The Ladybug’s golden shine!

Last summer during the very last days of seasonal sales (usually during the same days of my birthday!) I decided to treat myself with a last birthday present (the biggest one being my trip to Senegal!): a pair of amazing pointy golden boots from Dune London with killer heels at a super reduced price!

I was a bit scared because I read many different opinions on these shoes but when I received them and started using them regularly I was very satisfied with my new babies!

They for sure look good but they are also super comfortable as I can wear them all day without having my feet sore. Some people complained about the material (also on my Instagram) and the fact that the zips broke very easily but at the moment I am pretty satisfied and I used them quite a lot.

I also like the fact that I can wear them during summer or winter, night and day, causal and dressed up, they fit every outfit and they add a glowing touch that I like a lot.

This time I wore them casual (…very casual!) with an oversize clear blue shirt from Topshop (another summer bargain at the very end of the seasonal sales!) and a pair of skinny black jeans from Acne Studios.

Another golden touch: my adored Fulani earrings from Africaialha on Etsy.

The Ladybug, a new haircut and a new biker jacket

Many people asked me about my new haircut: why did I cut so short?

Honestly sometimes you just need to make up your mind, refresh it with new thoughts or just re-style yourself and look at your own face in a different way! I just don’t mind about my hair being short, it’s not the first time (actually I cut it short quite often) and I know they it grows so fast that in a few weeks it will be long again!

I just take the good side of it at the moment: I can play with my makeup, I can wear big earrings and I can try it with very feminine looks or some tomboy style!

Here I was in this tomboy mood but I was proudly wearing my new faux-fur Zara black biker jacket that I coveted for so long before finally finding it online! I really love the texture as it looks like leather and it has an 80’s feel that I adore: I have been looking for a vintage one like this but I couldn’t find anything that I really liked so I decided to go for this high street one! The only thing that I don’t like is that I see it quite often worn by other people in the streets, but hey! this is the downside of high street!

I paired it with Acne Studios black denim and H&M denim shirt. I added my new 60’s inspired Marella ankle boots (one of my favorite picks during the winter sales!) and my Miu Miu bag.

The Ladybug’s new experiments at Miró exhibit

Since the opening of the new Mudec Museum in Milan I must say that I have seen there some of my favorite art exhibits, including “The Force of Matter” dedicated to Juan Miró. Over 100 works of the artists dating from 1931 to 1981 (with the contribution of the Fundació Juan Miró in Barcelona) are exposed chronologically to reconstruct his art trajectory. His pieces are one of the highest contributions to modern art and his constant experimentation with forms and colors has as a result a captivating, joyful and colorful art that I love. The exhibit is very well curated and I enjoyed the visit a lot. I especially loved his simplification of forms (which reminds me a lot of a kind of primitive art) and his incredible mastery of colors.

For the visit (and a brunch out with a friend in a lovely summery day) I decided to wear my new oversized striped tee from & Other Stories and skinny jeans from Acne Studios. I added silver flats with buckles from Max&Co (a piece from this past winter sales but perfect for spring and summer days!), Michael Kors bucket bag and a pair of Dior vintage frames.

The Ladybug’s “friendly” weekend in Rome

My weekend in Venice was not the only one out of town in March: I also spent a great weekend in Rome to visit my adorable friend Simona and with her my new bunch of friends in town.

The great thing about it is that each of them has their own special feature: for example one is a great runner, which makes sport an important part of the weekend, one is specialized in great restaurants and music selection in the car (yeah, you know who you are!) ensuring at least a great dinner and lot of singing especially on the way back home, one knows (and makes) the best cocktails so that drinking is covered as well and Simona is the perfect pair for running, drinking, eating with special bonus for shopping and art.

