How to Shop for Leather in Italy
Italians know leather. The finest gloves, shoes, jackets and personal accessories are yours for the asking during your next trip to Italy. And deals can be had - if you know where to look.
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Instructions
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Visit Parabiago, a suburb of Milan, where you'll find factories that make designer shoes and accessories. They carry first- and second-quality items at prices 30 to 70 percent lower than you would pay in stores. The labels are often removed to protect the brand, but everything else is exactly the same.
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Head to the leather school in Florence's Santa Croce church, where from mid-April to mid-November you can find an assortment of handcrafted leather items. Visit Florence's Mercato Centrale and Mercato Nuovo, two open-air markets that have a vast selection of leather goods. Designers like Gucci and Prada have outlets in the area. You can find last season's shoes, luggage and accessories for a fraction of the outrageous retail prices.
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Check stores and boutiques in all major cities for seasonal closeouts in January and July. Although you may not pay less than you would at home, you might find styles or colors not available in stores near you.
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Hit the secondhand stores and flea markets. Fashion and style are an integral part of Italian life, and items are rarely worn longer than a year. You may find some great, slightly worn pieces that have been tossed aside in favor of new trends.
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Brush up on your Italian. Although the merchants will assist you with a smile, they don't usually speak a second language.
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Bargain in the open-air markets, where items are priced in anticipation of a negotiation. Carry plenty of lire, as factory outlets and market vendors rarely accept credit. Boutique and store prices are fixed, and major credit cards are seldom denied there.
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Tips & Warnings
Shop with the locals. In Rome's middle-class neighborhoods, boutiques offer no-name leather goods of the same quality and craftsmanship as their designer counterparts, just at lower prices.
Consult your guidebook for a shoe-size conversion chart.
Check "Born to Shop Italy" for exact addresses and locations of markets and outlets.
Be wary of exceptionally low prices. They indicate that the leather is fake, of very poor quality or not Italian.
