Aih...Cuanto cuesta?!

Ciao belle!
My italian is getting so much better now that I am submersed in the Italian culture and I am so excited. However, apparently Florence is the WORST Italian city to practice your Italian because there are so many Americans and English-speaking Italians! (lots of study abroad kids as well).

I wanted to dedicate a single post to the SHOPPING. I am thrilled to be surrounded by other fashion majors during my stay here because- trust and believe- none of my friends or family members would be able to tolerate our endless hours of shopping!

The pictures above include the following: Gucci sneakers from the Gucci outlet, a Zara jumper in the dressing room of the Firenze Zara, Ruco Sneakers (to DIE for), and a Zara mannequin display. I wanted to show a mix of the clothing that I have been seeing in stores. For example, there are many chain stores like Zara, H&M, and Brandy Melville here in Firenze, but the real shopping is in the European brand stores. As I walk around the streets of Florence, it is hard to refrain from getting distracted by the well-known brands that I am familiar with, but- just like life- style begins at the end of your comfort zone!! Places like Ruco and Cos feature European-based brands that you can't find in the states. That is the beauty of traveling abroad.

The Gucci sneakers, however, are a whole other story. Here in Florence, there is a designer outlet mall titled,"The Mall." I don't want to bore you with the details, but the mall had the shops of designers including Prada, Gucci, Dior, Balenciaga, Ferragamo, YSL, Valentino, Ermano Scervino, and Moschino. The best part was- all of the designs were sold at a discounted price! And, by the way, by discounted I mean taken down from 500 euro to 200... My favorites were Dior and Valentino because of their craftsmanship, but as you all know, in NotSoBGC we take pride in staying away from designer brands. If you can't afford it, why buy it right? So, needless to say, I didn't buy a single thing. But I did learn a whole lot.

As I continue to live and shop in the country of Italy, I will make sure to document my experiences about customer service, originality, merchandising tactics, pricing, and so on. There is nothing like being submersed in the very industry you wish to work in and I intend to make the most of it.

I must get to sleep- I'm off to Cinque Terre at 7am tomorrow morning! Ciao!