Shop Italian Fashion for Your Next Vacation!

Shop Italian Fashion for Your Next Vacation! 

Best Kathy Twitter Pic edited for blog  Follow Caterina and shop Italian in the Conversational Italian for Travelers series of books!

The Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook begins each chapter with a dialogue from a story about the character Caterina, an American girl who travels to Italy to visit her relatives. As the story continues from one chapter to the next, we learn Italian, and about Italy, in an engaging way through Caterina’s experiences.

Visit Italy and Shop Italian Fashion 

After Caterina settles into the routine of daily life with her family in Italy, her sister-in-law, Francesca, decides that they should go shopping. Although Francesca has grocery shopping in mind, Caterina would rather shop Italian at the many beautiful, fashionable shops that line the streets of Milan! To listen to this dialogue from Chapter 10 about Caterina and Francesca’s afternoon spent shopping in Milan, go to the interactive dialogues on our website at Learn Travel Italian Audio Dialogues. The Cultural Note below, also from the textbook, gives some important information about Italian sizes, for YOUR next shopping spree in Italy. Buon divertimento!
—Kathryn Occhipinti


 

Visit Italy and Shop Italian!

Rome shop window
Shop window in Rome advertising an up to 50% discount in July

When visiting Italy, one encounters wonderful shops that sell everything imaginable. In most cities, beautiful, stylish clothing made by well-known designers hangs in the shop windows of the grand boulevards and larger piazzas. Think Via Monte Napoleone in Milan or the Piazza di Spagna in Rome. Now that the fall season is upon us, the cooler weather will bring with it the exciting new Italian fashions of the season.

But maybe even more important for the shopper is what happens at the end of the fashion season in Italy. Usually in late June and July, corresponding to the height of the tourist season, it seems like almost all Italian fashion is on sale! Many clothing stores offer steep discounts, usually up to 50% throughout most of the store. Look for the signs in the shop windows that say “saldi” for sale or “sconto” for discount. Late summer is a shopper’s paradise in Italy for those who love fashion!

But one must be prepared to shop Italian. Sizes in Italy are different from those in the United States and from those in other European countries. How does one know what size clothing to bring to the dressing room? Also, when talking about Italian style, it should be mentioned that there are still dedicated craftsmen who make high-quality leather goods. There is such a dazzling variety of shoes in the shop windows that it is always tempting to buy a pair to bring home. But what size to tell the shopkeeper to get?

The tables that follow list European and Italian sizes and how they (roughly) correspond to the sizes in the United States.

Please note that this is only a general guide, and it is best to always try on any item of clothing before making a purchase!

Women’s Dress Sizes

General U.S. Size American European Italian
Extra Small 2 32 36
Small 4 34 38
Small 6 36 40
Medium 8 38 42
Medium 10 40 44
Large 12 42 46
Large 14 44 48
Extra Large 16 46 50

 

Women’s Blouse and Sweater Sizes

General U.S. Size American European Italian
Extra Small 32 34 40
Small 34 36 42
Small 36 38 44
Medium 38 40 46
Large 40 42 48
Large 42 44 50
Extra Large 44 46 52

 

Women’s and Men’s Shoe Sizes*

American Shoe Sizes (inches) 5 ½ 6 6 ½ 7 7 ½ 8 8 ½ 9 9 ½ 10 10 ½
European/Italian Women’s Shoe Sizes 35 ½ 36 36 ½ 37 37 ½ 38 38 ½ 39
European/Italian Men’s Shoe Sizes 37 37 ½ 38 38 ½ 39 40 41 41 ½ 42 42 ½ 43

*Hint: Subtract 30 from European shoe sizes to get the equivalent of the American size for women’s shoe sizes 5 to 9.

 

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For men’s clothing, Italian sizes and European sizes have an identical numbering system, although the fit of the clothing that corresponds to this numbering system is only loosely standardized. As usual, trying on clothing before purchasing is the best policy!

Men’s Shirt and Pant Sizes**

General U.S. Size American European Italian General Italian Size
2X Extra Small 32 42 42 Small
Extra Small 34 44 44 Medium
Small 36 46 46 Large
Medium 38 48 48 Extra Large
Large 40 50 50 2X Extra Large
Extra Large 42 52 52 3X Extra Large

**Hint: Just subtract 10 from the European shirt and pant sizes to get the American sizes.

 

Men’s Dress Shirt Sizes

General U.S. Size American European Italian General Italian Size
2X Extra Small 14.5 37 37 Small
Extra Small 15 38 38 Medium
Small 15.5 39 39 Large
Medium 15.8 40 40 Extra Large
Large 16 41 41 2X Extra Large
Extra Large 17 42 42 3X Extra Large

 

Men’s Suit Sizes

General U.S. Size American European Italian General Italian Size
2X Extra Small 36 48 48 Small
Extra Small 38 50 50 Medium
Small 40 52 52 Large
Medium 42 54 54 Extra Large
Large 44 56 56 2X Extra Large
Extra Large 46 58 58 3X Extra Large

 —Adapted from Conversational Italian for Travelers, Chapter 10, “Cultural Note,” © 2012 by Stella Lucente, LLC, by Kathryn Occhipinti 

 

Best Kathy Twitter Pic edited for blog—Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, is the author of the
Conversational Italian for Travelers series of books and a teacher of
Italian for travelers to Italy in the Peoria and Chicago area.
“Everything you need to know to enjoy your visit to Italy!”

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Visit learntravelitalian.com/download.html to purchase/download Conversational Italian for Travelers and find more interesting facts and helpful hints about getting around Italy! Learn how to buy train tickets online, how to make international and local telephone calls, and how to decipher Italian coffee names and restaurant menus, all while gaining the basic understanding of Italian that you will need to know to communicate easily and effectively while in Italy. —From the staff at Stella Lucente, LLC

Shop Italian Fashion for Your Next Vacation