The Ladybug feels a bit nostalgic of the 90s (just a little bit!)

Don’t you feel sometimes this desire of a flower 90s dress like those worn by Brenda and Kelly in Beverly Hills 90210? I have to be honest, I was born in the 70s, enjoyed the 80s as a kid and I was a teen in the 90s but that decade, fashion-wise, was not my favorite at all. The only thing that I keep loving about that era are the lovely flower dress, often worn on a simple white shirt! Kelly in particular was my style icon (way before SJP in Sex & The City and – I must confess – still today!).

In the last few years, as the 90s made their comeback, I started buying a couple of vintage pieces that reminded me of my youth, especially that Kelly/Brenda style that I enjoyed so much at the time. One of them is this cute long flower black dress completely buttoned that made these two girls pop into my mind as soon as I saw it! It was during a Vinokilo sale in Milan and it was hanging alone among men denim jackets (probably out of place!): it felt like it was waiting there to recall my memories!

But you know that I love matching different styles then I added only another 90s inspired piece (a pair of black Cult studded wedges – btw, do you remember this iconic shoe brand from the 90s? I found out that they still produces shoes with the same vibe) and I paired this 90s style with a touch of African flavor!

African wax headband is an handmade gift from Madame Ilary (I love the green and tangerine print) while the Fulani earrings are handmade in Africa.

This match will definitely remove a bit of the 90s vibe but it is still there and I liked it. Also, I was going to meet Marica and Faburama, founders and creators of Kanö – Sartoria Sociale in Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto (near my hometown) and I really wanted to wear some African pieces to honor them!

What do you think of this very personal match? Yay or nay?

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The Ladybug on the sustainable wax print and how to wear it (sustainably)

There is no need to repeat again what African wax prints mean to me right? How much I love their colors, prints, history and how they remind me of my favorite place in the world, correct?

Ok, so let’s try to get further in the detail on how to wear them in a completely sustainable way!

First of all the choice of the print: let me tell you that I buy very rarely already sewn pieces because one of the things that I love more is the process of choosing the print and decide what to make with it! There are pictures of me sitting on the floor in a Senegalese market covered of wax fabrics and they represent a very happy moment for me. I want to decide the print based on what I know about them, their history, meaning and how they talk to me for what they represent to my eye and soul. This is how special this moment is for me. I always buy a lot of prints when I travel to Africa, sometimes I do it online (basically on Etsy from a couple of trusted African sellers) but never in Italy: they are too expensive and very often they are not of very good quality. Anyway the first rule is: let it talk to you! Second: buy it from local market sellers, if you can!

Usually when I buy a piece I already have in mind what to do with it: if I enough time when I travel I give it to local tailors (Senegalese are the best: great quality in no time and you will feel so happy because a. your piece is locally sourced and produced; b. you helped to sustain the community. It’s a great feeling, believe me!)

This was not the case for this skirt: locally sourced in Senegal (not from me but from a friend who bought it for me in this case) but locally produced in Italy by the magical hands of Madame Ilary who created a beautiful circle maxi skirt!

Our sustainable piece should then be worn in a sustainable way, for example with an handmade piece (the beautiful Aime-toi Madame by Madame Ilary black tee) and a vintage black leather biker jacket (found in a huge garage sale in Munich for only 15 euros a couple of years ago).

Arabic necklace is handmade as well as all the rings (locally sourced in Peru and handmade by Francesco Tramontano); statement golden bamboo earrings are from Giovanni Raspini (birthday present from my colleagues), blue suede and leather ankle boots are from Ouigal.

The Ladybug and a summer outfit to say “Welcome back to Milan”!

In my last post I showed my last Milanese outfit before the beginning of my summer holidays; this is my first Milanese outfit when I came back!

The weather was still nice and I wanted to enjoy the last warm days in town with a very summery outfit! The big piece is my new wonderful African wax skirt: the print is definitely one of my favorite African prints that I call the “coq” print (coq in French means rooster); indeed the pattern is made of roosters, hens, little chicks and eggs! I find it super fun and I really wanted this fabric to create something nice with it!

