The Ladybug in a “wax winterland”

Wax in winter looks impossible? Not at all! Wearing our wax prints only during summer days is a huge limitation to this fabric that can be worn every season of the year!

Maybe because I cannot give up colors and flashy patterns, but I cannot imagine living 6 months a year without wax prints!!

Wanna try? It is sufficient to correctly layer and it and it will give you light, joy and happiness all year long! Of course if the day is around 0 degrees you can wait for a better temperature to give it a try!

I just want to share one of my favorite examples here (it was November and the temperature was around 10 degrees!): I remember that at the time I had just received this adorable trench handmade in Togo from Bazar Pagne (after winning one of their giveaways!). I love it so much that I couldn’t wait two more seasons to wear it so I decided to include it in an outfit for a brunch out with friends.

I wore it with a vintage 80s rust and golden sweater from Mister Libra in Milan, with two more layers: an organic cotton tee and a cotton/wool vest to keep me warm.

I added very old Zara corduroy rust culottes and two 80s vintage pieces in a lovely caramel tone: a vintage maxi bag from Lullaby Vintage in Barcelona and a pair of amazing boots from London Corner Vintage.

By the way, let me add another tip here: when it comes to the choice of colors to pair with wax prints I strongly recommend to dare other colors than black or white. You will be surprised of the interesting alternatives that you may find. I also suggest to choose a color that you feel interesting when matching the main color of the wax print, in this case I love the rust with the dark yellow of the trench.

Btw, for this same reason I added golden maxi hoop earrings from Gogo Philip!

How do you feel about this one?

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The Ladybug Vanity dress: wearing peacock wax for your birthday

Peacocks are legendarily famous as vain animals: they love showing off their beauty! Wearing a peacock print has a very similar effect on those who wear it, have you noticed?

I am a huge fan of this print, possibly because I am vain too but I think that it actually depends on my love for the two colors together (patrol green and purple).

When I found this beautiful rare peacock wax print on Etsy I didn’t think twice: I got to have it! I immediately ordered 3 yards not knowing yet what to do with it! I have to say that it is very rare to find the peacock print in this color: usually they are in blue or pink (I have a few yards like that) but this…a real gem!

When I received from Nigeria I was the happiest girl in the world and I knew immediately what to do with it: a simple yet beautiful dress.

And there was only one person to make it exactly the way I wanted it to be: Madame Ilary!

We went for a long egg dress, round collar and short sleeves, without any cut just to show how beautiful this print could be! When it was ready I immediately fell for it and I decided to celebrate my own birthday with this dress as a sort of self-dedication! Yes, vain that I am!!

I wore it simple with sequined flat sandals (those in which I lived all summer!) and handmade headwrap (from Madame Ilary again). I added my favorite vintage Cartier bag from Grey Vintage Shop and a pair of handmade octopus statement earrings from a Neapolitan artist also found in Madame Ilary shop in Milan.

What do you think of my birthday outfit? Did I reach the “self-celebration through outfit” goal?

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The Ladybug’s tribute to her granny (and to Africa)

Many times you ask me about my passion for Africa and about where it comes from: “Are you married to an African guy?”, “Did you live in Africa?”, “Maybe you were born there”, etc. The truth is: none of these things!

I am deeply convinced that there must be a link with the continent from my past lives or my ancestors’ lives but, without going too far into the spiritual side of the thing, the simple truth is that this passion comes from my granny (my father’s mom). We used to call her the “ethnical granny” because of her passion for traveling and for foreign countries and cultures (which I definitely inherited from her!). This passion was very clear from her way of dressing: kaftans, Indian jewelry, colored prints (other thing that I inherited from her). When I was a kid she used to bring me to the “African market”, that was actually a small part of the common market in Catania, where many African sellers used to sell their stuff: wooden statues, colored jewelry, wax fabrics etc. Also she used to create little turbans for me with the African pagnes to wear at the beach. No surprise that I am the person that I am now, right?

My passion for Mama Africa is often expressed also through my way of dressing: not only African wax prints but also tees, jewels, shoes and other objects or clothes that have clear African inspiration. You know already that fashion for me is a way of expressing myself (my personality, my passions etc.) through my clothes.

Today I am expressing my love for Africa more than usual!

My tee (I adore it!) is from Original X Creation, a black owned business that you can find on Afrikrea, my favorite African marketplace (I have another one from them but I’ll show you next week!), while my skirt and turban are handmade by the talented Madame Ilary with this wonderful fabric that I found in Senegal during my last visit in 2019.

My jewelry is handcrafted (as usual!) and my Miu Miu golden gladiator sandals (thrifted so many years ago that I cannot even remember!) have just won the first prize in the category “Most Worn Shoes” of my closet!!!

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