%cbMasks Galore! and other Venice, Italy Shopping Tips

Venetian Carnival Masks: Masks Galore!

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Updated by Ciambella

on Jul 3, 2006

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by Ciambella

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Masks are one of the few things of which Venice does not lack. The annual Carnevale last only 11 days and Venice does not need masks all year long, still masks are made and sold daily. Since the buyers are mostly tourists, most masks are made with tourists in mind. What that means is the masks displayed in shops everywhere are not of quality, and some are not even made in Venice. There are only a handful of shops in Venice where you can find artisan quality masks, and the price of these artworks naturally reflects the meticulous work involved.

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Theme: Local Craft

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Maneki-Neko: Custom-Made Shirts

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Updated by Ciambella

on Jul 3, 2006

Venice Travel Guide

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Shirt from Maneki-Neko

by Ciambella

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Name of Shop: Maneki-Neko

I have wanted a shirt from Maneki-Neko for several years but for one reason or another, I had never come close to enter the shop, let alone purchase the merchandise. The last time we were in Venice, I finally walked in, and with a little push from Charles and our daughter, tried on several shirts.

Maneki-Neko make their own shirts, there is no child labour or Asian sweatshop behind their label. All fabrics come from Italian mills, and all are natural fibers. The last factor is very important to me because I have a mild allergy to synthetic fabric.

You don't need to be an expert to see that Maneki-Neko shirts are of high quality. Everything from the cut to the smallest stitching on the hem is precisely done. The only thing I don't like about the shirts is the presence of shoulder pads, but that is not a difficult thing to remove.

What To Buy: The shop did not have my size for the style I wanted, and since we were leaving Venice the following day, they promised to ship my shirt to me within two weeks.

Two weeks passed and no shirt to be seen. When I rang up, the staff apologized for the delay, saying the fabric just arrived the day before and I should receive the shirt in two more weeks.

Under normal circumstance, I would not have any problem with the delay. I have been living in Italy long enough to know that an on time delivery is called a miracle. However, we were leaving for a long trip the following week and no one would be home to accept the package when it arrived.

The staff asked whether they could send it to me after I returned. No can do, I would not want to wait for a total of nine weeks for a shirt. Well, can they send it to an address in my trip? Nope, not that either. A tailor-made shirt sent to the U.S. would be charged duty. I had already paid IVA for the darn thing in Italy; I was not going to pay tax on top of tax. As expected, sighs of exasperation were audible from the other end of the telephone when the staff heard about the dilemma. "Signora, a handmade shirt cannot be done in one day; quality does not come with speed." I agreed with that logic. We had reached an impasse, what were we to do?

I have been living in Italy long enough to know that the Italians can solve any kind of problems in a heartbeat when and if they want to do so.

The shirt arrived five days after the phone call, and I wore it to a wedding in California. Even though it was under a blazer, everyone could see its understated elegance, many people asked me about it.

What To Pay: Price starts from �77 for a tailor-made shirt.

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Theme: Women's Clothes
Phone: +39 041.520.33.40
Address: Campo S. Angelo 3820, Venezia
Website: www.manekineko.it
Other Contact: info@manekineko.it

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%cbMasks Galore! and other Venice, Italy Shopping Tips

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