The Ladybug Takes London…Again pt. 3: Testing Positive for Retromania!

During our Sunday morning shopping in Victoria, Daisy - aka the charity shop’s guru -brought Salina and I to a place that I consider one of my new “Disneyland in London”: Retromania in Victoria, off Vauxhall Bridge Road.

Let me try to define this place and you will easily understand what it is all about: Retromania is a charity shop that sells only wonderful vintage items. Is that enough?

It is part of the FARA Charity Project which helps disabled and unfortunate kids in Romania, but instead of selling thrift items they specialize in vintage, second hand designer clothing and accessories, avant-garde pieces, retro and paraphernalia from the Victorian era to the early ’90s.

All of the vintage items are donated by the public and this is one of the most acclaimed places for happy customers (like me!) and vintage enthusiast (like me again!) who can find incredibly rare gems at reasonable prices.

Retromania is two floors of vintage amazingness; from clothing to accessories for men and women, and I was dying for their beautiful dresses and coats and the incredible hats.

We got lost, and even in the tiny space at some point we didn’t know where each other were until we all met in the fitting rooms where we took some pictures!

I was looking for a vintage floral long dress and I fell in love with this navy one with bright pink flowers: a late ’70s – early ’80s piece that stole my heart… I’ve already worn it twice since I’ve come back!

We also loved this light blue coat with fur collar worn by Daisy.

Their hat collection was really awesome and being a hat lover and collector I tried a few before choosing this dark red piece that I couldn’t date even if it looked very ’40s.

If you are in London you really don’t want to miss this place, check their Facebook page for news and updates at http://www.facebook.com/retromania.vintage

The Ladybug Jilts Milan Fashion Week to Play the Field in Rome pt.1: Running to the Arms of Opherty & Ciocci

In the middle of a very busy and crowded Fashion Week in Milan, I decided to leave.  Unbelievable right? I mean, what reason in the world would I have to leave F/W?
…How about a vintage weekend in Rome!

The real “event” was the rugby match between Italy and Wales for the Six Nations (we’ll talk about this soon!), but you know how good I am at taking a vintage break even if I’m going for a sporting event!

I arrived in Rome on Saturday morning, same day of the match, but I called my friend Marco from Opherty & Ciocci to set a quick meeting with him just to say “Hi!” since we hadn’t gotten together for quite a while.

If you remember, the last time we met was for an interview. He was launching his brand new site selling vintage by kilos and presenting his very first kilo event at the Mercato Monti in Rome last November (you can see it here).

Right after the match he invited me to join him and his adorable mum at their showroom- that I would call more their “vintage paradise.” During a coffee and cigarette, session we spoke politics, vintage and business!

You know that I am one of their biggest fans; not only because they’re like friends and highly professional, but also because they are among the best Italian sellers: their finds are often absolutely rare gems and their price are more than affordable. Their show room is to die-for! Believe me if I tell you, I would have left with half of it (maybe more!). I had the honor to visit this vintage paradise on earth and they showed me some of their most interesting finds. I fell in love with a wonderful Hermès red handbag and a Chanel quilted satchel, just to mention some of the items that made my eyes heart shaped! Their knowledge and passion for vintage made this little time spent together very inspiring for me and I can’t wait to meet them again- very soon!

They also gave me great advise on how to spend my Sunday morning, “vintage style,” in Rome. I will tell you more about this soon!

You can find them on Ebay (Opherty & Ciocci), online (www.ilikekilo.com) and “on the road” in Rome or in many vintage fairs around Italy. Speaking of which… if you are around in Rome next weekend, may I suggest to you another great event that you shouldn’t miss: after the great success of the I Like Kilo at the Mercato Monti; Opherty & Ciocci is bringing the Kilo Sale to a new location. On Sunday, the 3^rd of March from 11 am to 10 pm, they will be at the Happy Sunday Market, at the Lanificio on Via di Pietralata 159 in Rome.

