What I bought in Italy
The best places to shop in Rome, the Amalfi Coast, and Puglia, plus what I wore.
Ciao! Yes, I’m that person who comes back from vacation in Italy and keeps saying ciao and, nope, I’m not sorry about it. I know there’s that whole thing about how people get more enjoyment out of planning their trip and the actual vacation is a letdown, but let me tell you, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. In my day-to-day life, I’m fairly disciplined about what I eat, how I spend my money, and how I spend my time, but when I’m on vacation, I completely let it rip. I ate pasta twice a day. I ate gelato at least once a day (sometimes twice). I slept in till 9 a.m. I drank wine with every meal. I sunbathed and got a pretty decent tan. I had an obscene amount of spritzes. I did walk, on average, 15,000 steps a day. And most importantly for this newsletter, I shopped with reckless abandon. It was fantastic, especially with that sweet, sweet VAT refund. Here’s everything I bought on my trip.
I’m wearing: Antica Sartoria dress, which got a “belissima” from the old Italian ladies in the piazza | Fe Noel x Target bag | sandals from random store in Sorrento
Antica Sartoria has a shop in every town in the Amalfi Coast (there are a bunch in Puglia too) and once you see their acqua-blue shopping bags, you will spot them everywhere. You will also see their one-size-fits-all dresses on women everywhere—they are colorful, bedazzled, and very vacation-y. I also bought the above necklace and swim cover-up and bunch of fun statement earrings for some of my girlfriends at their store in Positano. Everything is very reasonably priced (especially for the Amalfi Coast!) and well made. This is the store in Sorrento below.
As for the sandals I’m wearing in the very first photo, while they look like Hermès, they are from a random store in Sorrento and I could not tell you where it was or what it was called to save my life. They were only 29 euros and thus a complete impulse purchase; I discovered later that they’re made in China, not Italy, but I kind of don’t care. They are surprisingly comfy (especially for my swollen vacation feet) and great on cobblestones. Here’s another look.
The sandals on the left are from Stefania Shoes in Amalfi. I had been all pumped to get a pair of custom sandals on Capri because that’s supposedly the thing to do there, but like everything else on Capri, I was somewhat offended by the prices (starting at 120 euros for a very basic pair). Luckily, I stumbled upon this shop in the town of Amalfi, where prices were much more reasonable (I think these were 89 euros) and the woman who helped me was lovely. The sandals are custom-fitted to your foot: they start with the footbed, then they place the straps and hammer them in by hand. Mine are even stamped with my initials! You aren’t supposed to take photos in the store, but I sneaked this one in so I could show you the range; they also make loafers, men’s shoes, and all kinds of footwear.
BTW, there are A LOT of dupes in these stores; mine obviously look like Valentino with the studs. I kind of wish I had bought a pair of loafers too, but…next time.
The town of Amalfi is actually best known for its paper, and the place to go for it is La Scuderia del Duca, where I bought the above notecards, hand-printed notebook, and gorgeous mini watercolors (as well as some gifts, which I’m not showing, so I don’t ruin the surprise). The main store is right off the ferry dock—you can’t miss it—and its offshoot next door has gorgeous vintage ceramics too.
Speaking of ceramics, I knew the Amalfi Coast and Puglia were known for them, but I was not prepared for how beautiful everything was. Most of the stores will ship internationally, which is a dangerous thing to know, but I tried to confine myself to what I could fit in my suitcase. In both regions, you’ll see pinecones galore; they’re a symbol of welcome in southern Italy. The southwestern version was more spiky-looking; I went for the Apulian version above, which has more of a leafy design, and I liked this one in particular because it’s a fragrance oil diffuser. I bought it at Carella in Ostuni, which has a ton of gorgeous ceramic shops. The town of Grottaglie is supposed to be the best for pottery, but unfortunately we didn’t have time to visit that one.
For the beauty junkies out there, Rome is your spot. Our hotel was located right off of the Piazza del Popolo and within walking distance of some of the best shopping in the city. I always hit Santa Maria Novella, which isn’t significantly cheaper in Italy, but that VAT refund does help. My friend Emily dragged me into Kiko Milano, which is kind of like the MAC of Italy, and in spite of really not needing any makeup at all, I somehow spent 90 euros. I will say, their sunscreen fucks. It is so good: it smells amazing, blends in easily, and protects so well—as you can see, I used up the entire tube in a week. Unfortunately, you can’t buy it online (I’m assuming because of the stupid US rules around sunscreen & FDA approvals) but next time I’m in Italy, I’m buying a ton of it. Also pictured above, I bought a small bottle of Acqua di Positano at Emporio Sireneuse (the gift shop at Le Sireneuse, a gem of a hotel I hope I can one day afford to stay in), which was pretty much the only thing I could stomach at that very pricey shop, although I was very tempted to buy this beach bag.
I am probably forgetting a few things (I did end up buying a bottle of limoncello at the airport like a dumb American, but only because I had 20 euros to burn), but that’s pretty much everything, excluding a few gifts that I have not yet given to people who read this newsletter. I’m super happy with everything I got, and even happier with the VAT refund process at the Rome airport (I came home Monday and have already been reimbursed!). You can get a VAT refund on any purchase over 70 euros, so don’t forget to bring your passport with you when you shop!
This week on the blog
On Cheryl Shops the Blog (not to be confused with Cheryl Shops the Substack—should I have a different name for that?) I’m sharing (almost) everything I wore in Italy, which, as you may recall, I packed in a carry-on.
Coming next week to Substack: everywhere we stayed, ate, sight-seed, and more in Italy!