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Chapter 8

Shopping, Italian-Style

In This Chapter

Shopping at department stores and boutiques

Finding the right sizes, colors, materials, and accessories to suit you

Taking a closer look at items and price

I
taly is famous throughout the world for its fashion,
la moda
(lah
moh
-dah), as well as for its
stilisti
(stee-
lees
-tee) (
designers
), such as
Armani
(ahr-
mah
-nee) and
Valentino
(vah-lehn-
tee
-noh). You may suddenly feel inspired to shop, and what better place to shop than in Italy! In Italian, a famous brand is called
la griffe
(lah greef) (a French word) or
la firma
(lah
feer
-mah) that means, literally,
the signature.
So to say that a good is designed by a famous stylist, you say it's
griffato
(greef-
fah
-toh) or
firmato
(feer-
mah
-toh) â
signed.

Checking Out Stores

I negozi di quartiere
(ee neh-
goh
-tsee dee kwahr-
tyeh
-reh) (
neighborhood stores
) are an important component of the social fabric and architecture of Italian cities and villages (although in recent years, the number of department stores is growing). Italians love to shop in stores that specialize in a particular type of
merce
(
mehr
-cheh) (
good
) or
prodotto artigianale
(proh-
doht
-toh ahr-tee-jah-
nah
-leh) (
craft
). There are
profumerie
(proh-foo-meh-
ree
-eh) (
beauty shops
),
negozi di scarpe
(neh-
goh
-tsee dee
skahr
-peh) (
shoe stores
),
negozi di abbigliamento
(neh-
goh
-tsee dee ahb-bee-lyah-
mehn
-toh) (
clothing stores
),
negozi di articoli sportivi
(neh-
goh
-tsee dee ahr-tee-koh-lee spohr-
tee
-vee) (
sportswear
stores
), boutiques, and shops that sell only
borse
(
bohr
-seh) (
bags
),
borsette
(bohr-
seht
-teh) (
purses
),
cinte
(
cheen
-teh) (
belts
),
guanti
(
gwahn
-tee) (
gloves
), and
accessori
(ahch-chehs-
soh
-ree) (
accessories
).

There are also
mercati
(mehr-
kah
-tee) (
outdoor markets
)
and
mercatini
(mehr-kah-
tee
-nee) (
small outdoor
markets
), which are a popular destination for adventurous bargain hunters.
Mercato
(singular of
mercati
) tends to refer mostly to fresh produce;
mercatino
(singular of
mercatini
) may include fresh produce, but it implies the presence of stands with housewares, shoes, clothes, purses, linens, and so on. A visit to one of these markets is a journey into great chaos: The swarming
folla
(
fohl
-lah) (
crowds
) and sprawling
mucchi
(
moohk
-kee) (
piles
) of merchandise make for a memorable experience.

In these
mercatini,
you can find shoes, shirts, bags, and clothing for men and women at bargain prices. If you're lucky (although you may have to literally dig into the pile of items on display), you'll find fabulous items â at fabulous prices!

There are also specialized
mercatini,
like
dell'antiquariato
(dehl-lahn-tee-kwah-
ryah
-toh) (
of antiquities
) or
del libro
(dehl
lee
-broh) (
of books
).

Deciding between department stores and boutiques

North Americans have access to huge
centri commerciali
(
chehn
-tree kohm-mehr-
chah
-lee) (
shopping malls
), where you really can find everything. In Italy, people shop in
grandi magazzini
(
grahn
-dee mah-gaht-
dzee
-nee) (
department stores
), which are tiny compared to American ones. The biggest Italian department stores are
Coin
(koh-
een
) and
Oviesse
(oh-
vyehs
-seh). Both carry a variety of items; however, many Italians prefer to shop in smaller, privately owned stores where service is key (and where there's little to no browsing and self-service).

Incidentally, what's
shopping
in Italian? You say
fare la spesa
(
fah
-reh la
speh
-zah) when you buy food, and
fare spese
(
fah
-reh
speh
-seh) and
fare lo shopping
(
fah
-reh loh
shohp
-peeng) for everything else. Good news is that you have to conjugate only the verb
fare
.