Art was indeed the first excuse for this trip: the exhibit on Henry Toulouse-Lautrec was at the Ara Pacis museum (it is still there until the 8^th of May) and we planned a lovely visit on Sunday morning. It was my first Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit and I was totally amazed by his art including posters, illustration and photographs. What I liked most about the exhibit was the way it managed to re-create the world in which the artist worked: the Paris of the Belle Epoque, the bohemian city of the late XIX century.  After the visit we walked to Piazza di Spagna, had a healthy stop for lunch at Ginger in via Borgognona and enjoyed some window shopping in this amazing city.

I never get tired of walking in Rome: on Saturday (after a morning run with the girls and a classic dance class in the afternoon!) we headed to Campo de’ Fiori for a drink. It was a special occasion in Rome that day: the rugby match between Italy and Scotland turned the whole city into a great party venue. Handsome Scottish men in kilt were hanging around playing the bagpipes (it happened also in the restaurant where we ate later and it was AMAZING!), drinking beer and making it even easier than usual to chat and have fun with strangers in the streets! It was the funniest thing ever!

By the way, if you want to try a good restaurant in Rome we went to Casa Bleve, in the courtyard of wonderful XVI^th century building in via del Teatro Valle where you can also visit the Roman ruins of an ancient wall, have a great quality dinner and be sure to find the perfect wine that goes with it.

(For the visit to Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit I wore Stefanel camel coat, Acne Studios jeans, Prada sweater, Lazzari brogues, Miu Miu bag and Momonì scarf).

The Ladybug supports handmade designers at the Blue Velvet Atelier

During the frenzy of Christmas period, among markets and crazy shopping, I was invited to a very special event in the heart of Milan, the Blue Velvet Atelier in Corso Como. Two days in a beautiful space where art, fashion, handmade and design meet together for a different kind of event. Not a market but a temporary shop that looks more like a boudoir with some of the best handmade designers around. Plus: free delicious cakes, Dammann Frères tea, street food trunk and a special corner for hair and makeup!

I went to see my beautiful friends Ilaria and Gemma from Heka Couture exposing there their beautiful creations: I loved their hats, turbans, headbands and clothing as usual and I bought from them some of my Christmas presents for my beloved ones (yes, I’m trying to make more turban-addicts!!) and of course for myself! By the way, what do you think of my new check headband? 🙂

I also found some new handmade designers like Lora Nikolova Bijoux & Art, an amazing jewels designer (I fell in love with her necklaces and I bought a lovely pair of earrings and a beautiful tree-brooch) and Riminimade who makes beautiful handmade shoes that you can “create” yourself with the color and fabrics that you prefer (I didn’t buy a pair but I definitely will, I’ve already created my favorite pair!!).

For the event I wore my new blue coat from Diffusione Tessile in perfect “dressing-gown style”, Acne Studios jeans, Please sweater, New Balance sneakers, Miu Miu bag and my new Heka Couture headband!

 

The Ladybug walks through the history of The Great Mother

When I came back to Milan after my summer holidays I saw an ad about one of the exhibits held in Palazzo Reale that I was very interested in. The exhibit was La Grande Madre (The Great Mother) and it was produced and created by the Fondazione Nicola Trussardi. I waited until the last day to visit it (as usual!) but I am happy that I managed to see it as it was one of the most interesting things I have seen in Milan lately.

It is a huge exhibit that retraces the iconography of motherhood in the art during the last two centuries through the work of more than a hundred international artists. As a result the exhibit also traces the history of women’s empowerment, gender struggles, sexual politics and clashes between tradition and emancipation.

It was also an occasion to admire artists as Lucio Fontana, Frida Kahlo, Man Ray, Salvador Dalí, Jeff Koons, Louise Bourgeois (I adored her installations), Robert Gober, Andy Warhol and Maurizio Cattelan, just to name a few.

I wore a casual outfit (Acne Studios jeans, Replay biker boots, Uniqlo cardi, Michael Kors bucket bag) with a vintage touch (my green handmade asymmetric hat by Stondo Firenze).

The Ladybug and the White Shirt, the story continues: discovering Balossa SS2016 collection at White Trade Show

During the Milan Fashion Week one of my favorite stop-overs is the White Trade Show: I love this place not only because it gives you a forward-looking idea of what will be on next year but mostly because you discover many new interesting brands. In fact when I get back home I have my bag full of business cards and I spend a lot of time online to visit sites, Facebook and Instagram pages!

