Great Places To Shop

[ingenue]

Can anyone recommend great places to shop-- designer stuff at good bargains? cities of paris, florence, venice, london.

my friend will be logging into this forum within the week. ive given her most of the places id go to, so would appreciate if you can all chip in further!

she is on the lookout for

2nd hand designer items
shoe factory outlets (here is a question-- is there really a manolo blahnik outlet???)
designer brand factory outlets..

cheerios!

 

[Lorna]

Shopping in Venice isn't great. There aren't any designer outlets I know of and the only consignment shop I found was kind of awful. That being said, I did find a number of interesting jewelry pieces there.

Paris is fantastic but others on this board will have better (more recent) tips than I -- it's been a long time since I've been there.

Florence is fantastic shopping -- I believe there's a Prada outlet on the outskirts of Florence. The Prada shop itself was quite well-priced when I was there. Also the shoe shops in Flor. are amazing!

London has quite a few designer consigner shops -- there's one on the border of Chelsea village that's really great. Buy Time Out London (the book) and they'll have a whole section on such shops. Don't know about designer outlets in London but go to Harvey Nick's -- you owe it to yourself! I hope your friend has a fantastic time -- tell her to pack an empty roll-up suitcase! Yay!

 

[Meg]

There are two really good consignment shops at the edge of Notting Hill Gate. They sell Choo's and Manolo's and Louboutin's (sorry for the awful spelling) from 60 pounds and up and they are all in excellent condition and have great clothes too!

 

[tiffany]

Originally posted by mehg@Jan 21st, 2004 - 8:12 am
There are two really good consignment shops at the edge of Notting Hill Gate. They sell Choo's and Manolo's and Louboutin's (sorry for the awful spelling) from 60 pounds and up and they are all in excellent condition and have great clothes too!

what are the shops called?

 

[ingenue]

TIFFANY: i have also recommended that shop to my friend, and same as mehq-- the name escapes me!

LORNA: oh yeah my friend's got 2 EMPTY suitcases plus her one suitcase w her clothes! she IS prepared!! B) *that girl did me proud!! you should see how she packed her clothes!! hahaha

 

[Acid]

there is a consignment store just as you're walking to portobello road from notting hill gate tube station with LOADS of dior bags etc....

 

[Meg]

Sean I think we're talking about the same shop. And there is one like right beside it too tha sells similar fare. Sorry, I can't remember the names.

 

[ingenue]

What about PARIS??
send over a comprehensive list of places to shop.
a Mix of brands in a store would be good...
my friend's in london now... she found some intresting things in nottinghill and portobello rd.
thanks to you all as well!

 

[leyla m.]

PARIS?
hmmm, there are so many places to go to.
check out the area around ETIENNE MARCEL
for superduper trainers LES HALLES... all the trainer shops are there all the limited editions and vintage ones
maybe BON MARCHE for being a parisian institution .. dept store.

depends really what she is looking for.
def. COLETTE on rue st honoré for its jewelry and accessories

too much to think of

 

[Lena]

best place for second hand in Paris is at St Quent-Porte De Cligniacourt on the north , every weekend where one can find just about everything, from fab 20's dresses and vintage Japanese Kimonos, down to 50's buttons.

for a more flea market mood, one should try the uber cheap Porte de Montreuil area, also every weekend but also open on Monday, she might need to search a bit but there are so many bargains and two of the best 50's-70s stands in town.

like Leyla said, Colette is a must for designer items.

i have no idea on designer outlets but i promise to post more vinatge & multi designer shops with addresses & phone numbers
best area to shop is the Marais, where she can find great little boutiques with unusual labels etc.

 

[leyla m.]

for best hair colorist, she should go to COLORIST by christophe robin on RUE MONT THABOR (very close to colette).
in case she is interested, she would need to take an appointment asap


OT: i wish i could be in paris with lena... we'd have so much fun

 

[faust]

I've been to Paris and London (I don't remember the adresses, so you'll have to dig them up, sorry)

Paris:

colette (of course)
galerey lafayette
LV flagship store (I personally hate it, but tons of people buy that stuff)
Martin Margiela

London:

Harvey Nichols
Selfridges
Vivienne Westwood
Commes Des Garcons

It's not much, but those stores are cool. Now, if your friend was going to Antwerp! (how I miss it...)