The Ladybug Takes A Sip of the All White Love Potion: the P.A.R.O.S.H. Boutique in Milan

Last week I decided to take advantage of a beautiful – yet cold – day to have a relaxing tour of the fashionistas’ (not mine!) favorite part of Milan: the Quadrilatero della Moda. For those who’ve never heard, it is just a part of the city center tucked between four big streets- where all the most important luxury shops have their Italian headquarters. Of course it is also the most exciting area during fashion week (which is not too long from now!) and if you take a stroll on a peaceful Saturday in the early afternoon, you’ll have the chance to have a proper look at the windows and do some serious… daydreaming!

It was during one of these strolls that I take every now and then that I fell in love. Yes, it took a few seconds for me to realize that it was one of those “love at first sight” things, but I stopped at that window completely breathless! The lucky window was of a new shop that I’ve never seen before, but heard a lot about in the past: P.A.R.O.S.H.

I headed in like Alice in Wonderland and I was about to leave my entire check there!

But let’s start from the beginning. P.A.R.O.S.H. was just a name so far for me; I remember seeing it in the fashion magazines, but I didn’t know anything about the story. When I got home I jumped online to know more about it. When I read what it was about, I understood why I fell in love so easily!

The label was born by the most eclectic mind of Paolo Rossello, a real vintage lover and treasure hunter all over the world. For more than 25 years he has traveled the vintage markets of the whole globe looking for vintage treasure to give new life to with his magical touch! The meaning of the label is indeed PAolo ROssello Second Hand. And believe me, his second hand is to die for! It seems that he is also a buyer of the second hand market La Montagnola, in Bologna, where I first fell in love with vintage many years ago when still a student at the University of Bologna.

His shop is an explosion of colors, furs and sequins in the simple clear white walls. It’s truly a magical place! The inspirations are of every kind: from the cocktails gowns that make you look like a princess from another era, to the lovely ’50s circle skirts or the geometrical prints of the ’60s. Everything (or almost) is rigorously vintage and re-invented with the most beautiful and precious textiles and creativity. There are also modern pieces, but with a wonderful retro touch that makes you forget about them not being real vintage!

If you are around, don’t miss the opportunity to visit (and buy!) from this beautiful shop on via Santo Spirito, 14… You won’t regret it! Prices are a quite high (but not impossible!).

The Ladybug Puts on a Couple Kilos in the All the Right Vintage Places: Opherty & Ciocci Launches the First Italian “vintage kilo” site!

If you are reading this blog, I assume you are a vintage lover. And if you are a vintage lover, I assume that you also know about this very popular new trend in the States and the UK of selling vintage stuff by kilos: I saw it in many shops and markets abroad and I found the idea absolutely amazing. Generally for 10/15 pounds or dollars per kilo- you can fill a bag of vintage clothing and bring home a lot of vintage pieces for an absolutely affordable price.

Moreover, if you’ve read my blog from the beginning, you may remember me telling you about the first (successful) attempts to trend this idea in the Italian vintage market.

But when I saw online that the first ever site to sell vintage by kilo in Italy was about to launch, I got really excited and decided to investigate. No surprise, really, when I realized that the project was an idea of one of my favorite vintage sellers in Italy, Opherty & Ciocci.

I met Marco, the founder, last year in Forlì at the annual vintage fair a month after starting my blog. We corresponded before and it was very nice to meet in person: since then; Marco has been one of my biggest and affectionate supporters, so I decided to give him a call to congratulate him and I asked him a few questions about his new project “ILIKEKILO”.

TLC:  Marco, first of all, tell us who is behind Opherty and how did you develop the idea of Opherty & Ciocci?

MO:  Good question! To make a long story short: when I was only 22, I was the manager of the customer service and marketing of an important laboratory of movie production. But the more I advanced, the less I was satisfied. I needed to create something “mine,” something that really made sense. At the same time, my mum was enjoying selling stamps and memorabilia on ebay. She was experiencing great success and her hobby was becoming more demanding every day. So I suddenly decided to create something within the family: I decided to combine our common passion for vintage and showcase, everywhere in the world, what we Italians do best [while simultaniously] creating a business that is eco-friendly. In the end, with a lot of passion, [patience and persistance], here we are! And I love to think that this is just the beginning!

TLC: In a very short time you have become an important reference for the Italian vintage scenario. What do you think people appreciate most about you?

