Inside the hidden outlet stores of the world capital of fashion

Milan is renowned for high-end fashion, and its downtown Golden Quadrangle has perhaps the world’s greatest concentration of posh boutiques. But if Ferragamo and Cerutti are beyond your budget, there are more reasonably priced alternatives.

You don’t have to abandon fashion labels. While you’ll still need a fattish wallet, DMAG Fashion Designer Outlet (Via Manzoni 44) sells last season’s designer duds from the likes of Prada and Gucci at prices that sometimes reach 70 per cent off.

In Il Salvagente or The Life Saver (Via Fratelli Bronzetti 16) you can also rummage for last season’s fine threads and shoes. You’ll find everything from frothy Versace ball gowns to wedge-heels by Ferragamo. Men’s clothes hide on the second floor.

There are several other blochisti or stockhouses where locals go when they need that special suit or dress for a significant event. They sit in unglamorous, spartan buildings and the clothes are often unsorted, but determined hunting will yield goods at a fraction of their original cost.

Be aware, however, that few blochisti bother with changing rooms, so don your best underwear and be prepared to strip off in the aisles.

L’Arnmadio di Laura (25 Via Voghera) has last season’s designs and clothes discarded by actors and industrialists. Your Aramani suit might be pre-loved, but you’ll end up looking like a supermodel.

L’Officina delle Fate (41 Via Molino delle Armi) has unusual vintage clothes, and particularly beautifully preserved wedding dresses from the early 19th century through to the 1970s.

Cavalli E Nastri (Via Brera 2) is packed with racks of multi-hued clothes from so many famous designers – and all in seemingly mint condition – that you feel they ought to be hanging in museums. There are also drawers full of costume jewellery, handbags, shoes and scarves.

Discounted designer clothes are a bargain for some but still expensive for others. Milan has plenty of mid-range alternatives, however.

Department store La Rinascente (Piazza del Duomo 3), where a young Giorgio Armani honed his fashion sense as a window decorator, has well-priced clothes and classy household goods. The top-floor café has pigeon-eye city views.

Corso Buenos Aires near the train station is the place to go for affordable fashion, but you’ll need sharp elbows on a Saturday when crowds are daunting. The street has several department stores, as well as street-market stalls piled with designer knockoffs.

A good Saturday morning market operates along Viale Papiniano beside the San Agostino Metro stop and is especially worthwhile for cashmere and leather goods.

Finally, if you visit Milan in mid-January or July, you can get sales bargains of up to 50 per cent off. At any time, you can reclaim Italy’s stiff 22 per cent value-added tax when you depart through immigration, so don’t forget to ask stores for the appropriate forms.

And of course, no need to tell anyone back home that you got that special something for less than a hundred euros.