I found it on Etsy from a French seller and I immediately ordered mine to give it to Madame Ilary to create a nice skirt for me! She created this beautiful A-line midi skirt with side bow that I adore and, with the scraped fabric she made a lovely shopping bag that I will show you soon!

This is already one of my favorite skirts ever: the print is fantastic and so is the flattering shape!

It is a very eye-catching piece, that’s why I wore it with a simple Asos white tee and Jeffrey Campbell beige caged ankle boots.

My rings are Berber vintage from Morocco and from Francesco Tramontano.

Photo Credit: Milena Molinari

The Ladybug and the Dashiki print, a true African love!

Dashiki pattern, a true African love. But what is Dashiki? The name comes from the Yoruba language spoken in West Africa, especially in Nigeria, and it means shirt. The iconic pattern that we now define as Dashiki is the Angelina print, created by a Vlisco textile designer and it was inspired by a printed tunic worn in Ethiopia by noblewomen  at the beginning of the 19th century. The print was widely worn in West Africa but it became very popular by the end of the 60s when Jason Benning started producing the modern Dashiki (he also invented the word) in Harlem. Black people started using it as a sign of love for the Mother Africa, especially during the cultural event related to Africa. It was also widely worn in the late 60s by African-Americans embracing their African heritage and promoting Black Pride.

Nowadays it is often worn by celebrities and it is used as a fabric from many fashion designers from all over the world to create dresses, jackets, skirts with this beautiful pattern.

It is a pattern that I love so much, in every shade and design, and I have been dreaming of a perfect vintage Dashiki tunic for ages. It is easy to find cheap versions of this tunic, but I really wanted to have the real one, from the 60s/70s. Not easy to find it, especially in my size (mostly are men sizes) and with colors and patterns that I loved. It took months until I found this green one from Matmonit Vintage on Etsy. Matmonit is an Israeli vintage shop, specialized also in ethnic and folk vintage clothes that I love very much, where I always find amazing pieces from the past!

I wore my Dashiki tunic with other African pieces: a handmade wax turban from Madame Ilary (I bought the fabric in Senegal!) and a Senegalese orange leather necklace that I got from Seyeyaram African Made in Milan.

Vintage jeans are Levi’s and tan flat sandals are from Clarks.

The Ladybug and the rainy (but colored) island life

I don’t know what happened this year but since I arrived in Messina (my hometown in Sicily) mid-August, the weather started acting funny: not a single day with sunny weather but always cloudy and very changeable. One hour of rain, two hours of sun and so on for two whole 2 weeks.

We literally chased the sun but I couldn’t get more than two/three hours per day!

The problem is that when it rains and it is August the life on an island is pretty boring: I read a lot, worked on the blog (I made some changes, did you notice?) and on the online shop. I basically prepared my comeback to Milan and planned all the activities for September/October (not fun at all!).

One of these rainy days I was out and about with my sister (ok we went for a Sicilian “granita”!) we passed by this murals and she told me that it was perfect for a shooting as I looked like in the Caribbean! She was right, it was fun and so, here I am, in Sicily but looking like the Caribbean!

I wore my new orange wax skirt handmade by Heka Couture with an African print fabric that I bought in Senegal with my grey tee from Damsels in Distress and a pair of Clarks black gladiator sandals (one of the comfiest pair of shoes ever!).

Afro inspired earrings are from Mango while the Ghanaian mini bolga bag was a great find from Sankofa Beads and Baskets on Etsy.

The Ladybug is a Birthday girl!

18th of August 2018: it is my birthday and I turned 42!

Still super excited after my amazing trip to Japan, I spent my birthday in total relax in Sicily in my hometown with my friends and family, surrounded by love and laughter, I couldn’t celebrate it in a better way!

For this special birthday I decided to wear a special dress: it is a long African printed wax dress handmade by Madame Ilary with a fabric that I bought in Senegal during my trip last year. I really felt like an African princess, which I really needed considering the age!!

I added a Ghanaian bolga small straw bag that I bought on Etsy and a pair of loop earrings by Mango.