MO: I think that our strength is in the customer relationship. We have loads of customers all around the world and at every holiday we receive a lot of greeting cards, pictures of their families, and a lot of questions about how we are doing! A customer for us is a friend first, and they are friends for life! We do our best, sometimes at our own expenses, to make our friends happy and satisfied. I firmly believe that if you really have passion and believe in what you do, this all comes spontaneously.

TLC: Some time ago I read that you transformed the Mercato Monti in Rome into a real pilgrimage venue for all the Roman (and not only) vintage lovers. Can you tell us more about this experience?

MO: The Mercato Monti is now family. Next Sunday we will celebrate 3 years, and during the week- all the stallers will go out for dinner to enjoy each other company and celebrate this great organization. Which essentially is lead by Ornella and Fabrizio who, with their passion and attention towards customers and stallers, have created a reference point for vintage, new designers and collectors. They supply a wonderful creative window to become known and expose what they do with greater passion.

This is why, with Ornella, I wanted to organize “the event within the event” the “ILIKEKILO”  at the Mercato Monti.  On Sunday 25^th of November: there will be a huge vintage kilo sale with more than 30 m2 of vintage clothing and accessories to weigh! The funny thing is: whatever you create with Ornella is already a success!

TLC:  Let’s talk about “ ILIKE KILO:” the idea is clearly Anglo-Saxon inspired, where buying vintage by kilo is a very popular trend. Can you tell us more about it?

MO:  Excatly. The kilo sale was born in London, but it is also popular in New York and Los Angeles. We adopted it in Italy for vintage shopping and of course, the only one who could bring it here was A.N.G.E.L.O., who is always a step ahead! This shopping revolution will soon be popular everywhere around the world. But the most surprising thing is that nobody [in Italy] brought it online! Oh well… since the 14^th of November it is online at ILIKEKILO.COM! And as I like to say, for us this is just the beginning… the best is yet to come!

TLC: Do you think that the Italian market is ready for that shopping revolution?

MO: Well, I think that we shouldn’t try to figure out if the Italian market is ready or not. Most of the times, the market is ready and it doesn’t know that it is! Of course we cannot introduce novelties by chance: we took inspiration from the English and American successes and added the main characteristics of the “Made in Italy” (quality, class, style) which will make it, inevitably, even more interesting.

TLC: Every time that we have a “vintage guest” at The Ladybug Chronicles we have our special question: can you give us tips about the best places in Italy or abroad to find affordable amazing vintage pieces?

MO:  I think that one of the funniest and most exciting things for vintage lovers is the answer to this last question: the most amazing and glorious vintage finds can be hidden in that memorabilia stall just around the corner, at a ridiculous price! This still happens even if nowadays, there is more attention to what we sell or sell off. We live in a country that has been making fashion and style for more than a century: as for the ruins, if we keep searching the results will [continue to be] satisfying and even astonishing!

If you want to try this amazing online vintage kilo experience you can visit the site www.ilikekilo.com : you can browse the different categories, choose your favorite items and weigh them on the virtual balance, as you do at the market! For only 15 euros per kilo, you can get amazing genuine vintage clothing and accessories… As a first of its kind in giving you the power to shop online for the exact items you want by weight, this site is absolutely worth the look!

And if you are in Rome this Sunday 25^th of November, you can try the real experience at the Mercato Monti: “you do not wanna miss it!!!”

(In the pictures some of my favorite items, taken from the Facebook page ILIKEKILO)

What’s New in the Ladybug’s Vintage Closet? New Vintage Learning Old Tricks with Touch of Charity…

It has been a while since I last shared my vintage finds here… not that I bought any, of course!

Here in Milan, the vintage shops and fairs have multiplied… as has my vintage wardrobe, but the space within my wardrobe isn’t expanding as needed- so it’s becoming more and more difficult to keep everything in the same closet!

All of my lastest vintage “new-ins” come from my favorite charity shop so far in Milan: Humana Vintage (via Cappellari, 3). I already mentioned it before. Since finding it by chance that day, I followed my flower petals back to its door over and over… and over again!

I often go to Humana because they have new stock almost every day. And if you buy a piece there, you have 30% off on the next Friday… this happens every week!! Can you imagine what it means? Yes, that I go almost every week!!

