Shoe shopping in Rome

LinaFIN

Member
May 14, 2007
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Hi, I'll be going to Rome in February and am going to be looking for shoes, flats (ballet or other) to be more specific. The max amount I want to spend is about $350 (250€).

The brands I've been thinking are Repetto, Ferragamo, Marc by Marc Jacobs, miu miu, Prada, Tory Burch... But I've never really bought designer shoes before, so I don't which are good and I might have not thought of some names at all. So advice is appreciated :smile: I need shoes that are comfortable to walk in for long periods of time but that also look good with skirts and dresses (which I wear a lot).

Also, I've never been to Rome before so don't have any idea as to where to find these or any shoes, so help is needed! :smile:
 
Hi LinaFIN!
I am from Italy but live far from Rome (near Venice)!
I would tell you that seasonal sales starts on the 5th in Rome and are going to finish on the 29th February so it's the worst month (from my experience) to buy cloths and shoes because there is something from the new collections but not the full collections and there are some things that are there from the beginning of the sales and don't sell because they are small sizes etc.
I would recommend you to buy TOD's shoes, they are simply great quality and I think that you can save a lot buying them in Italy! You can get a pair for about 250 euro.
With your budget I don't think you can buy Prada (the flats are the less expensive and starts from 280/300 euro, decoltes are a lot more!) or Ferragamo.
All this is refered to full prices, you could do some good deals with sales but as your are coming after 1 month of the beginning of the sale you'll probably find only new collections that are more expensive.
I have never heard about Tory Burch?
If you need any infos PM me or write here :smile:
 
Hi Alice! It's good to hear the sales are still going on at the end of Feb. I thought they'd be over by then. I have small feet, so maybe I'll be able to pick up a bargain! I don't mind if the shoes aren't from the spring/summer collections.

I did see some Ferragamo flats for around $350 on the internet (legitimate site) and thought they'd be about the same price in Italy (if not cheaper). I think I'll go and have a look anyways. Thanks for the Tod's recommendation. I hadn't considered them at all, but will definitely try them if I see them.

Do you know any good stores in Rome? Are there any good department stores or large shoe shops where I could see many brands at once or should I just go to several boutiques?
 
Hello there!
I am from Rome: born, bred and shopped there for 25 years!
I'm afraid by the end of February the sale racks are going to be completely empty. Generally after the first two weeks there's mostly scraps for sale: Rome has 6 millions inhabitants and plenty of tourists shopping around, and it doesn't help :P
I agree with Alice's suggestion about Tod's; Hogan has some nice styles too, and they hardly ever look outdated.
Furla has very nice flats: they usually pair up with the handbags styles.

Anywhere in the center of the town is good for shopping, but be aware that designers like Manolo, Mark Jacobs and Louboutin are near to impossible to find (as a matter of fact, CL and Manolo don't even have retailers in Rome :cursing:): I'm guessing you are not looking for that price range anyway, right?

Via del Corso (it's a big central street few steps away from Spanish Steps and via Condotti, where all the eye candy is) has a lot of shoe shops, ranging from cheap to very expensive.
I want to recommend another shoe designer whose name is now escaping me...I'll have to look for my summer shoes, since I got rid of most of my shoe boxes when I moved to the UK.
There is also Sergio Rossi of course: their heels go from 200 euros up. Cesare Paciotti is also very well known in Italy, and has some lovely styles: again, quite expensive.

Anyway, between via del Corso and all the lovely little streets around, there's plenty of arm, foot, and unfortunately mostly eye candy (at least for me:P). Don't forget to check out the beautiful Valentino flagship boutique, if only for the Wow factor!

Another good place to shop is Via Cola di Rienzo: still in the center, it's closer to the Vatican and Castel San't Angelo. It's a really long street with plenty of shoe stores and high street clothing.
I always have to say this: if it's your first time in Rome, shopping should be put off until you saw at least a little of the city. I might be partial, but it's magnificent!

Hope this helps a little, and if you need some specific addresses, I might be able to help.
 
