Accessory shopping in Europe
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Ibiz – Artigianato in Cuoio
In this pint-sized workshop, Elisa Nepi and her father craft exquisite, well-priced leather goods, including wallets, bags, belts and sandals, in simple but classy designs and myriad colours. With €40 you should be able to pick up a wallet, purse or pair of sandals.
reviewed
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Iñaki Sampedro
Arguably Spain’s most colourful and innovative collection of hand-painted handbags and other accessories are available at this wonderful little shop. They’re not cheap, but are unmistakably Spanish and superstylish.
reviewed
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Il Pavone di Fabio Pelosin
Baccalà mantecato (Venice’s signature fish pâté) is bound to come out better when captured in a handmade recipe book stamped with Venetian Gothic architectural patterns. Il Pavone’s recipe books, travel logs and day planners are printed with traces of metallic pigments, but don’t just judge them by their shimmering covers. Inside they’re well organised with tabs and headings for meal planning, trip highlights and upcoming birthdays.
reviewed
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Società Abbigliamento Rappresentanze Tessuti (SART)
In a gentleman’s quest for sartorial splendour, when only the finest Italian cloth will do, the address to know is SART, hidden away off the courtyard of a grand palazzo that also houses Rome’s venerable hunting club. Walk through the porter’s office and you’ll find the entrance to the right of the courtyard. There are rolls of lavish wools, linens and cottons, and you can pick up cashmere jumpers to complete your look.
reviewed
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Davinia Design
Less is more at this working studio of simple, dramatic Murano brick-red glass pendants and cufflinks that look like tiny sea urchins clinging to your wrists. You’ll usually find transplanted Belgian artisan Davinia at work here fashioning clever, understated daisy stud earrings that look more elegant but cost less than flowery fantasias you’ll find around Piazza San Marco – there’s a good range from €19 to €37.
reviewed
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Gil
You don’t see them much these days, but the exquisite fringed and embroidered mantones and mantoncillos (traditional Spanish shawls worn by women on grand occasions) and delicate mantillas (Spanish veils) are stunning and uniquely Spanish gifts. Gil also sells abanicos (Spanish fans). Inside this dark shop, dating back to 1880, the sales clerks still wait behind a long counter to attend to you; the service hasn’t changed in years and that’s no bad thing. Our only complaint? Kitsch tourist souvenirs (T-shirts and the like) have made an appearance here.
reviewed
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Louis Vuitton
Forget handbags. The star turn at Rome's latest Louis Vuitton store is a show-stopping, plasma-screen staircase. Based on a concept by New York-based architect Peter Marino (and looking like it's straight off a Madonna concert set),this visual tour de force transforms itself from psychedelic snake to technicolour torrent in seconds. For the full effect, head in after hours when the stairs are free of clutter and at their hi-tech best.
reviewed
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Fiona Bennett
Local lass Fiona Bennett creates stunning millinery for women and men who know the worth of topping off a good outfit with not so much a fashion statement as an exclamation point. Styles vary from practical-but-pretty berets to elaborate confections reminiscent of the golden age of Hollywood (and very cute lozenge-like straw pieces that resemble tropical fruit). Men can choose anything from flat caps or deerstalkers to coloured bowlers.
reviewed
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Margerie
Big silver studs wind their way over the smooth, stout leather in sky-blue or blood-red handbags. Some are shaped like fish or hearts, others are cuddly soft, still more are draped in great golden ribbons. Flower motifs abound. A key note is the almost childlike happy feeling they exude and much the same can be said of the chunky necklaces (again often with big, bright flowers, or even pompoms) and stuffed felt pins with sequins.
reviewed
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Monocle Shop
Run by the people behind the design and international current affairs magazine Monocle, this shop is pure understated heaven. True, most things cost more than many spend in a year, but if you’re a fan of minimalist, quality design across the board (there are bicycles, clothes, bags and so on), you won’t regret dropping in. Beautifully bound first editions are on sale here, as well as stunning photography.
reviewed
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Lunic
The eye is unfailingly attracted to this corner shop, with its lipstick-red walls and sanded white furniture. All about hangs an eclectic collection of handbags, from glaring red leather to more modest hues, with broad appeal. Daring ladies’ hats offer further inspiration. Those in search of light summer dresses, in a seemingly limitless variety of colours but mostly straightforward in style, have come to the right place.