And this is what I got in the last few weeks (for great prices too!):

-          Vintage hats….

-          Vintage dresses….

-          Vintage blouses and shirts….

-          Vintage jackets….

What are your favorite pieces?

I can’t wait to share all my vintage new outfits… maybe (but only maybe!!) in the meanwhile there will be more vintage “new-ins” to show you!

Ladybug McFly Goes Back to the Future: Shopping and Fun at The (Sous) Vintage Shop in Milan!

In my last two outfit posts, I wore two of the three dresses that I bought in Milan during my house hunting trip last June. You may have noticed that I bought them in this lovely shop called Sous Vintage Shop, also known as The Vintage Shop! And honestly it is “THE” vintage shop!

It was my last day in Milan and KNAGUI, who was also in town, planned to connect before I left for the South. We met near my B&B to go to the San Lorenzo Columns for have brunch. While we walked along the Alzaia Naviglio Pavese, we came to number 52 and got hooked by this amazing vintage shop, so we decided to head in and have a proper look.

In the space of 10 seconds we felt catapulted back to the ’80s and the atmosphere of this fantastic two-floor shop got us immediately: fashion and music… our two biggest passions. It was clear we were at home with kindred spirits- owners, Silvia and Giovanni, who accepted to chat with us and let us take some pictures!

The Vintage Shop is not just a vintage shop, it’s a museum! Not only can you find the best selection of vintage clothing and accessories for men and women that I’ve seen in Italy so far, but also many pieces from my youth that I completely forgot: from the iconic “pianola Bontempi” (who in Italy didn’t have one?) to the roller skates or music players of our era! Music, books, vinyl, home-ware objects, it’s really a total Back To The Future experience.

Those of you who regularly follow my blog may know that I’m not a big fan of Italian vintage, but this time I have to admit that I was completely taken. Maybe the touch of Brit punk that you can sense around, but The Vintage Shop was for sure the best vintage surprise that I had in Milan!

Of course I did some quick shopping (the three vintage dresses mentioned above, and you will see the third one in my next post), but this is not the place to go if you are in a hurry: when I left I promised myself to go back with more time to make an accurate shopping session because every single piece in this huge shop deserves some attention!

The creators of this great shop-experience share the passion for vintage- and if Silvia is more fashion focused, Giovanni (a sound engineer) brings the noise with his big passion for music. Honestly, KNAGUI and I felt as if we were looking into the mirror!

Silvia and Giovanni, weren’t excited about being interviewed in English, but let me tell you that they did a great job! And I’m so happy we had this amazing conversation that day. You can see our video interview here on our channel TLC-TV, and visit them as soon as you are in Milan.  You won’t be disappointed!

I can’t wait to go back and spend some time (and money!) there! Thank you guys!

As for the third dress… Stay tuned!

[photo credit: KNAGUI]

Looks Like You’re Gonna Have Good Luck… There’s a Ladybug in Milan!

One of the beauties of becoming a blogger is that my posts give light to my pictures. I am the kind of girl who takes pictures all the time, I’ve always been that way, even before Facebook gave us the excuse to all become models and photographers!

So it’s no surprise that my external hard-drive is mostly full of pictures! Every now and then, I decide to put some order to it and create or append my catalogs, just to make sure everything remains easy to find. When I do that, I always find pictures that I want to share here and this, sometimes, is the origin of a blog post!

It is happening quite often lately, and a few days ago I found some other pictures that I liked.

Many of you know or understood this past summer I finally moved to Milan: I say finally because it is something that I really wanted since I was beginning to outgrow the Southern village. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a “Southern Gul” (to use Erykah Badu’s words!), but I’s a small town girl with big city dreams. [...and now I can't get Rahsaan Patterson's "Sure Boy" out of my head ... or Erykah's "Southern Gul," for that matter]

I’ve always loved Milan: it has everything (and I’m not speaking only about fashion)!  It’s big but- not messy; loads of things to do: concerts, cinemas, vintage shops and fairs; it’s the in center of Europe and every other place in the world is easily accessible.  It’s Italy’s London, Paris, Tokyo or New York!  I’ve always said that if I had to live in Italy, it would be in Milan.