Remember to check the correspondence between US size and italian size because you will usually find only italian sizes on the box. I think only Nike put all countries sizes on the boxes, for sure not Dior or Prada, neither Tod's.
I think you could find something if your size is 36/37, but if you are 38-40 you probably won't find anything. That's why I told you hardly find something and February is the worst month.
I guess you could find flats of Ferragamo for that price - do you mean the model with the bow and the signature? They are very cute! Would you mind to show me the link? I will research for you!
Unfortunately in Italy we don't have stores like NM or Saks or Selfridges. We have "La Rinascente" which sells LV in Milan but I don't think it sells LV in Rome. Anyway try to give a look, they have intimates of D&G, Armani and others, maybe you could find something on sale.
Well, in Rome you could find a lot of flagship stores! Velouria really knows Rome better than me so follow her tips and I agree with her, Rome really has a lot to see! I've been there 3/4 times in my life and still I'd love to back to see it again! It's gorgeous! I like it a loooot more than Florence! :yes:
Remember that italian stores usually are open 9,30-12,30 and 15,30-19.30 and closed on Monday morning and Sunday. Rome is the capital so many stores maybe does 9,30 or 10 to 19,30 or 20,00 but if you see small stores closed you know why. ;)
With your budget you can also buy (210 or 220 euro should be retail price) a pair of sneakers Prada american cup. They used to be very popular here and I had two pairs. Gucci's shoes are more expensive than your budget and at Gucci's you won't find anything after the first week of sales.



 
More input after reading Alice's new comment.
As she said, some department stores in Italy are still on the cheap side, which unfortunately also weights negatively on the quality. La Rinascente is upmarket and has plenty of nice stuff, but no LV in Rome: if you're interested in LV there are two boutiques in Rome, one in via Condotti and one in Piazza San Lorenzo in Lucina (they are both in the Spanish Steps area: via Condotti is the street that takes you from Spanish Steps to Via del Corso, you can't miss it. Hermes is there too!)

About opening times, good that Alice mentioned it! I lived in the UK for a while now and tend to forget some details. In the zone I am talking about stores will be open from around 9 am to around 8 pm.

On a slightly different note, we have plenty of malls and outlets away from the center, but I don't think you want to lock yourself up in an outlet while you are in Rome.

while you are there, be on the lookout for a clothing brand called Max&co. It's sort of a "young" Max Mara line and it is really delicious!
I used to dress almost exclusively that brand before I moved. They also have shoes.
 
Thank you both so much for all these suggestions! I'm writing them all down!

The Ferragamo flats I saw were these http://ferragamo.neimanmarcus.com/s...&cmCat=cat000000cat2702cat3001&index=3&tid=C9
Any idea how much they'd be in Italy?
I'll definitely be doing some sightseeing as well :yes:, that's the main reason I'm going there. But I live in Finland and shopping here isn't really that great, so I always take the time do some and to go see all the shops while I'm travelling. I can't wait to go!
 
This are not the ballerina I was talking about, I was able to find a photo only of those I am attaching. They are 230,00 euro. The ballerina I was talking about are the same as the photo but flats. I have never see Ferragamo for less that money.
The Ferragamo store is in Via Condotti. Tomorrow I'm going to do a shopping session of shoes, so I will tell you some prices of Marc Jacobs, Tod's and eventually Miu Miu and Sergio Rossi. I'm going to a store which carry all those brands, I will let you know!
 

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BTW those shoes are really really cute! :tup:
Beware of rain! I had a similar pair of Prada ballerina (paid 285,00 euro) and they get ruined because I had to walk under heavy rain!! sniff!! :sad:
 
Hi Lina! :smile:

Today I discovered a store which sells Ferragamo but it was closed!! I was shocked because it was in the historical center and closed for holiday... :confused1:
So I can't tell you about Ferragamo prices sorry. They also have few boxes so I guess most of shoes were sold out. There were only the flats with the bow, not your design. I tried to do my best and check from the window -> :ninja:

I can tell you about Marc Jacobs shoes. Marc by Marc Jacobs were 210,00 - with discount 126,00 euro.
Shoes by Marc Jacobs (the first line, not Marc by..) are 345,00 more or less. On discount they were -30%/-40%.
So I guess you can buy Marc by Marc Jacobs shoes with your budget. Also Prada sport shoes, they have also loafer (is it correct this name?) and ballerinas.

