Purse from Florence
 

My husband is in Florence. He hates to shop. I want him to bring me back a cool purse, possibly a clutch. Where should he go?

I love the leather bags I got from the Pitti Leather Shop-- Piazza Pitti 28r-- near the Pitti Palace. Unique designs, reasonably priced.

Thanks. He just called. Told him to check out the store. Said he hasn't seen very many clutches in Florence - Anyone know what the "it" bag is there?

Send him to the Leather School. The good stuff is in the back areas. They have exotic skin clutches in the display cases. STUNNING. Better than Judith Leibers, IMHO.

thanks!

there are many, many purse shops in Florence , we found the good ones were as expensive as in North America.
You may wish to take your DH to a store in your city and give him some idea of what you have in mind ( unless he knows how to shop for women, mine doesn't have a clue).

Agree, Would not trust him on his own. He is with several stylish female colleagues whom I trust.

crosscheck,

Has he looked in Furla?? I don't know if he will find a clutch, but there is always something there I cannot leave behind.

Furla is divine. I brought back a purse and a wallet from them.

I have all faith that he will have little trouble finding something stylish. Last year I noticed that stamped ostrich (meaning leather, stamped to look like ostrich) was ubiquitous. I brought back several bags of varying types from Florence and my favorite stamped-ostrich bag was made there - it's a beautiful shade of blue and kind of looks like a small knockoff Birkin bag. My Furla wallet was also faux-strich. I get a lot of compliments on my blue bag and it wasn't even expensive.

I believe there is are Florence shopping tips on slowtrav. You really can't go wrong in Florence even without a guide though. More leather shops than you can imagine.

Hi crosscheck - While the Leather Store has some very good products and selection, make sure he thoroughly inspects anything he buys. I was there last year and bought purses for DW and daughter. I looked at samples and then picked out ones which were wrapped in clear plastic. I didn't inspect them and should have. When I got back to the states, one of the pursues had some serious stitching defects inside. A little hard to return when you're 6,500 miles away and shipping costs were very high. Live and learn.

Ferragamo, of course, darling. On Via Tornabuoni. Furla is good, too. And Carlos Falchi.

Can't go wrong with CHANEL timeless clutch in either lambskin or caviar.

I love Furla! Tell him you want a wallet to go with that purse.

I don't know where you live, but we have Furla, Ferragamo and Chanel stores in many cities in North America . I found the prices of all upscale stores ( Prada, Gucci, Ferragam e.t.c )
comparable to what you would pay here.

Furla in Florence is MUCH cheaper than in the US (or in airports)!

I agree....Furla is a good choice because the quality and design are great, but the prices are less than in the US....I know, I checked.

Thanks, all.

Thought of Furla originally but didn't know prices there were so much better there than here (LA).

Nobody has mentioned Fendi...Saw a bag in their window in Rome last year that I wish I had bought, unlike anything I've seen here or NY, but the shop was closed and I never got back there.

A friend just stopped by with a great lambskin bag she coincidentally purchased in Florence in December. Said she bought it at Cassini across from the Duomo, recommended by her hotel's concierge. Anyone know that shop?

Hope this helps:

http://www.leatherschool.com/www/

flygirl, thanks for the link. Husband had already gone shopping by the time it arrived, but it was fun to peruse the collection.

He's on his way home now with new purse. Will report back.

Rules To Live By:

#14. Never let a straight man pick your fashion accessories.

You will probably get a Gitanes plastic shopping tote.

Marginal,

I know. What was I thinking? I'm going to be nervous about this all day.

What is rule #15?

#15. Do not eat baked beans on an airplane.

Here's the purse report:

Husband did quite well for a clueless heterosexual. Came back with TWO very presentable purses:

1) small brown double-sided lamskin shoulder bag with stamped "ostrich" strap and silver tone embellishments from Pitti Leather Shop (I emailed him this thread and he went to the first shop suggested.)

2) medium black suede classic tote with thick black leather and chain strap.

Neither purse is absolutely stunning (or super high end) but they're both cool, well made and very Italian.

Thanks, all for your help.

(And Marginal, it was fun to see you on the Asian board. Looking forward to finding out more rules to live by.)

the quality of leather goods sold in the streets, like the San Lorenzo market, seemed pretty good. Much better than the stuff in Buenos Aires street vendors.

But if you want something fashionable or with a brand name, you go to the boutiques and pay prices comparable to the shops in the US?

Isn't there some limit on the value of goods you can bring back without declaring?

Each US citizen is allowed to bring back into the US $800.00 in goods duty free. After that there is a tax that is charged. I don't know for sure but I would assume that would also apply to legal residents of the US that hold a Green Card.