It took some time, but finally- here I am. And very happy to be here.

KNAGUI took these pictures when we met here in May to go house-hunting because I had to move at the end of June. Nothing special about my outfit (very comfy and sporty to walk around in many different areas of the town!), but I like the “this is in Milan” factor of the pics: the typical bikes to rent, the tram, the architecture. I just liked it.

Of course, there was also some vintage shopping to do between a flat on the Navigli and one in Porta Romana! I wasn’t here for vintage shopping, but when a shop so kindly opens its door and invites me in… I can’t refuse to have a look inside, right?

On that same day I found a little shop near the San Lorenzo columns which is actually one of the most ancient vintage shops in Milan, called Backstage Vintage. If you see it from the outside it looks like a cozy messy little shop and in all actuality- it is! It’s very small and full of little gems from bow-ties to ’50s skirts to ’40s hats and ’70s floral dresses. If you’re in a rush or crunched for time, it’s hard to have a proper look as it’s a bit messy, but if you love spending time in search of some rarities- this is a great place for you! I found a rainbow ’80s skirt, a red floral dress and a red bow-tie (all pictured in my latest outfits here, here and here).

The next day, while walking on the Alzaia Naviglio Pavese (not far from my B&B), I found a great vintage shop called Sous Vintage Shop where I bought 3 amazing vintage dresses (one of them is in my post from last Friday). I had such a blast there that I even decided to make a video in the shop and a lovely interview with the owners… stay tuned to know more!

(Jeans: Met, Sneakers: Adidas, Handbag: Phard, Sunglasses: D&G, Skull bracelet: Patricia Field)

[Photo credit: KNAGUI]

The Ladybug’s Pause for the Cause: NYC Charity Shops Review pt. 3 – “The Salvation Army”

My third and final review on this installment of NY-Charity shops is about the most famous and probably the widest charity community in the States and the world, The Salvation Army.

The Salvation Army was born in 1865 as an evangelical part of the Universal Christian Church. As they say on their site, www.salvationarmyusa.org, their aim is written on the Bible and its ministry is motivated by the love of God.  Their mission is helping people in need without any discrimination of need, race, religion, etc.

The net of these entities is so wide and complex that, as you can imagine, donations and thrift shops are just a part of it… but hey!, they are a great part! I was ready to find one of their stores in New York but, again, the answer came to me spontaneously without been asked!

During my interview with Sammy Davis, I asked her to tell me about her favorite vintage/thrift shops in New York and the first one she mentioned was the Salvation Army between 46^th and 10^th in Manhattan! Sammy also advised to go on Wednesday, as it’s family day and everything goes 50% off and, when the cameras were off, she told me not to be afraid of it from the outside… and I understood what she meant when I arrived there, alone, on that following Wednesday!

From the outside, the building and the whole area is quite abandoned and not taken care of and you can easily find homeless people hanging around, but nothing to be scared or afraid of! So I decided to go in and have a look around this three-story charity shop. This Salvation Army is not dressed to impress… this is a real charity shop with no ornaments, fitting rooms or anything beyond the bones… this is a charity shop in its pure essence! Nothing easy to find, people half naked behind the pillars trying some trousers or skirts on – I did it too!!  When I told “Mr. Bible” AKA KNAGUI about the experience he said with a big laugh, “Where the spirit of the Lord is, there’s liberty… so you were free to be naked in your Salvation, Baby!”

Still, can you imagine a place described like that as Heaven? Well, it was… the Heaven of thrifters like me- for sure!!

I spent the bulk of my time on the second floor (women clothing!) more than 2 hours, plus 45 minutes on the third one (furniture and homeware) and I left the shop with two “Santa Klaus bags” full of things and I spent only $45… $90 with 50% off!!! This is what I got for this little price:

-       An adorable “country style” jacket-coat

-       A lovely double-buttoned ’80s jacket

-       A navy preppy jacket

-       A purple perfectly-fitting jacket

-       A fuchsia harem pant

-       A pair of pink Spanish vintage shoes

and, drum rolls please…..ladies and gentlemen…a rare gem….for $6.99…… this amazing pair of red vintage Bally shoes in perfect condition!!!

