Shopping

"Epoca" is a new designer label vintage shop at Via dei Fossi 6r (near Piazza Goldoni). Epoca has all kinds of clothes, shoes, hats, bags, etc. from leading Italian designers, like the beautiful Pucci blouse we saw in the window there last week. Although the global economic situation has definitely affected Florence, and many stores have closed (and continue to close!) there are also new things like this popping up in different spots all over town, which is great to see. Via dei Fossi is a very fancy street filled with antique dealers and high end carpet and home furnishing shops - it is neat to have a store like Epoca in the mix there.

EPOCA
Via dei Fossi 6/r
Cell: 339 2518587
Email: valentinaferroni@alice.it

Every Thursday there is a flower and plant market just off Piazza Repubblica (starting in the south-west corner). Here are a few recent photos to get you in the mood:

People are always asking on travel websites and blogs, "How do I get to The Mall?". "The Mall" is a super high-end boutique outlet not far from Florence that features only the best luxury brands. FYI, it may be an "outlet", but this is high end label shopping - if you come back from here laden with bags, you'll have spent thousands of euros.

Some of the brands you will find:

• Balenciaga


• Fendi


• Gucci


• Pucci


• Ferragamo


• Stella McCartney


• YSL

...to name but a few. So how do you get there? That's after the jump.

Luisa Via Roma is one of the hippest boutiques in Florence, if not in all of Italy. It is really a destination not to be missed if you are into high fashion, up and coming designers, and want to be seen in the trendiest and latest that the Italian fashion world has to offer.

The store was recently completely renovated, and features large touch screen monitors where you choose items from the shop and then have them brought to you in a private dressing room. They also have a suite available for VIPs, and are very involved in the Florentine fashion shows, the throwing of fabulous parties, and all the other things that the beautiful people do.

LUISA VIA ROMA
Via Roma, 19/21r
50123 Florence (FI), Italy
Tel. +39 055 9064116
http://www.luisaviaroma.com/

The Gold Market is a popular jewelry store on Piazza Santa Croce - they have been in business at this location for almost 40 years. They have a brand new website and now you can buy their gold jewelry directly from Italy and have it shipped to most countries.

The Gold Market
Piazza Santa Croce 20/r
50122 Florence (FI), Italy
Tel. 055 242 983
http://the-gold-market.com

Luxist.com is reporting that this stylish bag is made in Florence:

"Melissa Loyd Maish, the former creative director of Bally, has her own line of purses. The atelier is based in Florence, Italy and the line features luxe looks in leather and linen. My favorites are the Sunset models, adorable linen bags with leather appliqués shaped as birds, suns and other organic shapes. The tote is white linen with brown leather and sells for $770."

Treat yourself.

There is an excellent "slow" market set up in Piazza Santa Croce until May 1. We just had a quick lunch there (calzones), with a glass of Mossio Langhe Nebbiolo which was great (I bought a bottle for €14.50). Mossio is a small producer with 10 hectares under cultivation producing about 50,000 bottles a year. There are also many kinds of cheeses, salamis, olives and other fresh and prepared foods available at the market, to eat or take home. Definitely worth a visit and a good place for an affordable lunch or dinner.

The Scuola del Cuoio is right behind (actually it is attached to) the church of Santa Croce. It is both a leather school and shop, offering a variety of courses and hand made leather goods for sale, and has been run by the same family for nearly 60 years. This recent article describes the school in more detail. There is an entrance off of Via San Giuseppe, or you can enter the school directly through the Church. Worth a visit, especially if you are leather shopping.

Scuola del Cuoio: Piazza Santa Croce 16, Florence; 39 (055) 244-533; http://www.leatherschool.com

I am a little upset since we have had this same sort of idea, but of course have yet to try it. I am talking about a new on-line store called "Florence In A Box". From their press release:

"Florence, Italy (PRWEB) December 14, 2006 -- Artisan home and giftware site, Florence in a Box, announces the launch of an online store at http://www.florenceinabox.com. Florence in a Box features authentic and unique handcrafted products from Tuscany.

