Global Shoppers Tell All

Summer's here, and already our area's elite shoppers are crossing the oceans to their favorite-and sometimes secret-places for top quality buys. Interested in custom-tailored suits made from the finest fabrics? Handmade pottery designed just for your kitchen? Designer duds at rock-bottom prices? The best jewels in the world? Half a dozen of our local residents agreed to share their off-the-beaten track discoveries around the globe. With each stop on the itinerary, travel consultant Mary Ann Ramsey, president and owner of Betty Maclean Travel in Naples, offers practical tips on getting the best deals.

First stop: London for antique silver

Ten years ago Naples resident Delores Sorey found hidden treasure in London-literally. During a vacation, Sorey and her family wandered into London's historic legal district, where signs for silver caught her eye. Full speed ahead, the family discovered the world's largest collection of antique silver under one roof. The 130-year-old Silver Vaults, locked behind huge safe doors, used to be where London's wealthy elite stashed their treasures. But since the '50s, generations of silver dealers have taken over the vaults to store and sell their antique treasures. "It's just beautiful," Sorey says. "You go down three or four flights of stairs and through the gates. There are dealers in a little square and in little rooms on the outside." Sorey has brought back everything from candelabras to huge silver serving platters. One year she brought back a silver knife set that was so precious it had to ride in the plane's cockpit with the pilot. "No one has really heard about [the Silver Vaults]," she says. "But I tell anyone I know who is going to London."

Find it: You can gain access to the Silver Vaults through Chancery House, 53-64 Chancery Lane, London. Ask any taxi driver, or take the tube to Chancery Lane underground station. Signs are posted. Call (44-020) 7242-3844.

CURRENCY: English pound (£)

Mary Ann Ramsey says: Don't forget the value-added tax on most purchases in England. Shops should give you forms to reclaim this tax through customs. Keep your receipts, get this form stamped at the airport, and you'll get money back.

Next stop: MADRID for top-notch wine

Local wine connoisseur John Vega found his dream wine boutique in Madrid. Bodegas Vela was founded at the end of the Spanish Civil War and still holds to all tradition. While the wine inventory is stored offsite, single bottles are on display in temperature-controlled bins in the storefront. Purchasers are free to taste the wine while they peruse the list-a wine-lover's shopping dream. To add to the blissful experience, the owner carves Jambón Iberico and Manchego cheese while his customers deliberate about their purchase. "Prices were more than fair," says Vega, who bought a magnum (the equivalent of two standard bottles) of 2001 Clos Erasmus for around ?120 (approximately $150). "[The Erasmus] is a highly regarded Spanish wine. It received 98 points from Robert Parker, and magnums were virtually nonexistent in the United States," he says, adding that the wine currently goes for $275 for a single bottle here. After you make your final selections at the store, a shop clerk runs out and assembles your order while you settle your account and finish your wine.

Find it: Bodegas Vela, 42 Santa Engracia, Madrid. (42-91) 445-7079.

CURRENCY: euro (?)

Mary Ann Ramsey says: Before you buy any kind of wine, make sure you know the cost of shipping. Also make sure that the shipping cost you agree to includes delivery to your door, not just to your local airport. You don't want to be driving to Miami to pick up crates of wine.

Next stop: POSITANO for handmade custom pottery

When Naples resident Retta Singer stops in Positano, she heads straight for a little store hidden down an alley and around the corner from Le Sirenuse hotel, the Ceramica Assunta. There they hand-make all plates, platters and vases in any color imaginable. "[The shops on the main drag] are more highly priced, and they don't do quite as much custom work," Singer says. Retta and husband Elliott discovered this hidden treasure two years ago when they were in town for cooking school at a friend's private villa. Someone at the Sirenuse mentioned the shop, and Retta went to investigate. She discovered urns and flowerpots in printed colors, and a staff that was eager to hand-make anything she could imagine. Since then she's brought back full sets of pottery that she designed to match her kitchen in navy blue and golden yellow. She's also brought back pots, vases and massive party platters that can serve 30 people or more. "I went a little overboard," she admits, "When you're there you get caught up in all the ambiance, and you just want everything."

