where to buy a designer gift?

I hate to tell you this, but I have found many designer items cheaper on this side of the pond.

Well, the thought has crossed my mind to just buy something over here, and pass it off as a Paris purchase....but I would feel a bit guilty about doing that!! :)
And maybe my $200 limit is unrealistic....she'd be happy with a Louis Vuitton replica...maybe we can find a vendor over there with decent looking ones!
thanks for the info...

You might consider buying an original painting from one of those cities. I'm not talking about going to a gallery. There are always painters on the street. In Paris, if you go to Montmartre, there is an area filled with artists with their works for sale in all price ranges. In Rome there used to be some watercolorists at the top of the Spanish steps. Some guide books may also have some suggestions of where to look.

Ashley, that is a wonderful idea! Thank you! Will definitly consider. (and we'll be staying in the Montemarte district, so it would be relatively easy to find one, I would think).

HI Jodi, don't risk buying a replica,your sister may end up with nothing , and you will lose the 200 dollars. They are alot stricter in Europe about copies. I have heard of people having replicas confistcated by police, or at airport. I of course have no personal experience with this type of shopping in Europe though, I have seen that many things are more expensive in Europe then what I pay at home( I love perfume, and it is cheaper for me to get my Chanel and Opium at home)

You could find some "desinger" perfume in that price range though, but , I really don't get spending more for same thing you could get at home.

It may be tough to get something for under 200 dollars, thats about 150 euros. I hope you get lucky and do find something, I mean, there must be a keychain or something available.

I also usually purchase a small painting or print whenever I go to Europe. The Marais area is good for little art shops, and of course there are many painters selling in Monmartre. I agree, resist buying a fake designer handbag, though they have some good looking ones, particulaly in Italy.

You might want to research going to the cosmetics department of a designer house like Chanel, and just buying perfume or a lipstick. Also, Sephora on the Champs Elysee is great for buying perfume -- all of which will be made in France, which are better than the versions we get in the USA.
I also like the costume jewelry department of Le Bon Marche -- I've gotten very nice French made, reasonable things there. It's in a great location near many famous cafes, St. Germain des Pres church, so you can work the shopping into your sightseeing. You may want to purchase the "Born to Shop, Paris" book.
Happy shopping!

Jodi - Some of the designers have small items that you can only get in Europe. I have found that the best place to get designer items in Paris is either Printemps or Galleries Lafayette. Printemps has a discount card (usually good on everything) on many of the hotel maps and in some of the vistor magazines and Galleries Lafayette will give you one at their visitor's services desk with your passport or driver's license. I think the discounts are usually 10%. You can then apply for the VAT refund as well. One year I bought a couple of small Louis Vuitton wallets and a Ferragamo tie for extra special gifts (not my usual shopping) - with the discounts and VAT refund they came to about the same as here. They were special to the recipients because I got them on my trip... I later found out that the tie was not available for sale in the US.

Paris:The Louis V. store on Champs Elysees in Paris is worth a visit whether you buy or not as the other shoppers and staff are generally pretty interesting (not sure how far $200. will get you). Some reasonably priced gift items are in the Renault (auto) flagship store on the Champs. Whether you buy or not the stroll up & down the Champs is a fun experince, buy a Big Mac & Fries for a taste of home and sit in the window and people watch.
Check out some of the large department stores by the "Opera" and the silver necklaces & earrings of the major monuments sold at...every major monument.
Watch that credit card, it's easy to spend those Euros.
VAT REFUND WARNING The value added tax refund is worthwhile on a large purchase but you MUST get documentation from store of purchase, I've been told by some merchants I can get forms at airport and that is not the case, the customs officers there expect you to have all forms AND the item (Charles Degaulle Airport in Paris).

Buying copies is considered illegal in most countries, so I suggest not doing that.

Every large city you are going to will have stores selling designer items, this includes any big department store. There are the "high streets" that have only posh stores, where you can window shop to your hearts content. You wont get much for $200 though. Buying duty free for those types of items would make more sense. Give yourself an extra hour at the airport to shop. One question - Does your sister want something like this? I know I would not want someone to buy me something like this for that kind of money. I would much rather have something else. Consider the paintings as another poster suggested, or there are beautiful scarves everywhere you go in Europe, or murano glass jewelry in Italy, great pottery items, and so on. Actually, once you get over here, you will see dozens of items that you might find will make a great gift.

Thanks to all for the suggestions. i'm sure I will find her something nice. Jo - getting a scarve is a great idea. And yes, my sister would love something designer...it's not like she ASKED for it, but I know she'd love it. She's doing a lot for me to make this trip possible (primarily caring for my three children while I'm gone) so I want to do something extra special for her too. But the way it sounds, i shouldn't have any problems finding something fantastic for her. (i will, however, reconsider buying a replica, don't want to run into trouble!)

Another consideration is checking out smaller leather goods stores while in Rome for handbags, wallets, etc. You really can’t go wrong with Italian leather. While the items won’t be “designer” label they are often made in the same work rooms that produce the designer goods and are of the same quality at a fraction of the price. Last March, while in Vince, my sister and I picked up several unique bags at a small store off some random street and didn’t pay over 80 euro for any one item. One bag in particular has received more complements than any of my designer bags and I’m constantly asked if it is Prada, D&G, Furla, etc. and told how beautiful it is and how no one has seen anything like it before. Besides, it just so much fun to say, “Oh, it’s just a little something I picked up while I was in Vince last spring.”