The new online store offers a variety of gifts varying from traditional to contemporary designs. Consumers can choose from gifts including ceramics, wood, glass, silver, fine art, jewelry, and more. All items are specially gift wrapped in an elegant box decorated with traditional Florentine paper. Pieces are often handcrafted using tools and techniques invented hundreds of years ago.

"Our purpose is to provide a truly high quality online shopping experience," says Lilla Molho, owner of Florence in a Box. "At the same time people can discover and acquire the finest artwork and handcrafted items available today in Tuscany."

We wish them good luck!

Departures Magazine just came out with their "Editors’ Picks of Ten Best Luxury Gifts" - and at the top of that list is a shop here in Florence that I have never heard of, Aprosio & Co. Described as "High-fashion jewelry from humble glass beads", it looks like a very interesting store and something we will check out ourselves soon - maybe this afternoon!

Aprosio & Co. Tel: +39 055 2654077
Via Santo Spirito 11
Palazzo Frescobaldi,
50125 Florence
Italy

Summer is over and I've put away most of my sandals. So yesterday I pulled out some shoes I bought last Spring, and I'm realizing how much I really like them. I bought them at a little shop on Via Nazionale called "Mondo Albion", where a quirky guy makes shoes. The store is half workshop and half display. Most of the displays are what I would consider more "costume" shoes than wearable shoes - lots of platform boots painted in bright colors with hand-written text (see photo). But if you walk to the back, there are a few shelves full of leather flats, loafers and pumps - all with an interesting flare, but not at all crazy. They're not cheap (starting at about 100 euros for a basic pair of black flats), but they're holding up well and seem to be offered in every size imaginable. I think the shop's worth a browse, if just to take a look at the fun stuff.

Check out their website. The site's dedicated mostly to Mondo Albion's one-off items, really art pieces, not shoes - but it's an interesting read, and there is a good map of their location too.

Ellen

We learned late in the game that Esselunga grocery store has online shopping with direct delivery to your house. We spent our first year in Florence dragging a shopping bag on wheels across the cobblestone streets of the city - not an easy task. I'm glad those days are over.

Our apartment this year has an internal courtyard that is just begging to be filled with plants and flowers. The owners used to have big palms filling the court - but unfortunately they took them along to their new apartment. So today I walked over to the flower market with my daughters Jane and Alice. Jane has been dying to go to this flower market, but she's usually in school on Thursdays so I promised to take her today - the last Thrusday before school starts again.

I stumbled on this market last year, and now I can't seem to keep away from it. It's just so pretty. Every Thursday the loggia on the south-west corner of Piazza Republica (just outside the big post office) fills up with farmers/merchants selling all types of plants. Usually one or two stalls sell cut flowers, but most offer potted flowers, orchids, herbs, palms, small trees, etc. The prices are really reasonable - always something marked "offerta" (or special offer).

Today I bought some blooming hibiscus (for 3.50 euros each) and the girls got some little cactus plants (1.50 euros each). I also saw a palm plant that I recently bought somewhere else for 14 euros and it was only 7 euros today - oh well. The girls also bought some cut flowers to decorate their lanterns for the Rificolona that is celebrated tonight. I'll have to get some photos of that to post tomorrow...

Ellen

A quick rundown of where to shop in Florence from Nove da Firenze:

"Looking for the perfect vintage piece? Pitti Vintage on Sducciolo Dei Pitti has an ample array of well-maintained dresses, shoes, jewelry and other pieces dating from last season to as far back as 1930. Check out the handbags and old-school clutches, they have everything from patent leather to crocodile skin, to add some flare to your wardrobe. The shop is quaint and fairly small, but packed with distinct pieces you won’t find anywhere else. Similarly, Sol Gabriel on Via Matteo Palmieri is another great option for vintage duds. The owner and head designer of the label (same name as the store), custom makes all of the handbags in the store from both modern and vintage fabrics.