​But it is also an occasion to visit some of my favorite brands and to see which surprise they prepared for my little happy eyes! It was the case of my adored Balossa White Shirt, one of my favorite brands ever (especially because they have wonderful handmade shirts, that I adore, but this you already know!) founded by the talented designer Indra Kaffemanaite, who presented the new SS2016 collection a few weeks ago at White Trade Show in Milan.

As usual it was a pleasure to meet Indra because she is such a sweetheart and she takes a lot of time explaining every single piece with such a passion that you feel like falling in love every time she takes a new shirt from the hanger. But I have to say that the 2016 Spring Summer collection managed to amaze me maybe even more than the last one, when I first met her. The beautiful shirts of this collection reach a new level of deconstruction leading to new experiments and breaking the rules in a totally unexpected way. Balossa plays with volumes and lines creating real art sculptures with surprising details: cut-outs, draperies, asymmetries and the most original detail, sleeves and collars everywhere except where you expect to find them! You can find sleeves as belts or pussy bows, collars as pockets (or inside pockets) or as details all along the shirt, shirts as dresses or jackets: the freedom of creativity is strong and refreshing. Eccentricity becomes sensual and bold at the same time.

Every Balossa shirt is a statement piece!

The shirts of this collection are made with selected Italian cotton, so that they are soft and fresh (a real pleasure to wear) with a touch of sheer every now and then. White is the main color but the new shades of blue and pale pink are perfect for summer (I am really in love with the blue shade, very hard to find and extremely sexy).

I am not surprised that during the White Trade Show, Balossa received the Inside White award from Izumi Ogino, designer of the maison Anteprima. She chose Balossa because of their shapes, cuts and volumes that represent a perfect mix of Italian and Japanese styles. I can’t agree more with her!

I try to show you some of my favorite pieces here but believe me, it was very hard to pick up only a few of them!

For the day I wore a Balossa asymmetric white shirt, of course!, with Acne Studios skinny jeans, vintage Escada yellow shoes from Epiphany vintage and thrift store in Frankfurt, handmade African earrings and Balenciaga bag.

The Ladybug Goes to EXPOsed: Milan Through the Eyes of Its Artists

A few weeks ago my friend Ilaria invited me to the opening of a very special photography exhibition. She didn’t say a lot because she wanted for it to be a surprise; I only knew the day, the time and the place (La Fabbrica del Vapore, one of my favorite spots in Milan).

When we met there, she told me that she was part of the exhibit because she was photographed and exposed as one of the artists chosen to represent Milan and the city’s artsy residents.

The idea of the talented photographer, Marina Spironetti, was to offer visitors a new view of Milan through portraits of 184 artists living in Milan. The artists were photographed in their favorite spot or the places that best represented them or their art. Actors, dancers, designers, writers, musicians and my lovely costumer, Ilaria told us a story about their Milan through portraits representing the town in a new and unconventional way. Marina took pictures for more than a year, over 2000 shots, and let me tell you that the photographs are amazing.

I also loved the way the photographs were displayed (the spot was perfect and so was the lighting), not to mention the sonic backdrop that gave score to the exhibit. The sound sculpture, curated by the sound designer Luca De Marinis, uses the voices of the photographed artists to accompany the visitors during the exploration of the exhibit.

Of course, I couldn’t avoid taking a picture of Ilaria’s photograph (she chose her beautiful apartment and studio in Milan with a lot of vintage pieces, antiques and ethnic homeware), and of course I couldn’t help wearing one of her creations: a beautiful handmade shantung turban with vintage button.

Among the many photographs that I liked, there is also this one (maybe one of my favorites) of the actress Linda Caridi at the Central Station in Milan.

Along with my turban, I also wore a leather jacket by H&M, striped Zara shirt, Acne Studios black jeans, thrifted Marc by Marc Jacobs pointy flats, and a Miu Miu handbag.