 

[crazyfordior]

I'm italian so I can help a little more your friend about Venive and Florence shops, despite of I live in Milan.
Venice:
"Donatello" via Antonio da Mestre 15, Mestre offers great choice in all the big italian fashion names.
"la mela d'oro" calle della canonica san marco venezia for earrings, bracelets and pins at good prices. Be Aware to all shops for tourists: too much pricey with no quality!!!!!
Florence:
"Il guardaroba", borgo albizzi 85/87 firenze, outlet with big names for fashion
"magazzino grandi firme" via del trebbio 10 firenze bargain basement
"luisa via roma" via roma 19/21 firenze excellent sales but much pricey
be aware to mercato san lorenzo, mercato delle pulci and mercato s. ambrogio, just for tourists with money to loose............
The best market is "mercato delle cascine" piazzale vittorio veneto every tuesday.
for shoes "Ferragamo" via Tornabuoni, one of the chichest street in Florence.
I hope to have helped u.

 

[princesspatricia]

everyone, i am going to paris in the spring, and i wanted to know about any designer warehouses, sample sales, or cheap cheap cheap cool consignment stores. or things such as these, thanks everyone!. trisha

 

[chanel_girl]

Dior at avenue montaigne and Chanel at rue cambon in paris you'll love them and Manolo Blahnik at old church st and Harvey Nichols in london

 

[MaLkAv]

I live in Treviso which is only 30 km away from Venice, so I go shopping there sometimes.

Go in Piazza San Marco (San Marco square). Keep the cathedral on your back.

Now, you can go either on your right, in a street right under a bell-tower, or go straight ahead. Just walk through the whole square and just behind the palace you will find Louis Vuitton. From there, you can go into the street on the left or on the right. You will find anything: Dolce&Gabbana, Gucci (there are 3 shops around), Loro Piana, Roberto Cavalli, Versace, Ferragamo, Fendi, Prada, Pollini, Bottega Veneta, Missoni, D&G and I'm almost sure I forgot to name some!

It's like a shopper's heaven... I always come back from Venice very happy (and very poor )

 

[MaLkAv]

ehr... I have just read "at good bargains"... I've only talked about "normal" shops... come here in January or September and you'll find the sales... usually they sell at 50% price, and that IS a VERY GOOD bargain, trust me!

 

[chippie27]

i happened to be in notting hill this morning and think i found the consignment shops you guys were talking about way back when. so fun! one of them, i think retro woman??, had a great selection and very cool shoes. i almost cried because i found an amazing alexander mcqueen bodice, so versatile, so fun, but it was the tiniest bit too small. i stood in teh dressing room willing my torso to shrink. gosh, and i thought i was pretty skinny--i'm a size 2, sometimes even a 0! who fits into stuff like this?? other than that tragedy, i'm glad i found these shops and i'll definitely be stopping back!

 

[Mocean]

London.

Convent Garden
Oxford St
Regent St
South Molton St
New Bond St
Old Bond St
Jeremy St (Shirts)
Saville Road (Custom made stuff)

Knightsbridge include
Berberry
Emporio Armani
Harrods
Harvey Nichols
Kenzo
And some more

 

[Sybarite]

For expensive designers stuff:
L'Eclaireur (4 shops, all great)
http://www.leclaireur.com

Maria Luisa (rue Cambon and rue du Mont Thabor)


Kabuki (rue Etienne Marcel)


For casual wear:
Stealth (Duffer, Rogan, Y3, Evisu, Maharishi...)
42 rue du Dragon - 6th Arr.

Several shops in rue Tiquetonne (including Kiliwatch - a mix of new and vintage)

Le Shop
3 rue d'Argout - 2nd Arr.




For sneakers, the best in Les Halles area is Eight Store, 5 rue St Opportune


If you don't have much time head to Colette (small selection of clothes, sneakers, jewelry, books, CD, gadgets, design and hi-tech stuff - the best in each category - you'll want everything!)