I am sipping tea in the penthouse apartment of a converted monastery while gazing out the window at the rustic rooftops in rural Italy.
I spent the morning shopping for designer clothes, pausing only to savour a cappuccino and the sight of Italian men downing espresso with masterful elegance. After a beachside lunch of delicious fresh tomatoes and mozzarella I enjoyed a well-earned siesta, and this evening I'll sample the local Italian cuisine al fresco at an intimate trattoria perched in the hills offering spectacular views of the sunset over the mountains. Thanks to the coffee, I'm wide awake and ready for action. I'm on a Shopaholics Tour - an Italian holiday tailor-made for women who love to shop, run by my new best friend, Sally Hamilton.
Sally moved to Italy four years ago and now runs an online boutique specialising in exclusive, Italian-made clothing and accessories (www.selandarisitaliancollection.com). With a gift for discovering designer outlets and traditional artisans in hidden corners of the Italian countryside, her latest innovation is the fashion addict's tour of central Italy's best-kept shopping secrets.
The tour includes three nights accommodation in a hilltop monastery or a poolside villa in Le Marche, in central Italy, and two days of chauffeur-driven shopping at designer fashion outlets including Prada and Armani. After being collected at Ancona airport, shopaholics can relax in Sant'Angelo in Pontano, a sleepy rural village a short drive from the Sibillini Mountains and National Park. Over dinner in a charming local restaurant Sally determines your budget and your favourite designers before planning your tour.
Stunning craftsmanship
Le Marche is home to artisans who follow traditional methods in producing handmade Italian bags, hats and shoes. Exquisite attention to detail is their hallmark and they design and manufacture their products in the very same buildings in which they're sold. Visiting an artisan is the best way to get your hands on unique Italian luxury items at a fraction of the prices charged by larger designer retailers.
If bags are your fashion poison, visit Torresi (www.torresi.com), a family firm that has been in business for 40 years. I was treated to an exclusive glimpse of the family at work. Holding up his calloused hands as evidence of the unrivalled quality of his bags, Torresi showed me the delicious-smelling spools of Italian leather from which he cuts the pieces for each bag, by hand, using nothing more than a scalpel and his sharp eye.
Torresi designs and makes bags for leading Italian fashion houses but it also sells an exclusive selection in the small shop beneath its factory. But you'd have a better chance of finding a needle in a haystack than happening upon Torresi without Sally's help. Discovering this Aladdin's cave of exquisite, one-off Italian designs beats shopping on the high-street, handbags down.
Sorbatti (www.sorbatti.it) in the picturesque village of Montappone is the place to go for luxurious Italian headgear, from beautiful hand-made silk fascinators and Panama hats to cashmere berets and baseball caps. In the factory shop you can try on anything that takes your fancy and get measured to find the perfect hat for any occasion.
At Bid (www.bidhandmade.com), makers of distinctive Italian leather shoes and accessories, I glimpsed a preview of next year's collection and was suddenly grateful for airline hand-luggage restrictions. Without that to prevent me from inflicting serious damage to my credit card, I'd have happily bought enough shoes to open my own shop. Prices start at €89 (Dh450) for delightfully quirky handmade shoes.
The Manas outlet (www.manas.com) is nothing short of shoe haven. You'll find killer heels for as little as €59. Good news for those with dainty feet is that Manas makes samples in a size five and then sells them off for €25 to €40. I found stunning knee-height leather gladiator sandals for €25 that would ordinarily be beyond my budget. The luxurious leather cummerbund-style wrap belts for just €29 are also an affordable indulgence.
A hungry shopper's delight
No dedicated shopaholic's day is complete without regular pitstops to refuel, and Kaldo Fashion Café (www.kaldocafe.it) is the place to do it. For those seeking inspiration, consider this your school. The café is the best place to people-watch but expect to be subjected to unforgiving head-to-toe scrutiny from passing fashionistas.
The aroma of coffee as you walk through the doors is enough to make you faint with pleasure, as is the sight of immaculately dressed Italians striding in for their caffeine fix. You can fill a lunch bowl with an array of mouth-watering salads - and breads - including crostini, mozzarella, ricotta, sun-dried tomatoes, olives and stuffed courgette for the grand total of €4 or €9 depending on your appetite. Try working your way through the vast coffee menu, which bedecks an entire wall.
After your caffeine fix, check out Docksteps, which offers an impressively wide range of leading Italian shoe brands at discount prices from the ubiquitous Bikkembergs for style-conscious men, starting at €99, to gorgeous wooden-soled slip-ons by Miss D for women from €27, reduced from €89. And for those brave souls - or should that be soles - who still think Crocs are acceptable fashion statements, check out sandals by Lofu for €19. They offer Crocs-like comfort with a special Italian something extra in the style stakes.
Vella is another must-see, with a wide range of designer brands and styles under one roof, and a discount outlet tucked at the back. It stocks Calvin Klein handbags and belts with a 30 per cent discount and a distinctive range of La Martina bags plus quirky novelty handbags resembling everything from cakes to a tin of sardines.
At the Tod's outlet, the famous Classic D handbag (so named because Princess Diana was a fan) can be yours for €495, normally €890. The newly restyled D bag was also reduced from €775 to €495 while a pair of Tod's can grace your feet for as little as €75.
The Prada outlet is refreshingly unpretentious. Bedecked with mirrored pillars, the expansive floorspace teems with beautiful people and suited security guards but it doesn't feel intimidating. No one stopped me drooling over a full-length leather coat with a €800 price tag. Jeans and trousers are the real bargains here, down to between €50 and €80, from €100 to €155. Beautiful classic tea dresses were half price at €100. Most stores accept credit cards but coffee bars and small, independent retailers appreciate cash, and it could get you further discounts. Haggling is acceptable, and Sally is an expert at this.
Many shops close for lunch but stay open until 8pm so head out early and relax between 1pm and 4pm.
Paying the price for faking it
Le Marche is a safe, unspoilt part of Italy, and you don't need to worry about finding yourself too far off the beaten track. There aren't any real ‘no-go' areas, although Sally advises avoiding some of the smaller boutiques and town markets where things might be over-priced or imported. Check labels to ensure items are made in Italy and if you suspect a fake, remember that tourists can be fined up to €7,000 for buying counterfeit designer goods.
Wear comfortable shoes but keep in mind you'll blend in if you wear heels. They're a safe option as you'll be driven between the shops. But you won't look out of place in flip flops or flats, as long as they're not tatty and your toes have seen some TLC.
Shopping in Italy is like therapy for shopaholics. Charming architecture and fields full of olives and sunflowers are the perfect antidote to the changing-room blues. If your spirits lag, the unmistakable scent of tree-lined streets and a strong espresso are sure to revive you. Lively, friendly Italian banter is your soundtrack and at dusk the streets fill with impassioned debate as people emerge from inside where they've been seeking sanctuary from the sun. I loved falling asleep to the sound of earnest, excitement-filled conversations rising up through the windows of the monastery.
Shopping is a serious national pastime in Italy but Italians in this corner of the country don't take themselves too seriously.
Staff in the local shops are achingly stylish but eminently approachable and helpful and you definitely won't feel out of place if you can't speak the language or if you don't yet possess that effortlessly elegant look that is quintessentially Italian. After three days of shopping with Sally, I guarantee you will.
Lufthansa has the shortest flight to Ancona with a stop in Munich. Return tickets are about $797.90 (Dh2,928)