reviewed
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Monica Daniele
Ms Daniele is a hatter with a hint of madness. Hats pile up in crooked towers on the counter, behind the windows and in boxes on shelves. There's no room to swing a cat for all the hats: straw hats, floppy hats, fluffy hats, sun hats, berets and bonnets! And just to unnerve you a little, there hangs the odd example of the heavy woollen Venetian cape (that few Venetians wear anymore) known as the tabarro.
reviewed
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Tatty Devine
Duo Harriet Vine and Rosie Wolfenden make hip and witty jewellery that’s become the favourite of many young Londoners. Their original designs feature record earrings and plectrum bracelets (that high-street stores have ripped off since), pea necklaces, knitted stilettos, and key rings that look like crinkle-cut crisps. Perspex name necklaces (made to order; £25) are also a treat.
reviewed
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Mario Pelle
Ring the bell at this unassuming doorway and hurry up flights of stairs to a family-run leather workshop that feels like it hasn’t changed for decades. The elderly artisans create belts (€70 to €100), watch straps (€40 to €90), bags, picture frames, travel cases and other such elegant stuff. You can take along a buckle or watch to which you want a belt or strap fitted.
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Furla
Sleek, durable leather and sleek, durable designs make Furla handbag fetishes easy to rationalise - especially with prices starting under €100. Recent objects of desire include large ultracontemporary chocolate or vanilla totes with round buckle closures for around €190, and a timeless silver clutch with embossed Islamic star pattern for €85.
reviewed
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Antonia Accessori
New-breed buyer Antonia Giancinti’s eponymous boutique mixes locals like Bottega Veneta with international labels like Lam, Lavin, Biba and McCartney in an urban, monochrome space that echoes her Carrie Bradshaw-ish aesthetic. Antonia Accessori displays the same brash zeitgeistiness. Trust her, she’s a self-proclaimed shoe-victim (and she’s not talking bunions).
reviewed
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Vlieger
Since 1869 this well-organised two-storey shop has been supplying upmarket paper to Amsterdam: Egyptian papyrus; lush handmade papers from Asia and Central America; papers inlaid with flower petals or bamboo; and paper textured to look like snake skin. They also sell indestructible Freitag messenger bags (to safely tote away all that paper on your bike?).
reviewed
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Oxo Tower
The Oxo Tower was originally built as a power station and then later used as a cold store for the beef that was boiled up to make Oxo stock cubes. Today it contains an upscale shopping arcade, with two floors of bijou craft and fashion shops and an exclusive restaurant looking out from the 8th floor (predictably, you pay a premium for the view).
reviewed
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James Smith & Sons
‘Outside every silver lining is a big black cloud’, claim the cheerful owners of this quintessential English shop. Nobody makes and stocks such elegant umbrellas, walking sticks and canes as this traditional place and, thanks to bad English weather, they’ll hopefully do great business for years to come.
reviewed
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Dazu
Lui Gerdes designs big, sturdy bags that trade under the tongue-in-cheek label ‘IchIchIch’ (MeMeMe) and are sold in this little showroom/shop. Each bag is handmade, colourful and unique, and most are from the same basic material: truck tarpaulin. You can make an appointment outside opening hours, and ask about custom designs.
reviewed
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Mandarina Duck
Nice try, Tumi and Samsonite: Mandarina Duck still does the streamlined look best, in space-age fabrics, offbeat colours, and striking shapes with rounded edges. Instead of perching atop pedestals, these bags are displayed slung across furniture, just like back home - only there's probably no scrounging for change in these designer sofas.
reviewed
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Bagage
This little store is stacked floor to ceiling with all the latest designs by local and international labels such as Crumpler, Leonca and Kultbag. Materials of choice include recycled rubber, air mattresses and even GDR-era postal sacks, which are turned into innovative designs, capturing the city’s individualistic spirit nicely.
reviewed
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Sermoneta
Buying leather gloves in Rome is a rite of passage for some, and its most famous glove-seller is the place to do it. Choose from a kaleidoscopic range of quality leather and suede gloves lined with silk and cashmere. An expert assistant will size up your hand in a glance. Just don’t expect them to smile.
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Mode Rosa
Rosa Langer started this tiny hat shop in 1940, a fact that’s reflected in the timeless quality and styles of the toppers on offer. In 2008 she handed over management of the shop to the next generation, who have added a few items of clothing to the repertoire, but it’s still all about cute, cool and classy hats.
reviewed
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La Cravatta su Misura Accessories
With ties draped over the wooden furniture, this inviting shop resembles the study of an absent-minded professor. But don’t be fooled: these guys know their ties. Only the finest Italian silks and English wools are used in neckwear made to customers’ specifications. At a push, a tie can be ready in a few hours.
reviewed