Find it: Ceramica Assunta, Via C. Colombo 97-84017, Positano. Call (39-089) 875-008.

CURRENCY: euro (?)

Mary Ann Ramsey says: Right now the dollar is weak against the euro, so be aware of how much items cost in the United States compared to where you're shopping in Italy or anywhere else in Europe.

Next stop: VENICE for shoes

When good friends Marie Andrews and Retta Singer travel through Italy together, they do a lot of walking. So it's no wonder the pair is always searching for a place to buy quality shoes. A few years ago the pair lucked out and stumbled upon the shoe store of their dreams in Venice, Renè Caovilla. "The shoes are delicate, they're very sexy and feminine," says Andrews. They're also hard to find in the States (you can occasionally find select styles at Neiman Marcus). Last April, they were so eager to spend the day in Renè Caovilla that on their first day in Venice, they rushed to the boutique only to find that on Mondays it doesn't open until 3 p.m. So they waited at Harry's Bar, around the corner. The wait was worth it, says Andrews, "We almost bought out the store!"

Find it: Renè Caovilla, 30032 Fiesso D'Artico, Venice. Call (39-049)

980-1300.

CURRENCY: euro (?)

Mary Ann Ramsey says: Europe isn't as big on negotiating prices the way they do in the Middle East or African countries, so be prepared to pay for what you find.

Next stop: DUBAI for designer duds and gold by the ounce

Haute couture and designer boutiques can be found all over the world, including in Southwest Florida, but for designer bargains by the trunk load, the next best stop may be-believe it or not-the Middle East. "In Dubai, every top designer in the world is represented," says retired Sears executive and Naples resident Janice Page. Page's friend Heidi Farrugia agrees. "That's where the deals are," she says, noting that some of the couture clothes her friend finds in Dubai aren't sold in the United States. The best part is, everything is duty-free. And this city on the other Gulf has more to offer beyond the latest ready-to-wear.

Turn the corner from the malls and you'll enter a vast world of souks, where merchants have gold and spices at their fingertips and are ready to make any jewelry you want. "It's an interesting, exotic place that has been built out of the desert," says Page. "It's a fascinating culture to see."

Find it: The district of Deira in central Dubai (in the United Arab Emirates) has the City Centre shopping complex and around the corner, the famous Gold Souk is in Old Deira. Call (971-4) 295-1010.

CURRENCY: UAE dirham (Dh)

Mary Ann Ramsey says: Go through your travel consultant in the United States to find a guide who will navigate you through the souks and find good gold. The gold there should be bought by weight, rather than by item. Always price how much gold is by the ounce in the United States before you leave.

Next stop: HONG KONG for custom-tailored suits

"There is nothing you want that someone can't find for you or make for you in Hong Kong," says Janice Page, who travels overseas with her husband, Vern, twice a year. Thirty-five years ago, Vern found a hidden tailoring treasure. A small tailoring shop down a side street called George Chen & Co. offered to custom-make suits for him, and the store was stocked with the finest fabrics. "But what sets it apart is the craftsmanship," says Janice.

Since then Vern has been going to George Chen & Co. (now W.W. Chan & Sons Tailoring) for all his tailored clothing, sports suits, special occasion suits, sportswear, tuxedos and business suits. The shop usually takes about four days to make a new suit for him in any style, and if he has left China before then, they will ship the clothing to his home in Naples. "To this day they have all of his measurements," says Janice. Now when she travels there sans husband she can make a pit stop at their favorite tailor to request something new. "The service is phenomenal," she says.

Find it: W. W. Chan & Sons Tailor Ltd., Burlington House, 94 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Call (852) 2366-9738.

CURRENCY: Hong Kong dollar ($)

Mary Ann Ramsey says: When getting clothes made in Hong Kong, allow enough time to go back for at least two fittings-three is better. The best way to get a replica made is to take the article of clothing you'd like to duplicate.