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Inside the hidden outlet stores of the world capital of fashion
Milan is renowned for high-end fashion, and its downtown Golden Quadrangle has perhaps the world’s greatest concentration of posh boutiques. But if Ferragamo and Cerutti are beyond your budget, there are more reasonably priced alternatives
You don’t have to abandon fashion labels. While you’ll still need a fattish wallet, DMAG Fashion Designer Outlet sells last season’s designer duds from the likes of Prada and Gucci at prices that sometimes reach 70 per cent off
InIl Salvagente or The Life Saver you can also rummage for last season’s fine threads and shoes. You’ll find everything from frothy Versace ball gowns to wedge-heels by Ferragamo. Men’s clothes hide on the second floor
There are several other blochisti or stockhouses where locals go when they need that special suit or dress for a significant event. They sit in unglamorous, spartan buildings and the clothes are often unsorted, but determined hunting will yield goods at a fraction of their original cost
Be aware, however, that few blochisti bother with changing rooms, so don your best underwear and be prepared to strip off in the aisles
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L’Arnmadio di Laura (25 has last season’s designs and clothes discarded by actors and industrialists. Your Aramani suit might be pre-loved, but you’ll end up looking like a supermodel
L’Officina delle Fate (41 has unusual vintage clothes, and particularly beautifully preserved wedding dresses from the early 19th century through to the 1970s
Cavalli E Nastri is packed with racks of multi-hued clothes from so many famous designers – and all in seemingly mint condition – that you feel they ought to be hanging in museums. There are also drawers full of costume jewellery, handbags, shoes and scarves
Discounted designer clothes are a bargain for some but still expensive for others. Milan has plenty of mid-range alternatives, however
Department storeLa Rinascente (Piazza del Duomo 3), where a young Giorgio Armani honed his fashion sense as a window decorator, has well-priced clothes and classy household goods. The top-floor café has pigeon-eye city views
Corso Buenos Aires near the train station is the place to go for affordable fashion, but you’ll need sharp elbows on a Saturday when crowds are daunting. The street has several department stores, as well as street-market stalls piled with designer knockoffs
A good Saturday morning market operates along ially worthwhile for cashmere and leather goods
Finally, if you visit Milan in mid-January or July, you can get sales bargains of up to 50 per cent off. At any time, you can reclaim Italy’s stiff 22 per cent value-added tax when you depart through immigration, so don’t forget to ask stores for the appropriate forms
And of course, no need to tell anyone back home that you got that special something for less than a hundred euros
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Brian Johnston seemed destined to become a travel writer: he is an Irishman born in Nigeria and raised in Switzerland, who has lived in Britain and China and now calls Australia home.