You have time to visit the exhibit, on display until the 23^rd of May.  So… if you are around for the EXPO, you can experience a different, artsy view of Milan too!

The Ladybug on How To Become a True Vintage Lover: Milano Vintage Week

Milano Design Week is over (I will tell you more about my Design Week next week), but there is no Design Week in Milan without one of my favorite vintage events in town… Milano Vintage Week.

This beautiful event is quite young (it started in 2014) and has two editions- one of which happens during the famous Salone del Mobile and the other during MDW. So it’s no surprise I immediately feel excited about the best vintage coming to town in the weeks before their arrival!

I travel a lot checking out fairs and events to spot the best vintage around, but when it happens in Milan (at the Showroom Riccardo Grassi) I feel even more excited! As surprising as it may seem, there are not many vintage events in Milano, but the Milano Vintage Week is a special one- mostly because of the accurate selection of the stallers. I know most of them and I consider them among the best vintage dealers and lovers in Italy.

Among them, Opherty & Ciocci (in my opinion- one of the leaders in vintage research, quality and rarity of pieces in Italy, especially vintage designer handbags), Shabby Chic (who brought some wonderful handmade pieces made with original ’50s fabrics and amazing straw headpieces), Magnifica Preda (with a great quality choice of handbags and beautiful dresses) and A.N.G.E.L.O. (with his amazing collection of pin-up swimsuits and other rare accessories); just to name a few on the long list which definitely makes it worth a visit, so don’t forget to note it for the next edition!

But Milano Vintage Week is not only beautiful vintage dresses and accessories. There’s also Italian vintage design (and why not, it is Design Week!), handmade, a beautiful fashion exhibit in collaboration with A.N.G.E.L.O. that told the story of fashion in the Postwar years and presented interesting news. For example: there were vintage hair and makeup tutorials in collaboration with Elizabeth Arden- who also offered vintage hairdos and makeup to those who wanted to try it for a day and know more about the story of this long-running brand! Plus a lot of tutorials and workshops and “how to” events, including vintage makeup, weddings, china and the use of foulards to make perfect gift packages to reduce the use of paper!

Milano Vintage Week is the perfect event to actively try and experience vintage. It’s also the kind of event that I strongly recommend to those who want to know more about the beautiful world of vintage. I am sure that you will step in curious about vintage and leave a true vintage lover for life!

I couldn’t wear a vintage outfit as I wanted to because of my running errands during the day, but I paired my Acne Studios black jeans, H&M denim shirt, Lazzari brogues and Miu Miu handbag with a vintage striped shirt, vintage ’70s sunglasses by Maison Studio, handmade earrings by Metalica and handmade velvet turban by Madame Ilary.

The Ladybug (the Woman and the Sun) Vs. Van Gogh (The Man and the Earth)

About a month ago I visited one of the most crowded exhibits ever held at Palazzo Reale in Milano, the Van Gogh expo “L’uomo e la terra” (The Man and the Earth). The exhibit focuses on the importance of the simple life, the life of the farmers, of the villagers and the attachment to the earth (intended as mother of life) in Van Gogh’s art. This wasn’t the best Van Gogh expo, I must admit. Especially because this part of his artistic career is very often underestimated and not particularly famous, except for some pieces like The Postman.

To be perfectly honest, I was a bit disappointed… maybe because it was quite small (compared to the Marc Chagall exhibit for example) or simply because it wasn’t my favorite of Van Gogh’s artistic eras!

But it was a wonderful sunny day, maybe the first real spring forward day, and I was in wonderful company so I decided to take some pictures around Palazzo Reale and just enjoy the blessings of the day!

I wore a Please burgundy sweater, Acne Studios black jeans, Max and Co coat, Replay biker boots. My folk clutch is from La Maison Momonì, sunglasses are Céline. I added a lovely brooch from Hidden Forest Market in Verona and vintage red leather gloves from Sofia Vintage in Como.