The Milan Fall 08 Shoe Fair

The tradeshow is probably one the least exciting aspects of my trip to Milan. I've been going twice a year since the Kris + Cris Shoes store started. The footwear fair has moved from it's old digs to far out in the burbs of Milan. It's a pretty long trip out. I have some key brands that I make it a point to visit everytime.

Not all the business of buying is in the tradeshows. I'll go to the brands showrooms themselves and view some of the coming footwear fashions. I was at Paciotti to do just that. As you can imagine their entrance is stunning. Most of the major players are just found off Via Spiaga.

Spring 08 Fashions in Milan's Windows

The world comes to shop Milan. They come for the name brands and their flagship stores. There's an intense competition to have all the newest goods and to display them to their greatest affect. I was in Gucci looking for a bag for a girlfriend. The bag had just come out in Vancouver and she was hoping to get it cheaper in Italy. The salesperson almost scoffed at me, apparently the style is old and not in production anymore. It was old news in Milan already

When I wasn't working I was shopping. When the shops are open, I'd be rushing into the stores to try on the fashions. Just like any girl with a fashion addiction, I focused on shoes and handbags. In the evenings when the shops had closed, I found myself still window shopping well into the evening. The colours for spring are vibrant yellows and pinks and the displays were exciting.

Here are some of the best windows I saw wandering around Milan. The amount of energy that goes into their displays are astounding. Most shops said their displays changed weekly, not just the clothes but the whole display! I visited LV, Gucci, Prada, Miu Miu, Cavalli, Dolce & Gabbanna, Dior, Fendi, Bottega Venata and Chanel (probably a lot more). All these shops are within one block of each other. Some brands like Gucci and Prada have 3 shops each on the same one block strip. The fashions are the most current items in Milan. Sadly, it'll be ages before we see it as normal fashions for us here in Vancouver.

Most of the pictures were taken in the Montenapoleone, Spiga, Duomo and Torino areas.

Click the slide show to see all 137 photos (yes there were a lot of windows!)

Milan's Best Cafe and Dessert Place

Pasticceria Confetteria Cova is strategically located between the LV, Gucci and Prada shops in Montenapoleone, this cafe has been around since Napoleaon's time in 1817. It's location combined with it's food and atmosphere make it my favourite spot to get caffeinated.

Every time I'm in Milan, I try to find the time get an espresso before I power shop. I would have taken some interior photos if it weren't for the watchful eyes of the waiters. Besides I can't afford to be banned from this place!

Click on the slide show to see all 12 photos

Photos from Milan

Stuck for hours on the runway in Munich and then being delayed in London some more offered me lots of chances to sort through my 600 plus photos I took in Milan.

This trip was great despite being so short. I've been there over a dozen times and it really never gets old. I'll be posting a bit at time. I hope you all enjoy the photos!

Milan Baby!

A different week a different city. I've just arrived in Milan and I've already done a twirl around Duomo and it's shops. I'm sitting at this webcafe at Corso Buenos Aires and Viale Tunisia. A fashion school across the street has streaming webcam. I'm in the building with the really bright windows across the street from MacDonalds. I've only just been here 4 hours so I haven't done anything but shop and eat. So make do with the webcam picture for now.

webcam link here

I come here twice a year to the attend the fashion tradeshows and yes it's pretty much as awesome as you might think. The city and it's people exude this flair that you can only find here.

Milan Fashion and Clubs

Down to work! With shopping aside, everyone knows Milan is the city of fashion and that's what we're here for! So we focused on getting sexy dresses and tops for the store.

The show is always cool. You'll see stuff that you won't see anywhere else. Like this Faux Boa Leather clad car.

The show itself is crazy it's like 20 Costcos! If we didn't know what we were doing it would take us 2 weeks to go through it all.

After the shows we got invited to this Club in the middle of nowhere. It's called Borgo Del Tempo. It's like an outdoor nightclub in the middle of some farm land. It's wild and crazy fun, with go-go dancers to boot. I've included the link if you want to go. When I was lining up to go to the washrooms there was lots of double action going on in the stalls. Yup crazy!

The outdoor club lounge area

The streets of Milan are paved with bags

Last week I came back from a 6 day buying trip. I went with a girlfriend, for her this would be her first trip... for me this would more times than I have fingers.

The plane trip itself was exhaustive as we had to transfer 2 times and had some unexpected layovers. Once we got there we hit the ground running. We hit Duomo, Monte Napoleaone and Spiga right away. Those areas are really the center of the world when it comes to shopping. They have like 3 Prada shops in the same block! Italian made stuff is generally cheaper than in Canada and when you factor in all the various taxes and duties, we still come out like 30% cheaper than Holts.

I really like Bottega bags despite the brand being older, I found one that wasn't all old lady like and snapped it up. I must say this trip I was the ideal of self control, I only bought a few things. My GF on the other hand went hog wild. For fear of reprisals from her husband, let's just say she did very well.

It's 2AM at the Central train station in Milan. They've got the only 24 hour supermarket around. There's lots of people around, must be the art exhibit going on.