 
Thank you so much Alice! You have been very helpful!

I think what I'll do is, I'll go to the Ferragamo store and see their flats first, the Audrey Mary Janes I linked to and the bow ones you mentioned. I think I saw them in a magazine and they're very cute too! If they don't have them or they turn out to be too expensive, I'll check out the other ones you've suggested (TOD's, Marc by Marc Jacobs etc.).

Did you buy any shoes for yourself yesterday?
 
Yes Lina, I think you are going to do the right thing!
Maybe you still find something at TOD's on sale for 170 euro, but only if you have 36, maybe 37 and they still have sales.
I suggest you to take a look at Benetton, in the last days of sales they have all -70% they are not the best quality but I recommend you the cotton and cashmere if they are cheap - they are not luxory but with the discount you can get a cashmere for 30 euro and this is WOW! Stay away from their wool, it's not so good.
We have also many italian franchising store low cost (if you prefer to invest in shoes than cloths I understand :graucho:) like Motivi (cloths), Carpisa (bags), Intimissimi (underwear, their cotton is very good!) and many others. Pay attention to quality of cloths because I noticed there was a big down in the last 2 years. Benetton use to have great cotton tshirt for 13 euro (with long leg about 18 euro), it was great cotton that lasted for years but now it's not as good as it used to be, so don't spend too much money on cloths.
I agree with Velouria about Max&Co. but their cloths are more expensive than Benetton etc. Eventually, are you interested in cloths? Low cost or medium or high budget? I could tell you more in case !! :graucho:

Yes, I bought this:

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They were 345,00 euro but I paid them 210,00 euro. The discount was less than 210,00 euro but as I bought two pairs of shoes I've got a little extra discount. The other shoes are a present from my BF for Valentine's so they are at his house, their were 210 euro (Marc by Marc Jacos) and now are 120 euro, they are red flats.
But believe me, I was there right before the store opened, there were many 36/37 shoes but very few 39/40/41!
Forget to say that you can find boutique prices of Gucci and Dior on their italian websites! ;)
 
Those are beautiful shoes, Alice! And you got them at a great price!

We actually have Benetton over here and in general I don't like their clothes, either too young or too trendy or bad quality (like the wool you mentioned). But I do have one of their cashmere v-necks and I love it! I've had it for two years now and worn it a lot and it still looks as good as new! And it's oh-so-soft :smile: Getting one for 30€ would be fantastic so I'll definitely have a look when I'm there! Here they don't carry the cashmere sweaters that often. In fact, I've only seen them in the stores once and that's when I bought mine :smile:

Clothes? Well, I don't think I'll be doing much clothes shopping to be honest or bag shopping. I just bought a new bag from the Mulberry sale and am looking to buy a pair of boots plus those flats from Rome (and something small from Hermes), so I think I don't have any money left for clothes :smile: But if you know where I can get great bargains, please share! I tend to like the not-so-expensive designers and lines like Cacharel, Marc by MJ, See by Chloe, Tibi, Anna Sui etc.
 
Lina, I guess we have the same cashmere! :yes:
We have a lot of Benetton stores where I live because it's from my town! So I can always give a look to many stores and I've noticed there are store with ugly cloths and other with better cloths. I used to buy my cotton tshirt there, those with the short leg are great for the summer and 13 euro, while the long leg are 18,00 euro more or less. As I discovered they have all -70% on the last days I always wait to see some bargain! If I paid it such a small amount of money I don't care if it is going to last 1 year or more! :tup: I wish you could find something when you come, but Rome is a loooot bigger than where I live so I can't make a comparision!
Do you have Zara in Finland?
Cashmere is not popular in Finland?? I think it's great! So great to keep your self warm, I prefer it to the wool, the only problem is the price!
Have you ever take a look at www.luisaviaroma.it and www.yoox.it they are from Italy, I guess you could give a check at their prices to have more ideas! :nuts:
Well, if I was planning to buy something from Hermes I wouldn't really care about cloths, I totally understand you!!! :tup:
What would you like to get apart from the Salvatore's shoes? Describe, I'm curious!! :woohoo: