A Tale of Five Cities for a Dickens of a Buying Spree Abroad

The U.S. dollar’s shrinking value has made Americans nervous about buying abroad, but there are distinct advantages to shopping in other countries.

The world’s great cities can provide more stimulating presentations of merchandise and items of better quality.

Some of the great shops may be in out-of-the-way places, particularly in high-density world capitals. Some highlights.

London

British Crafts Centre, 43 Earlham St. A gallery of handmade items for sale, including ceramics, jewelry, baskets, glass, wooden objets d’art, furniture, tapestries, rugs and more. You may also commission work.

Coles, 131 Sloane St. This shirtmaker, in business since 1878, has dressed many celebrated Britons and savvy Americans who want style, quality and durability. Coles’ ready-made and made-to-order shirts for men, women and children come in beautiful poplins and silks in a dazzling array of stripes and colors.

Floris, 89 Jermyn St. Perfumers to the queen and suppliers of toiletries to the Prince of Wales. Scents include sandalwood, rose geranium, English violet, wild hyacinth and other florals. Also, antique porcelain and silver shaving bowls, quality hairbrushes and mustache combs, ivory-handled toothbrushes and other accessories.

Fortnum and Mason, 181 Piccadilly. This famous department store carries many exclusive items, including fine British cashmeres, tweeds, tartans and special gourmet gift packs, as well as an astonishing range of teas and biscuits (crackers), tapestry luggage and Lord David Linley’s jewelry boxes and valet stands.

Harrods, Knightsbridge. Exclusive items in this fabulous department store include Harrods’ own tartan or black and green handbags, wallets, key holders, carry bags, scarfs and umbrellas. Superb designer fashions, and the world’s greatest gourmet food halls. Famous New Year’s sale.

Harvey Nichols, 109 Knightsbridge. Impeccably elegant department store featuring top British and European clothing designers, including Jaeger, Sonia Rykiel and others. Interior design departments offer exotic fabrics, unusual basketry, fine linens and magnificent accessories.

N. Peal, 37-40 and 54 Burlington Arcade. A good source for women’s and men’s cashmere sweaters, available in a variety of styles, from traditional cardigans to designer extravaganzas, in a rainbow of colors. Cashmere scarfs and mufflers too.

Smythson of Bond Street, 54 New Bond St. As royal stationers to the queen, Smythson’s has the last word on stationery etiquette and has handsome desk accessories, agendas, address books, stationery, pens, special record books (travel diaries, wine-tasting notes, gift lists, etc.), portfolios and attache cases. Great for business cards and invitations.

Paris

Au Printemps, 64 Blvd. Haussmann. This department store occupies three buildings: Nouveau Magasin has high fashion women’s and children’s boutiques, furs, lingerie, accessories, perfumes. Brummell has men’s business and casual clothes and accessories. Printemps de la Maison has home furnishings. La Boutique Noire offers personalized gifts and superb VIP shopping services.

Cacharel Stock, 114 Rue d’Alesia. Discount Cacharel for men, women and children. Most merchandise, including suits, coats, shirts, dresses, sweaters and accessories, is from previous seasons, but still stylish. Always well stocked and packed with customers.

Catherine, 6 Rue Castiglione. A duty-free perfumery with a vast variety of scents and cosmetics at deepest discount prices. Catherine stocks about 108 scents for men or women from about 47 perfume makers, plus cosmetics by Orlane and Lancome. Buy 1,200 francs’ worth and get up to a 40% discount.

Fauchon, 26 Place de la Madeleine. Paris’ best gourmet grocery with exquisite foies gras, caviar, truffles, canned stews and soups, exotic condiments, 45 jams, 75 teas, confectionery, wines, Champagnes, packaged for export. Fauchon tea caddies, platters, mugs. Exciting window displays stop traffic. Great fresh foods too.

Gault, 206 Rue de Rivoli. Charming handmade, hand-painted porcelain miniature houses are replicas of buildings in older sections of Paris and provincial French towns. Special-order to have your name, or a friend’s, painted over the door of a boulangerie or boutique. Great souvenirs and gifts.

La Porcelaine Blanche, 135 Rue d’Alesia. The fine line of all-white porcelain and faience made by La Porcelaine Blanche is sold here at discounted prices, with reductions of up to 50% on selected pieces. In addition to full table settings, there are serving platters, bowls and kitchen accessories.

Nina Ricci, 39 Ave. Montaigne. Ricci’s town house headquarters offers everything from lingerie to furs at astronomical prices. But there’s a bargain basement with great buys on last season’s stock including classic suits, extravagant evening items and accessories that never go out of style.

Village Suisse, 56 Ave. de la Motte-Piquet. About 100 reputable antique dealers occupy small shops around open-air courts. They offer a wide variety of quality collectibles at reasonable prices. Special areas of interest include period furniture, silver and objets d’art.

Rome

Bomba de Clercq, Via dell’Oca 39. Inventive styling, trademark of Italian fashion, is evident in Bomba de Clercq’s handsome handmade sweaters. These include bulky pullovers, vests, cardigans, crew and V-necks in wool, silk and mohair blends. All are displayed in picture frames hanging on the walls. Great evening knits, too.

Discount System, Via Viminale 35. Remaindered fashions and accessories by Valentino, Armani, Krizia, Fendi, Max Mara, Trussardi, Enrico Coveri, Gianfranco Ferre, Missoni and other top Italian designers at discounts of up to 50%. Most items still sport their labels.

Dominici, Via del Corso 14. The very latest styles in fanciful, comfortable and reasonably priced footwear, including suede moccasins in a rainbow of colors, multicolor or two-tone woven leather flats, tasseled loafers, plus a full range of boots and sandals, depending upon the season.

Galeria Coronari, Via dei Coronari 59. A charming antique shop filled with appealing trinkets, jewelry, porcelain dolls, toy soldiers, pillboxes, picture frames, clocks and a good selection of handsome furniture. Biggest range of goods is from the 19th Century.

La Rinascente, Via del Corso at Piazza Colonna. Italy’s largest department store, with reasonably priced fashions, hosiery and accessories for men, women and children. Look for their own Ellerre label for best value. La Rinascente gives better-than-bank exchange rates for cash and traveler’s checks.

Sermoneta, Piazza di Spagna 61. Italy’s leather and suede gloves are famous and this is where to buy them--in all colors and lengths, styled simply or enhanced with lace, buttons and other decorative details. Men’s and women’s gloves are lined with silk or cashmere.

Schostal, Via del Corso 158. A fashion bastion for classically oriented men who appreciate great quality at good prices. It has cotton pajamas and socks, woolen sweaters and socks, three-piece suits, finely tailored shirts and other wardrobe staples in abundance.

Spazio Sette, Via del Barbieri 7. Italian modern furniture and household goods set in a 17th-Century palazzo. Beautiful wooden desks, tables, chests of drawers, bookcases handsomely arranged next to super-soft sofas and armchairs covered with heavy cotton or suede. Lamps, cookery and kitchen accessories are superb.

Tokyo

Axis Building, 5-17-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku. This collection of first-rate, avant-garde and high-tech home decorating shops includes Bushy (unusual lacquer furniture and objets d’art), Matrix (office furniture and supplies with a black, white, red and gray color scheme), Living Motif (on the cutting edge of kitchen gadgetry).

Kiddyland, 6-9-1 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku. A multistory fun house with a phenomenal selection of playthings for children of all ages. Stock includes the latest high-tech toys (from robots to rail systems), antique dolls and trucks, plus games (many in Japanese editions), stationery supplies and gadgets to light up leisure time.

Kimura Camera, No. 3-4 Chome, Nihonbashi-Muromachi, Chuo-ku. Full-service photo shop with Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Olympus and other top cameras, lenses, accessories. Watches, small radios and other electronics. Good service and prices.

Mitsukoshi, 1-7 Muromachi, Nihombashi, and 4-16-16 Ginza, Chuo-ku. Founded in 1673 as a kimono shop, Mitsukoshi is widely considered Japan’s classiest Japanese department store, with a blend of Japanese and Western merchandise. Of special interest are silk and cotton fabrics, ready-to-wear kimonos, antique Japanese swords and armor and a selection of traditional accessories, plus modern designer clothing.

Oriental Bazaar, 5-9-13 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku. A Japanese crafts and antiques center with many small stalls offering lacquerware, paper items, jewelry, kimonos, fans, dolls, pottery, tea ceremony paraphernalia and some electronic goods--all under one roof. A bit touristy, but quite convenient.

Takeya, 4-33-2 Higashi, Taito-ku. A nine-story discount department store offering a food market, watches, stationery supplies, glassware, electronics and gadgetry for personal entertainment or practical uses, men’s and women’s clothing, leather goods, furniture and objets d’art for home, bed and bath accessories, children’s apparel and jewelry.

Tasaki Pearl, Pearl Building, 7-9-18 Ginza, Chuo-ku. An excellent source for superior quality pearls that you may buy loose, in matched strings or set (alone or combined with other gems) in rings, earrings, brooches, pendants and other items. The shop shows films about pearl production and gives jewelry-making demonstrations.

Washikobo, 1-8-10 Nishi-Azabu, Minato-ku. A treasury of reasonably priced handmade paper items: dolls, masks, desk accessories, small jewelry chests, tea caddies, paper lamps, fabulous stationery and wrapping papers, as well as fans and kites decorated with samurai, tigers and beautiful flowers.

Hong Kong

The China Products Co. Ltd., 488-500 Hennessy Road. A Chinese department store that stocks lovely trinkets and knickknacks that make good souvenirs or gifts: cloisonne bracelets and other pieces of jewelry, vases, embroidered silk blouses, pillow covers, linen tablecloths, dolls and toys.

Chung Wing and Wing Shing Curios, 167-169 Hollywood Road. An appealing assortment of antique and reproduction Oriental knickknacks, including snuff bottles, jewelry boxes, cloisonne and porcelain vases, jade statuettes and bowls.

Granville Road, Kowloon. A narrow street lined with discount boutiques offering factory overruns and remaindered garments at incredibly low prices. Mostly casual and sports clothes--most labels have been removed. At $3 for a shirt, who cares about labels?

Landmark and Swire House Buildings, Central, Hong Kong. The city’s most posh shopping complex has top European and Japanese designer boutiques including Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Rive Gauche, Christian Dior, Issey Miyake, Matsuda and others. Prices here tend to be lower because of Hong Kong’s duty-free status.

Sam’s, Burlington Arcade, Nathan Road, Kowloon. Have your favorite clothes copied to order here, or choose styles from the shelves of fashion magazines on hand. Sam’s is one of Hong Kong’s most reliable and reasonable tailors. Wide selection of fabrics. Three fittings, suits completed within four days.

Sunny Tsui Jewelry, Golden Mile Holiday Inn, Nathan Road, Kowloon. Fabulous jade, pearls, lapis, as well as diamonds, colored gems and semiprecious stones sold loose or set beautifully into 14- or l8-karat gold rings, pendants, necklaces. Reliable. Excellent prices and service.

Temple Street Market, Kowloon. The stalls at this open-air night market are overflowing with ready-to-wear casual clothes, gadgets and small appliances for the home, electronic goods, toys and luggage. The prices can’t be beat. Neither can the people-watching.

Yaohan, Shatin, New Territories. A huge, well-stocked, Japanese-owned department store with bargain prices on everything from fashion to foodstuffs, soaps to shoes, lingerie to luggage, tableware to toys, gadgets to games, accessories to art objects. No famous labels, but continual sales make for shopping sprees.