SALDI!





The first word I learned here was saldi, which means sale. We had just arrived in Italy and were on the bus going to the hotel. We passed tons of stores with SALDI signs everywhere, and it was a sight for sore eyes! Italian stores have two annual sales, a summer sale for the month of July, and a winter sale for the month of January, which I have been so fortunate to partake in! During a saldi period, all merchandise, except new collections, is up to 70% off!



Inside Coin

To say that the shopping in Italy is great is an understatement. There are stores literally everywhere, all over Rome and from what we saw of Florence. There are plenty of street markets that sell really cheap scarves, which are essential parts of Italian outfits and fashion. I mostly window-shop at small boutiques and designer stores, but I have made purchases at the few department store chains. OVS Industry is similar to a Forever 21 in terms of prices, but it also has health and beauty aids and home goods. Thanks to the saldi, I bought a cardigan for 5 euro and a shirt for 7! Coin is a typical department store, similar to Macy's. The prices at Coin stores are a bit higher, but they carry many different brands, several of which are American. Lastly, there's Upim, which is my favorite so far. As it is similar to a Target, walking into Upim was like my golden arch. The prices are really good and it has clothing, home goods, books, and health and beauty products. I have never been to La Rinascente, but it is quite upscale and appears to be like a Nordstrom or Neiman Marcus, so I should probably steer clear in order to avoid the temptation!