More here.

The Paperback Exchange is our favorite English-language bookstore in Florence. It's a great place to browse for new and used books of any sort - from architecture to literature to travel. They also have a small, but interesting kids book section. The used books are offered at a deap discount, while the new books I would say are just about market price. You can also exchange your used books for cash or credit - perfect if you're travelling and don't want to carry already-read books to your next destination.

They recently moved to a new location right near the Duomo at #4 (red) Via delle Oche. Their website has a nice map of their location, plus hours, phone numbers, photos and more.

http://www.gabriellananni.it
Tel. 39 055 21 48 38

Keeping on the shopping theme that Ellen started, here is a neat little jewelry store that a Florentine informed me of - Gabriella Nanni. I am not a big jewelry or gold fan, but this shop has all hand made one of a kind pieces that are made from 925 silver and semi-precious stones, shells, pebbles, pearls and corals. They are very beautiful objects and the Aqua Marine ring I got Ellen for Christmas was definitely a hit. The shop is right in the heart of Florence on Via Lambertesca, between the Piazzale degli Uffizi and Via Por Santa Maria (the street that crosses the Ponte Vecchio) - here is a map.

I learned just in the nick of time that Florence stores have huge end-of-season sales during the second week of January. This year they started the Saturday after Three Kings Day (January 7th) - I saw the date posted in the paper (but I would assume it's the same general schedule every year). On Saturday the streets were mobbed - I've never seen Centro so jammed with people. Sunday many of the stores were still open and they seemed much less crowded.

Everything is on sale, with discounts of about 30-60% -- so if you have your eye on something special, it's probably worth waiting for these sales. I picked up an 80 euro sweater at Stefanel for about 50 euros. Stefanel also had a winter jacket at 50% off, but they didn't have my size. Finally, I found a pair of winter boots (which I desperately needed since it's been so wet and cold this winter!), they were originally 150 euros down to 109. I saw other great deals at Benetton, Sisley, Zara, Coin (department store) and Prenatal (for the kids). Every store I walk by has huge "SALDI" signs. It's tempting to check out every one, but I think I've already blown my budget!

Ellen

Yesterday we went to our local market - Mercato di Sant'Ambrogio in the Piazza Ghiberti. It was great! It's just like the more popular Mercato Centrale where we went last week, but it's full of Italians instead of tourists. Everyone was very helpful, friendly, and best of all they didn't speak English to us - just Italian.

Besides the authentic atmosphere, there was also great food. Outside and to the west are the fruit and vegetable stands - we bought fresh broccoli, just-picked apples, cherry tomatoes, raspberries and a slice of a huge squash/pumpkin(?). Next time I want to try some of the fresh porcini mushrooms. Inside are the cheese and meat vendors. We bought some steaks that we'll eat tonight and a tasty pesto meal that we had last night. We bought ready made pesto (very good) with fresh tagliatelle and a lump of fresh ricotta for on top - all for only 6 euros. On our way out we bought a bouquet of fresh flowers for 2 euros. Can't wait to go back, try my Italian and get some more food!

Ellen

Yesterday we took our first trip to the Mercato Centrale, or the Mercato di San Lorenzo. We browsed through two gorgeous floors of fresh food, but ended up feeling unprepared and not buying much. Next time we need to go with a menu in mind and some recommendations in hand. I found a great write-up about the market on the web and I'll definitely bring "La Guida del Mercato" with me next time. This guide helps sort through the various stands of meat, fruits, veggies, nuts, olives, oils, and wines.

We were lucky (or smart) enough to pick the market's best spot for lunch, Nerbone. After we got home, I found out it's highly recommended. I had the Pasta al Ragú and Anthony tried the Manzo con Patate - he said it was one of the best things he had eaten in Florence, a real peasant stew. After reading La Guida del Mercato, I think I'll order the Panino next time.