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Bookàbar
A cool place simply to hang out in, this stunning Firouz Galdo-designed bookshop/bar stocks drool-worthy tomes (art, architecture, design and film), DVDS, CDs and design-savvy gifts. Part of the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, it has its own street entrance on Via Milano.
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Borgo Parioli Market
Parioli is Rome's most expensive residential area and its weekend market is a hot date on the capital's monthly shopping calendar. Among the often-expensive bric-a-brac you'll find original jewellery and accessories from the 1950s onwards, silverware, paintings, antique lamps and old gramophones.
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Borini
City girls in the know pile into this unglitzy shop to try on the cool, candy-coloured shoes. Whatever is fashionable this season, be it wedge heels or winklepickers, Borini will have it, at reasonable prices and in a cover-every-eventuality rainbow palette.
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Botega Di Commercio Equo E Solide
Inside the enlightened Città dell'Altra Economia (City of the Other Economy), Bottega di Commercio Equo e Solidale sells eco-friendly threads, accessories and designer recyclables such as funky lolly-wrapper handbags, milk carton purses and lamps made from classic Italian caffetiere (espresso makers).
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Brighenti
You can imagine Sophia Loren popping into this elegant old-fashioned boutique for a well-structured something. Brighenti specialises in star-style luxurious lingerie - think frothy ruffled playsuits and lace-adorned slippers - and sensational too-good-to-get-wet swimming costumes.
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Brioni
Venerable Brioni, all polished wood and gold leaf, has been dressing the world's finest bodies since la dolce vita . Cary Grant was a customer and Pierce Brosnan had himself fitted here for his role as James Bond. Unsurprisingly, the bespoke clothes are expensive: reckon on more than around €2000 for a suit, or around €1300 for a silk skirt.
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Buccone
Step inside, under the faded gilt and mirrored sign, and feel like you've gone back in time. Once a coach-house, then a tavern, in the 1960s this building became Buccone, furnished with 19th-century antiques and lined with around 1000 Italian wines as well as a good selection of international tipples. You can eat here too.
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Bulgari
If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it. Luckily, the sumptuous window displays mean you can admire the world's finest jewellery without spending a centesimo .
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Calzature Boccanera
This old-fashioned Testaccio shoe store stocks big designer names at big designer prices. With a great range of men's and women's footwear, here you'll find Tod's, Gucci, Prada and D&G, among others. It's particularly worth a look at sale time.
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Campo Marzio Design
This shop is hard to pass by: step in to revitalise your accessories or pick up a present. You'll find leather-bound notebooks, handbags and folders in Pop Art colours, and gift-worthy pens in myriad colours and designs.
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Carry-On
Carry-On is the place to upgrade your luggage, with a good selection of designer bags. Classics include tan-leather satchels by The Bridge and map-printed Alviero Martini handbags; for more rugged needs there are tough Samsonite suitcases. To fill them, you can also buy leather slippers, boxes and hip flasks.
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Casali
Via dei Coronari's shops mostly specialise in antique furniture or marble, but Casali deals in antique prints, many delicately hand-coloured. The shop is small, but the choice is not, ranging from 16th-century botanical manuscripts to around €3 postcard prints of Rome.
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Casamaria
It looks like any old profumerie (perfume shop), but it's been plying its trade for almost a century, and stocks all the leading cosmetic brands and hundreds of lesser-known names. Straining shelves line the shop like an old-fashioned pharmacy, while the knowledgeable staff show admirable athleticism in scaling the towering ladders.
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Castroni
Castroni is a glorious food shop with a wonderful array of Italian sweets: marron glacés, and the like. It's famous for its selection of otherwise impossible-to-find reminders of home. Aussies will find Vegemite, Brits Marmite etc. There's also a good café here. There are smaller branches at Via Ottaviano and Via Flaminio 28.
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Centro Russia Ecumenica Il Messaggio Dell'icona
One person's holy icon is another's religious kitsch. Either way, the glittery collection of Byzantine-style icons and prayer cards make great original souvenirs, whether you're buying for God-fearing nonna or postmodern pals.
Read more about Centro Russia Ecumenica Il Messaggio Dell'icona
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Città Del Sole
A parent's dream - Città del Sole is a treasure-trove of imaginative and well-made toys that are educational and creative. With few electronic gadgets in sight, this is the place to remember the toys you played with as a kid and stock up for Christmas. There's another branch at Via Buonarroti 6 (06 489 30 292), near Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II.
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Città Dell'altra Economia
There are two retail outlets inside the enlightened Città dell'Altra Economia (City of the Other Economy): stocks organic, fair-trade food and wine.
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Claudio Sanò
Fancy a fish-shaped handbag or a moustached briefcase? San Lorenzo artisan Claudio Sanò is the Salvador Dalí of leather, transforming mundane everyday accessories into quirky life-like creations. They're not cheap, but masterpieces seldom are.
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COIN
Like a small-scale cousin of John Lewis, COIN is a dependable choice. It's a large department store stocking good-quality, sensible clothing and accessories, cosmetics and an appealing range of homewares. Another branch exists at Via Cola di Rienzo 173 (06 360 04 298).
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Comics Bazar
Not a comic in sight - rather, this attic-like treasure-trove is crammed to its rafters with expensive antiques. Wade through the lamps that hang everywhere like jungle creepers and you'll find furniture dating from the 19th century to the 1940s, including a large selection of Viennese furniture by Thonet. It's difficult to spot the shop assistant among it all.
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Confetteria Moriondo & Gariglio
Breathe in deeply as you enter the rich-red interior of this historic confectioner's, which resembles something from a storybook. Rows of handmade chocolates and bonbons (more than 80 varieties) lie in ceremonial splendour in old-fashioned glass cabinets. Moriondo and Gariglio were Turinese cousins who moved to Rome after the unification of Italy, and many of the recipes used today have been handed down from the 19th century.
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Contesta Rock Hair
Minimalist-style, neon rods and a disco ball set the scene for clued-up guys and girls looking for edgy threads. Snap up in-the-know indie labels such as Italy's PHCY and Australia's Insight and Spacecraft, as well as odd-ball extras such as knitted Mexican wrestling masks.
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Davide Cenci
If your look is immaculate conservative elegance (blazers, slacks and brogues in summer; tweed and flannels in winter) and you never get creased, you'll love Davide Cenci. This store carries a selection of top Italian and international labels - such as Tod's and Ralph Lauren - for men, women and children.
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De Bach
Squeezed between the big-name outlets, De Bach sells glittering shoes for girls with attitude. Six-inch stiletto-heeled sandals in gold and silver are not for the faint-hearted but, hell, lady, you're the boss.
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Diesel
Diesel, purveyor of low-slung jeans and inventive, clubby clothes, is an Italian brand, and its Roman flagship store has a good selection of what makes the self-consciously hip hordes keep coming back. There are branches at Via del Babuino 94 (06 693 80 053) and Via Cola di Rienzo 245.