I came back home after this experience with some difficulties – due to the luggage restrictions! – but full of happiness… I also sent a sms to Sammy to show her my gratitude about the tips!

The Ladybug’s Pause for the Cause: NYC Charity Shops Review pt. 2 – “Goodwill Industries”

I’ve been telling you about the “amazingness” of experiencing thrift stores and charity shops.  And last week I began my review of the ones I visited in NYC with Housing Works.  Remember how I told you what a surprise for me to find this shop, even if I was prepared to find some specific thrift stores while I was there, because I didn’t know anything about it.

Well, one of charity shops I was looking for was a local Goodwill.  I was trying to find one when in all actuality: it found me! It happened on that Saturday morning after visiting (and shopping at!) the Chelsea Antiques Market: when I walked out, I found a big Goodwill store waiting for me to go in and have a look! Of course, that’s what I did!

Goodwill Industries is not just a chain of charity shops around the States: they’ve been providing help, training, education and work to people with physical and mental disabilities since 1902. They do that through the donations that they receive and part of that funding and mission passes through their charity shops, of course.

When I got inside, I had the feeling of being in your average retail shop: everything was clean and orderly, and among tons of clothing and accessories you can easily find CDs and DVDs and even some pieces of furniture and art.

The most interesting part of the shop, for me, was the section of shoes: some very interesting and even rare pieces stood on their shelves… like these lovely studded Rochas ankle boots – what luck that they were my size!  I got them for only $12.99 USD!

I also liked a couple of dresses, but I shopped enough at the Chelsea Market for that day so I preferred to let them go.

I love the feeling of having found an amazing piece for a very low price.  And knowing that my money is going for a good cause makes the “reward” even better… thrift shoppers know what I mean!

Listen, if you have never tried the experience… do it! It’s….”priceless!”

The Ladybug’s Pause for the Cause: NYC Charity Shops Review pt. 1 – “Housing Works”

Ask me what one of my favorite inventions is and I’ll probably reply, “charity shops!”

For real! Just think about it for a minute because the idea is amazing: you can donate your clothes to charity entities like The Red Cross or your local church for those who can’t afford to buy clothes. By giving them to a charity shop, you’re recycling them to someone else who’s going to love them, take care of them and maybe recycle them again.  All of this invariably feels good because you know that you’ve contributed to a good cause. On the other side you can buy rarities owned by other people at reasonable prices, reuse them (maybe recycling them again!) knowing that your money is going to help people in need. Isn’t it great?

I still wonder why, in Italy, this hasn’t been developed as much as it should (there’s only one big charity shop in Milan, maybe two but I still haven’t found the second one!).  So for now, I can enjoy completely my tour of charity shops only abroad.

Before going to New York I thought that London was the capital of charity shops: you can really find them at every corner, and if you read this blog regularly- you might have read my post last March in which I told you about my London tour of charity shops with Daisy, but my disappointment was the fact that they are still quite expensive for charity shopping.

When in New York, of course, I started my hunt for thrift/charity stores and it wasn’t a complicated hunt since, almost like London, New York is full of charities! But let’s start the review from the one that I didn’t know nor expect: Housing Works.

I was heading home from a busy vintage shopping session in the East Village when, just as I rounded the corner, this beautiful thrift store got my attention. It was actually the first charity shop that I saw in New York. As many thrift stores in London, this shop really looked and smelled good: very clean and bright, with beautiful vintage furniture and amazing designer clothes and accessories mixed with more accessible labels and a lot of interesting vintage pieces. It looked pricey, but in the end I realized that it wasn’t at all… I might even say that I got here some of the best bargains of my whole vintage shopping life!

Don’t believe me? Here are some great examples: I walked out from the shop leaving there (for charity, of course!) 54 dollars. Here is what I got with it:

-      This absolutely amazing original ’60s Pucci headband for $20 (yes, 20 DOLLARS!!!),

-      This adorable ’80s hat from French designer Philippe Model for $30,

-      This cute white leather and golden cuff for $4,

I don’t know what you think, but if all charity shops are like that in New York… I suggest we all pay more attention to what’s around the corners!

PS: Spoiler alert… what I found in during the next few days was even more exciting!!