Walking around Milan while working out your shopping needs is tiring. The opening hours vary enormously and, with flagship stores hiring elegant staff to watch you, it can seem a bit daunting.
I knew that I would need some expert tips on negotiating the sales and since my knowledge of Italian is confined to reading menus and swearing, I used the good old google search engine to find 'personal shoppers in Milan'.
Dottore (in Italy every graduate is a Dottore) Piero Alacchi was offering tourists in Milan their own personal shopping assistants. My Italian friends were dubious about this service - to them, the idea of hiring a shopping 'companion' seemed both pointless and slightly seedy. Though initially sceptical, this made me determined to try it out.
His website seemed a bit sparse, so I emailed Dottore Alacchi. We agreed to meet before I took a tour with one of his guides.
The companion
Formed five years ago, Travel Media Consulting sas was meant to offer services to business visitors (mostly from Switzerland, Germany and Japan). It became clear that businessmen often brought their partners for trips and Alacchi realised they needed someone who knew the city well - to show them around and help them shop.
Mostly, the personal shopping assistant service spreads by word of mouth but Alacchi found that within Milan it was quite difficult to get going; no hotel was interested in pushing his services and no store needed further advertisement. At least that means his shoppers gave impartial advice.
He chooses his assistants carefully. They are supposed to reflect the age groups of his clientele, have knowledge of the city and foreign languages and be friendly yet professional. Allegedly, they can even bargain for you (although we never quite got to that stage).
At 60 euros for the first hour, and a further 30 euros for each extra hour thereafter, you get a friendly but expert guide who will take you shopping and point out the tourist sites along the way. The guide is your Milanese insider so it is worth preparing some questions so that you can focus your shopping trip effectively.
My assistant Eleonora Milanese (her real name) met all the criteria. She was pleasant and knowledgeable and once it was established that we were both Armani rather than Versace people, we seemed to hit it off better - if anything because she could then work out my tastes and interests.
The shopping
Milan is a small city with all the big fashion names concentrated in and around the centre. It is certainly not the prettiest city in Italy: the main attraction for outsiders is business or fashion.
The famous Quadrilatero d'Oro (Golden Quadrangle) is where most of the designer stores are concentrated. It is bounded by the Via de la Spiga on the north and Via Monte Napoleone on the south, with Via Sant'Andrea and Via Allessandro Manzoni on the east and west respectively. The surrounding area is also worth a walk around.
With two main sale seasons, there is ample opportunity to buy normally extortionate items at affordable prices. The sale seasons run from mid-January to mid-February and mid-July to mid-August. For choice, go in the first week, and for the biggest reductions, go towards the end - though avoid the February fashion week.
The shops are open between 9.30am and 7.30pm and traditionally several of these take a lunch break from 1pm-3pm (when you should too!). The larger ones stay open throughout the day and more and more are opening on Sundays. On Mondays, food shops are open in the mornings and the others only in the afternoon.
Eleonora took me to the Golden Quadrangle and the area around the cathedral - the Duomo. La Rinacente (near the Duomo) is the city's main department store. It is open till 10pm and therefore best left till last. The arcade Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, opposite the Cathedral, is also the place to go for luxury items. Don't let the English-sounding names of the shops fool you; Andrews of Milan is definitely Italian. Behind the Duomo, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II has the kitsch yet strangely appealing Fiorucci Fashion Market.
We visited some designer stores just to gawp at their interior design, architectural beauty and, of course, the staff. Via de la Spiga was my favourite street in the Quadrangle: it was absolutely charming.
Most guides focus on the Duomo, the Quadrilatero d'Oro and the Corso Buenos Aires, but I wanted to see if Eleanora could suggest something unusual, since I'm not the world's keenest label freak. When I told her that I wanted to venture outside the Quadrangle, she suggested we visit Corso Buenos Aires and also Corso Verchelli. For markets, she recommended one on Via Fouche and the Navigli - the area around the canals. With a car, I could have gone to the discount outlets - but that was scarcely a glamorous option.
Corso Verchelli was disappointingly drab, but Corso Buenos Aires (recommended by one and all) was promising in terms of price and variety.
My Milanese friends added that the best route to the Navigli was by Via Torino and then Corso Genova because these three areas had more independent fashion. The designer stores do have unusual pieces, but I yearned for offbeat yet affordable fashion.
However, nothing was particularly inspiring and I was surprised that, unlike London, the latest fashions had not filtered down.
I said I was interested in leather goods and Eleonara was quite honest in saying that Florence was a better option - making me more liable to trust her. Given the cheap and efficient rail services, it was even an option to go to Florence to continue the shopping trip.
The return
From the question most asked of me, it was obvious that the measure of a successful trip would be how many shoes I had bought.
Well, I bought one pair of shoes from, of all places, Benetton. Though pleased with the shoes, I couldn't help wondering where I had gone wrong. I had been hoping there would be more to shopping in Milan than the main fashion stores.
Don't forget that Milanese fashion isn't necessarily confined to clothes and shoes - Milan is also a magnet for kitchen and furniture designers. It is a great place to go if you are into designer labels and a personal shopper can be a worthwhile investment. At worst, you can use him/her as a tourist guide, get insider tips and even make a new friend.
Perhaps, in the end, I just did not appreciate the mainstream designer shopping opportunities enough. The smug looks on the faces of women on the plane carrying Gucci and Max Mara bags suggested that they had gone with a much better game plan.
Useful links
La Rinascente department store
