘08 must-have accessory and, in this
case, size does matter. It doesn’t matter if they’re
ethnic, plastic pop or metal, but they’ve got to be big. The coolest one has to
be Piz-Buin-the bracelets come in four trendy colors and each one contains
suntan lotion! Perfect for making your beachwear pop (pick it up at the closest
pharmacy).
Style tip: The color of
the season is grey. I know-it doesn’t sound that summery. But grey has shades
that are good with every skin, it’s sophisticated and it will also be ‘in’ next
fall. So what are we waiting for? Let’s go shopping!
