shopping in italy...

[la_chic]

goin to italy..cant wait to shop!! anyone ever been..how was the shoppn...best places??? tips??? etc

[la_chic]

damn aint none of yall been to italy!?

[highgrade]

what u looking for? where in italy? what is ur price range? u need to be more specific.

[la_chic]

um florence...bolognia (prolly aint spell it rite) and the southern prt...umm im not my own tour guide..lol price range wutever...im not gonna spend 5 g's (equivalent via the euro) on a bag (college student) but i mean im not gon b cheap wit maself either.

[OCMF]

the days of good deals and better shopping in italy are long gone. when italy was still using the lire you could scoop all the italian labels for a fraction of the price they sold for here in the us. shopping in europe doesn't make sense any more, they come here for deals.

[offthabooks]

^completely accurate

you can still get some good deals on leather in florence, but besides that, the sales in italy are regulated by the govt & only hit twice a year in january & july

[highgrade]

if ur in florence, there is a huge outlet called "the mall" like half an hour outside of town. if u have a car by all means drive (just in case u go all out and bring back a bunch of stuff), but most of the major hotels i believe have shuttles that can take u there/return. i would avoid taking the train b/c they dont go directly to the mall itself, u have to take a taxi/bus from teh train to the mall. my mother did that one day and she thinks the taxi driver ripped her off. i was there a couple years ago, so im not sure how its changed but i remember back then they had zegna, armani, burberry, ferragamo and other "high fashion" brands, if ur interested in that stuff.

[angel_baby]

if ur in florence, there is a huge outlet called "the mall" like half an hour outside of town. if u have a car by all means drive (just in case u go all out and bring back a bunch of stuff), but most of the major hotels i believe have shuttles that can take u there/return. i would avoid taking the train b/c they dont go directly to the mall itself, u have to take a taxi/bus from teh train to the mall. my mother did that one day and she thinks the taxi driver ripped her off. i was there a couple years ago, so im not sure how its changed but i remember back then they had zegna, armani, burberry, ferragamo and other "high fashion" brands, if ur interested in that stuff.

this is the only good shopping thing i can think of in florence.. although i've never been there, just seen the signs/ads..

if ur shopping in italy, florence is prob one of the last places i'd recommend - the leather is great quality but the styles aren't really up to scratch and it's still pretty expensive..

skip the stores and go see the art galleries/duomos/tuscan country side.. if u can get to milan, i'd recommend going crazy there.

[angel_baby]

the days of good deals and better shopping in italy are long gone. when italy was still using the lire you could scoop all the italian labels for a fraction of the price they sold for here in the us. shopping in europe doesn't make sense any more, they come here for deals.

i don't agree with this when it comes to the high-end labels... their prices are regulated across the world and when it comes to sale time, the milan stores always have the biggest range..

the only reason i can think of an italian going to the US to shop is to save on the tax, but even then u add on tax in the US anyway...?

[RichieRich]

Italy is niiiiiiice. I went to Cannes (film festival spot) last year, and it was beautiful. Didn't shop too much though. Eat as much as you can!

[OCMF]

i don't agree with this when it comes to the high-end labels... their prices are regulated across the world and when it comes to sale time, the milan stores always have the biggest range..
the only reason i can think of an italian going to the US to shop is to save on the tax, but even then u add on tax in the US anyway...?

i guess we're completely ignoring eur/usd spot rates now, too.

[lucky_lefty]

Not a good time to shop anywhere in Europe especially with the euro to dollar turnover.....like someone else said, leather u can get at a cheaper rate...i bought some gucci sneaks when i was there for like 250 euro but they were like $450 here so you will save a little bit but not the amount you lookin for...they can dress they azz off over there tho, they most def influenced how i dress minus them tight jeans and shi+

[angel_baby]

i guess we're completely ignoring eur/usd spot rates now, too.

if u are talking about designers then yeah u do ignore the rates.. the prices are regulated across the world so a chanel bag will cost the same no matter what country you're in.. other than high end designers, i couldn't think of any other reason why you'd shop in italy in the first place..

edit: the only thing which really changes is the tax rates so in aust we have a luxury goods tax which you save by shopping in italy (tax free) and then not claiming when you cross borders.. it's kind of shonky but no ones really worried about shoes & handbags anyways.

[angel_baby]

Not a good time to shop anywhere in Europe especially with the euro to dollar turnover.....like someone else said, leather u can get at a cheaper rate...i bought some gucci sneaks when i was there for like 250 euro but they were like $450 here so you will save a little bit but not the amount you lookin for...they can dress they azz off over there tho, they most def influenced how i dress minus them tight jeans and shi+

everytime i am in italy i am in HEAVEN because of the amount of well groomed, well dressed men.. even the door men look great!!

[NatiboyB]

I'm In Europe right now. And in all honesty. You are going to spend more money here. Thing is. You will save money if you want things made by locals however you are going to likely go down the tourist traps and busy cities meaning you may as well stay at home...I go to the outlets here for Gucci and whatnot and just can't afford the euro rate.

[OCMF]

if u are talking about designers then yeah u do ignore the rates.. the prices are regulated across the world so a chanel bag will cost the same no matter what country you're in.. other than high end designers, i couldn't think of any other reason why you'd shop in italy in the first place..
edit: the only thing which really changes is the tax rates so in aust we have a luxury goods tax which you save by shopping in italy (tax free) and then not claiming when you cross borders.. it's kind of shonky but no ones really worried about shoes & handbags anyways.

lol, ok.

[albino]

Italy is niiiiiiice. I went to Cannes (film festival spot) last year, and it was beautiful. Didn't shop too much though. Eat as much as you can!

Cannes is in France.