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The size on the label is not your size
Italian clothing sizes run small and use their own numbers: a women's 42 is roughly a UK 10 or a US 6, and men's shirts are sized by collar in centimeters — 39, 41, 43 — rather than by inches. Shoes use European numbering, where a men's 42 is about a UK 8. Always try things on; the difference between brands is large and the numbers alone will mislead you. Shopping itself is more formal than in Britain or America. You greet the assistant on entering and say goodbye on leaving, even if you buy nothing. In smaller shops, touching the merchandise unprompted is not entirely welcome — ask, and the assistant will hand it to you. Browsing in silence, the default Anglo-American mode, can read as standoffish. Two more things. The saldi, the sales, are regulated by law and start on fixed dates set by each region, in early January and early July, which is why every shop window changes on the same morning. And Italy still has a genuine tradition of small independent shops and tailors: a sarto to take something in costs very little and is entirely normal.