The Ladybug adds some (a lot of!) red for a 50s inspired outfit

Milan, Deejay Ten 10K run, October 2017.

Almost one hour of running and one of eating, chatting and stretching in Parco Sempione with fellow runners, then a quick shower and voilà: here I am in a 50s inspired style ready for a late lunch with my friends (those who run with me plus a few lazy ones!!) at the lovely Nepalese restaurant Ashar in Milan.

I wore my new Massimo Dutti dark denim culottes bought exactly the day before, during our shopping session (the Deejay Ten weekend is always a food + shopping one!) with my new & Other Stories striped top (bought during the same shopping session!!).

I added some touch of red like my not new but still loved African wax bomber jacket from Protect Talibés on Etsy, a thrifted Balenciaga bag and a red Sephora lipstick.

Clogs are from Casta & Dolly at Archivio Vintage in Milan.

The Ladybug and the importance of knowing Ulysses!

This was one of the funniest photo sessions ever!

I like when we take pictures and people just stare at you trying to understand why you are such a poser, sometimes people just ask or make comments (usually nice ones!) and it is lovely to take some time to talk to them and share opinions on the backdrop or best pose; but this time we laughed as mad when we realized what was happening!

My sister and I were in Messina, my hometown, and I liked that door so much that I wanted to take my pictures there: the area is very popular during summer because it is quite crowded of people going to the beach but basically it is an old fishermenarea with a lot of small houses just near the sea where people still enjoy playing cards or having a chat sitting outside their houses.

At some point during the shooting we realized that many people were almost surrounding us basically trying to understand who I was (maybe a famous TV starlet!?). My sister was a bit worried, like “Why are they all staring at us?” so I decided to reassure everyone saying that I was nobody (like Ulysses!) , just a little poser!

This seemed to calm everybody down but when we left we started laughing as hell!

I was wearing my beautiful handmade African wax top by Heka Couture and a vintage inspired jeans that I got from Zara during the summer sales. The striped turban is from Madame Ilary.

Moroccan round straw bag from Maluan Maroquinerie on Etsy, vintage loops and Birkenstock sandals, as usual!

The Ladybug’s tribute to Carmen Miranda

My love and admiration for Carmen Miranda is something known. She is definitely one of my favorite icons from the past and a sort of inspiration for my daily outfits.

Her wonderful turbans and choice of bold colors and statement jewelry pieces gives me such a joy that I can feel when I wear my colored turbans and clothes and my favorite statement jewels!

My outfit today is a tribute to my adored Carmen Miranda.

In my beautiful Sicily I was wearing a handmade African print playsuit with coordinated bow turban by Madame Ilary.

I added vintage 80s loop earrings from a vintage market and thrifted Topshop afro inspired sandals with my Moroccan round straw bag from Maluan Maroquinerie on Etsy.

The Ladybug’s less obvious reason to hate winter

I hate winter, really. For a thousand of reasons that may be more or less obvious (the cold, the rain, the grey weather etc. etc.) but there is one that is a bit less obvious: I hate it because I cannot wear my adored wax fabrics! Every now and then when it is not too cold I still wear some headwrap or turban but I miss my colored dresses, skirts, culottes…I just need these bold colors in my life!

These pictures were taken in October, the weather was still good in Milan and I was enjoying a stroll in Parco Sempione with my friend when we decided that the sun and the nature were offering a perfect frame for a quick shooting session!

I was wearing my wide leg trousers handmade by Heka Couture: the African fabric we bought online because we loved the print so much (we also got it in yellow!). I wore them with a white tee from Asos and a 90s inspired Mango denim jacket (I loved the vintage vibe when I saw it in the shop at the train station in Naples!).

On my jacket I added some of my favorite pins at the moment: some African inspired pins from My Filibo that I found on Afrikrea marketplace and the lovely body positive pins “Love your cellulite” from The Triangular Prism on Etsy.

I also wore my Fulani earrings from Africaialha on Etsy and wooden clogs from Casta & Dolly at Archivio Vintage in Milan.