Shopping in Italy: fashion outlets, lingerie and shop assistants

After looking at whether to tip in Italy or not, today we take a look at shopping in Italy and where best to find Italian lingerie.
Firstly, on shop assistants: they take their job seriously.
Most decent shops have professional assistants who will help you select your size, and they will also be likely to bombard you with stuff you don’t want to buy, but that’s the nature of a salesperson.

Some shop assistants are “rude and bitchy”, but generally they do a good job, they know their stock and they can help you with some fashion advice.
According to Italy in SF, weight is an issue, with Italians considering a size four (a size 38 in Europe) overweight.

This is totally untrue, because a size 38 in Italy is considered small and most Italian women will not squeeze into one.
Italians are not, however, generally an overweight population, especially in the north, but Italian fashion is about style, class and accessorising, not being skinny.