Italian All-in-One For Dummies (55 page)

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gonna
(
gohn
-nah) (
skirt
)

impermeabile
(eem-pehr-meh-
ah
-bee-leh) (
raincoat
)

jeans
(jeenz) (
jeans
)

maglia
(
mah
-lyah) (
sweater
)

maglietta
(mahl-
yeht
-tah) (
T-shirt
)

pantaloni
(pahn-tah-
loh
-nee) (
pants
)

vestito
(veh-
stee
-toh) (
dress
)

Sizing up Italian sizes

When shopping for clothing, size matters. An item may be
piccolo
(
pee
-koh-loh) (
small
) or
grande
(
grahn
-deh) (
large
), and you need to be able to express the problem to get a size that fits.

Whenever you go to another country, and this is particularly true in Europe, the sizes — called
taglie
(
tah
-lyeh) or
misure
(mee-
zooh
-reh) in Italy — change and you never know which one corresponds to yours.
Table 8-1
helps you with this problem by giving you the most common sizes.

Table 8-1 Clothing Sizes

Italian Size

American Size

Canadian Size

Women's dress sizes

40

4

6

42

6

8

44

8

10

46

10

12

48

12

14

Men's suit sizes

48

38

40

50

40

42

52

42

44

54

44

46

56

46

48

In Italy, you won't have any difficulties with sizes like S, M, L, and XL because they're used the same way —
S
for small,
M
for medium,
L
for large, and
XL
for extra large — beware, though, that an Italian
large
often corresponds to a North American
small.

Talkin' the Talk

Giovanna has found the skirt she's been looking for. She asks the saleswoman if she can try it on. (Track 15)

Giovanna:
Posso provare questa gonna?

pohs
-soh proh-
vah
-reh
kweh
-stah gohn-
nah?

May I try on this skirt?

Saleswoman:
Certo. Che taglia porta?

chehr
-toh. keh
tah
-lyah
pohr
-tah?

Sure. What size do you wear?

Giovanna:
La quarantadue.

lah kwah-
rahn
-tah-
dooh
-eh.

Forty-two.

Saleswoman:
Forse è un po' piccola.

fohr
-seh eh oohn poh
peek
-koh-lah.

Perhaps it's a little bit too small.

Giovanna:
Me la provo.

meh lah
proh
-voh.

I'll try it on.

Giovanna returns from the dressing room.

Saleswoman:
Va bene?

vah
beh
-neh?

Does it fit?

Giovanna:
È troppo stretta. Ha una taglia più grande?

eh
trohp
-poh
streht
-tah. ah
ooh-
nah
tah
-lyah pyooh
grahn
-deh?

It's too tight. Do you have it in a larger size?

Saleswoman:
Nella sua taglia solo in blu.

nehl
-lah
sooh
-ah
tah
-lyah
soh
-loh
een
blooh.

In your size, only in blue.

 

Italy is the leader in the shoe industry. You won't believe what good taste Italians have in
scarpe
(
skahr
-peh) (
shoes
). You may just find the shoes of your dreams, whether they be a regular
paio di scarpe
(
pah
-yoh dee
skahr
-peh) (
pair of shoes
),
pantofole
(pahn-
toh
-foh-leh) (
slippers
),
sandali
(
sahn
-dah-lee) (
sandals
), or
stivali
(stee-
vah
-lee) (
boots
).

When you try on footwear, you may need to use some of the following words:

stretta/e/o/i
(
streht
-tah/teh/toh/tee) (
tight
)

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