Rome’s Gucci store on Via dei Condotti, as photographed by scalleja

Rome, city of the Colosseum, the Vatican, and some of the most coveted art in the world, is also a well-known fashion center. Why not do as the Romans do, and snag a few fabulous—and free—haute couture shopping bags, before you head home?

Pack a bag

As Cheapos, we can’t exactly advocate an indulgent spending spree, but we can advise you to keep those glossy shopping bags, if such a spree should occur. (Hey, we’re all human, right?) The homeland of Armani, Prada, Versace, Dolce and Gabbana, and Gucci offers some of the snazziest fashions in Europe and most purchases come in fancy bags with pristine packaging.

Via dei Condotti is one of the richest streets in Italy and boasts the stores, and glossy bags to prove it. This is where to find the big names listed above. On Via del Corso, which runs through the historic city center of Rome, you’ll find Ferrari and Swarovski crystal while Piazza Navona is the best place for gallery-hopping and antique browsing. An “ingresso gratuito” sign in the window is your signal to poke around for free. A “saldi” sign means there’s a sale going on.

Cheapo tip: Find the least expensive item in a designer shop and buy it: think keychain, a towel, baby booties, or even a pen or pencil. The cheapest wares still come in pretty packaging and are easiest to pack. Back home, we’ve been known to carry a small, paper Gucci bag as a lunch sack. And, ribbons from sweet, haute-worthy packages make great hair ties!

While you’re at it…

Don’t forget the outlets! Rome is known for its factory warehouses full of discounted designer duds. We recommend you check out Fashion District Valmonte, just 45 minutes east of Rome’s city center, which boasts 150 designer shops (Calvin Klein, Pierre Cardin, and Sisley to name a few) and is Italy’s self-proclaimed “largest shopping project.” For directions and coupons for the outlet, visit Valmonte’s web site.

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photograph courtesy of Tour Magazine

We were psyched to get a reminder from Gridskipper that the Parisian city-wide “soldes” sales event will be in effect January 9-20. A government regulated program, Paris slashes prices (anywhere from 30-50 percent off) on clothing and the like twice a year, once in January (”soldes d’hiver”) and again during the summer months (”soldes d’été”). From big retailers like Galeries Lafayette to smaller boutique chains like Agatha, you can expect to get your mitts on some haute stuff for cooler prices.

But, for cheapos out there, here’s the best news of all:

Because the annual retail sales are such a big tourism draw, the Chamber of Commerce along with the Tourist Office of Paris and a few other government orgs join forces each year to present, “Soldes By Paris,” an event involving some 1,500 retailers, 500 hotels and restaurants and a whole lot more.

For about two weeks, participating hotels drop their rates, while restaurants and museums offer special promotions. This year, the SNCF—French National Railway—and other transportation authorities will offer discounts too.

To learn more, visit the official “Soldes By Paris” site.

An interactive map allows you to search for discounts and events by personality type (romantic, chic, trendy, creative or original). Unsure just where you fall in? Take the quiz. This resident cheapo scored a hefty “romantic” score that deemed her Amélie-like (“You can’t do without these chance meetings that are so Parisian and charming.” How did they know?) and suggested we visit Monoprix for our big shopping (hey, we’re solde on any store that sells both skirts and steaks!).

Among other recommendations the site gave for Audrey Tautou artists:

For hotels: 48 participating hotels and guesthouses will offer discounts to tourists in the “romance circuit.”

For art: The contemporary Galerie Hebert on the Rue du Pont Louis Philippe in the Marais.

Going out: The site dishes up kick-off events, including free or reduced prices at cinemas and parties at bars like L’Irlandais.

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Photo by JamesWallis

Cheapo shoppers, be warned: the weather in Paris this spring was unseasonably cool—apart from that burst of heat over Easter—and many stores have reported disappointing sales. This is great news for us as it means only one thing: fantastic markdowns in the sales starting on June 27.

At this time of the year, Parisian women are busy scoping out the stores for what they intend to buy once the sales get started. Precision targeting is the name of their game. Decide exactly what you want to buy and then hover patiently in the third week of June for the “pre-sale” discounts that are usually handed out by the shopkeepers who know they must clear their stock by mid-July. The other day we were were told in a shoe store that there was an “exceptional” discount of €15 on any pair of shoes that day.

A great place to max out your sale leverage is to shop at the outlet stores for your favourite brands. These places already have 30 to 60 percent markdowns on items left over from last season. When the sales roll around you get an extra 30 to 50 percent off. That’s a great deal in any currency.

Check out the Zadig and Voltaire outlet in the Marais, for instance. Zadig and Voltaire is one of the staples (along with brands like A.P.C., Isabelle Marant, Comptoir des Cotonniers, and Vanessa Bruno) of the fashionable Parisian’s wardrobe. You can find their famed loose cashmere sweaters in muted tones of moss, plum, and chocolate as well as a chic line for girls under 12 called Zadig and Voltaire Little for girls up to age 12. Cecilia Sarkozy, France’s First Lady and leading fashion icon, was wearing a pair of white Zadig trousers on election victory night last month.

Le stock Zadig et Voltaire is located at 22 rue du Bourg Tibourg, 4th. M° Hotel de Ville.

Popularity: 8% [?]