Where to Shop:
BAGS AND SHOES
IL BISONTE
31/33 via del Parione, Florence (00 39 055 215 722;
www.ilbisonte.net). Bisonte's famous leather bags originate in Florence, in 1970 the first shop was established at Via del Parione. Workmanship is of the highest quality, the leather is unbelievably soft and long-lasting. Buy suitcases, handbags, briefcases and accessories.
SALVATORE FERRAGAMO
2 via Tornabuoni, Florence (00 39 055 33601;
www.salvatoreferragamo.it). You can't visit Florence without visiting the fashion house's flagship store, housed in Palazzo Spini Feroni, which has also been home to the Ferragamo Museum since 1995.
FENDI
Via degli Strozzi, 1-red Florence - (00 39 055 212305;
www.fendi.com). THE FENDI BAG is also transformed, offering new rules governing elegance and practicality, innovation and style. The answer to rigid handbags is the innovative creation of soft, unstructured bags. The leather is printed, woven, dyed and tanned to make it more soft and attractive and so begins the journey of a new generation of FENDI bags. The success of furs and bags leads to the need to offer a complete image of the FENDI style.
CLOTHES
ASSUNTA ANICHINI
59r via di Parione, Florence (00 39 055 284 977;
www.anichini.net). Opened in 1912, Assunta Anichini is the oldest children's clothing store in Florence. It sells beautifully-made clothes for newborns to ten or twelve year olds, from christening robes and bridesmaid dresses to sailor suits and pretty party dresses. Buy something made in-house under Anichini's own label; although expensive, it's worth it as all its embroidery and smocking is done painstakingly by hand.
BRITTA IN BICICLETTA
5r Lungarno Torrigiani, Florence (00 39 055 24 667 03;
www.brittainbicicletta.com/Britta/Home.html). Opened in 2006 by Federica Ghisi - Inside, tailored made apparel with simple and cleaned lines for those who still want to dress their children with taste and refinement away from that image of small adults that the fashion world for children offers more and more.
ELIO FERRARO
47r via del Parione, Florence (00 39 055 290425;
www.elioferraro.com). Vintage collector Ferraro has his own space in Selfridges in London - his 1980s pieces by Alaïa, Thierry Mugler and Claude Montana get snapped up - but his flamboyant flagship is better, and it also sells menswear and furniture.
EMILIO PUCCI
20-22 via Tornabuoni, Florence (00 39 055 265 8082;
www.emiliopucci.com). The dazzling white-and-silver interior of Pucci's boutique sets the stage for the fabulously psychedelic fabrics.
GIORGIO ARMANI FIRENZE
48 via Tornabuoni, Florence (00 39 055 219 041;
www.giorgioarmani.com). Just across the road from Prada (see below), Armani's gorgeous shop, designed by Claudio Silvestrin, opened earlier this year, with sand-coloured stone walls and ebony furniture.
LORETTA CAPONI
4r piazza Antinori, Florence (00 39 055 213668;
www.lorettacaponi.com). Reputed for its linens, the label is also sought-after for its bespoke pyjamas with hand-embroidered initials. Check out the 14th-century palazzo, the frescoed ceilings and traditional ambience.
LUISA VIA ROMA
19-21 via Roma, Florence (00 39 055 906 4116;
www.luisaviaroma.com). Reopened in June 2008, this shop (and sister boutique on via Silvio Pellico) sells all the fashion-forward labels: clothes by Gareth Pugh and Giambattista Valli, jewellery by Tom Binns, bags by Michael Teperson and shoes by Nicholas Kirkwood.
MIU MIU
8 via Roma, Florence (00 39 055 267 471;
www.miumiu.com). The Miu Miu store in Florence is located on the ground floor of the Hotel Savoy ... chic things that are available there; shoes and accessories of the fashion house are placed at the center of the boutique on huge benches of glass and damask, with an apparently casual construction, with a chic and extremely feminine mood.
PRADA
53 via Tornabuoni, Florence (00 39 055 267 471;
www.prada.com). This is Prada's second shop on via Tornabuoni. The remodelled 19th-century interior is entirely devoted to the women's collection.
CELINE
24r via Tornabuoni, Florence (00 39 055 2645521;
www.celine.com). Discover the French luxury fashion house of
CÉLINE and the latest collections of ready-to-wear, leather
bags,
handbags, fashion shoes and accessories.
ROBERTO CAVALLI
83r via Tornabuoni, Florence (00 39 055 239 6226;
www.robertocavalli.com). Cavalli's first solo shop in Florence opened on the site of Caffe Giacosa, a city landmark where the Negroni cocktail was invented. Cavalli relaunched the café two doors away on via della Vigna Nuova.
FRAGRANCE
LORENZO VILLORESI
14 via de' Bardi, Florence (00 39 055 234 1187;
www.lorenzovilloresi.it). As well as perennial favourite Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella on via della Scala (see below), Lorenzo Villoresi creates personalised scents for clients in his beautiful 15th-century palazzo. Make an appointment to have something tailor-made, or simply buy one of his lemon verbena room fragrances.
THE OFFICINA DI SANTA MARIA NOVELLA
16 via della Scala, Florence (00 39 055 216 276;
www.smnovella.it). This has been a pharmacy for over 300 years but was once a rococo chapel. You can buy alchemical lotions and potions beneath a pink-and-indigo ceiling decorated with gilded griffins.
GIFTS
BRANDIMARTE
11ct viale Ludovico Ariosto, Florence (00 39 055 230411;
www.brandimarte.com). Renowned for fabulous silverware, this is where chic Florentines buy christening gifts. Everything is handcrafted in-house, so even the most elaborate special orders are possible.
IL TORCHIO
17 Via dei Bardi Florence (00 39 055 234 2862;
www.legatoriailtorchio.com). Il Torchio sells beautiful hand-made, decorative paper, in the form of boxes, albums, stationery and other items. A great place to hunt for imaginative gifts.
PINEIDER
13-14r piazza della Signoria, Florence (00 39 055 284655;
www.pineidershop.com). The Florentine equivalent of Smythson, except it has been going even longer (since 1774) and is rumoured to provide the Pope with his customised writing paper. Notecards come in a rainbow array of pastel shades.
