The Ladybug’s chronicles of a perfect vintage Sunday morning in Milan

There are days that are just perfect: there is nothing special going on, but you feel alive and true to yourself and it gives you such a powerful energy and vibration.

This is what happened on that Sunday morning. I had a meeting with Ilaria on the Navigli in Milan to join the group for the Day against violence on women, and then to have a quick tour on the Naviglio Grande for the usual Antiques and Vintage market every last Sunday of the month.

Here I had a meeting with my wonderful vintage jewelry provider Valentina from Déjà Vu Vintage who had two beautiful surprises for me: first of all she was with the beautiful Laura from Oggetti Smarriti that I haven’t seen in a while and seeing her made me really happy; second, I found a wonderful vintage golden and wooden brooch and I was super happy about my new amazing find!

Last but not least, after a good chat with these beautiful ladies, Ilaria and I had a quick lunch at the Mag Café, definitely one of my favorite bars in town, that I love for its very vintage atmosphere and décor!

Vintage was the word of the day, that’s maybe why I felt so hype and excited, like in my real element.

And vintage was also part of my outfit of the day: it was indeed the perfect occasion to wear my wonderful green vintage coat from London Vintage, a wonderful lady that I met at the Pop Up Vintage Fair in London during my last visit end of October.  I have been looking for a colored vintage coat with fur collar for years but I couldn’t find my perfect match until I tried on this one: everything was just made for me! The incredible color, the shape, the collar, the mint conditions…I was so excited when I tried it that I knew immediately that it was mine! When I asked my friends at the fair where to find what I was looking for, they all answered: at London Vintage, and brought me to one of the most amazing stalls with great vintage pieces (especially coats!). They were right, Mr. Coat was waiting for me!

I wore it with a vintage inspired circle skirt handmade by Madame Ilary with an amazing pattern that she used also to create the beautiful coordinated turban.

The black turtleneck sweater is from Zara, the retro inspired black shoes are from L’Arianna and the golden hoops are vintage.

Last special piece of the day: the tiny round Ottod’Ame bag that you can wear in three different ways. I found it in Florence during my last trip and I couldn’t leave the shop without this lovely bag! You will see it in other outfits and you will find out other ways to wear it!

The Ladybug in Vintage Bruxelles pt. 2

If possible, our second day in Bruxelles was even better than the first one!

We woke up in a beautiful, warm and sunny day and we started the day with one of the best hot chocolates and macarons from the famous Marcolini…do you know a better start? Consider that what came after was even better!

Our Sunday was indeed specially dedicated to vintage hunting in the most vintage area of Bruxelles, the Marolles: it is the place that you cannot miss as it is a mixture of hipster, vintage and retro with plenty of amazing shops from home-décor to art and of course, vintage! I loved all the incredible street art in the area and I couldn’t help asking my favorite photographer friend Valentina to take some pictures of me with my favorite ones!

But when you head to the area on a Sunday morning, the first thing to do is a visit to the Jeu de Balle, the most famous antiques and flea market in town: the atmosphere is friendly and relaxed and the bargains are easy to find. We just enjoyed the vibrant market in the square and we got lost among the crowd in this adorable market!

Before a perfect outdoor lunch in one of the loveliest restaurant in rue des renards, Restobière, we headed to the famous vintage shop Foxhole Vintage in the same street and we continued our vintage shopping session started the day before: shoes, skirts, hats and dresses were on the list and it wasn’t easy to pick up our favorites in this colored and well assorted vintage shop! Pricing is absolutely honest and the gems that you can find here are worth a long visit, just to have the time to check almost everything in case you miss something very important waiting for you in the next hangers!

We also visited one of the oldest vintage shops in Bruxelles, Bernard Gavilon but we didn’t know that he is very famous in Bruxelles since the 80’s when he used to animate the town nightlife and that he was the first to open a vintage shop longtime ago (at least, that’s what we’ve been told!). His little shop in rue de Blaes is very crowded and full of clothes, accessories and homeware but I couldn’t find the “rare piece” and the right atmosphere that I expected to be honest. Still if you love vintage like I do it is a place to visit, at least to meet him in person!

Last but not least, you must grab your biggest bargains at Melting Pot Kilo, a lovely vintage shop in rue Haute that you shouldn’t miss because of their incredible vintage kilo sale: 15 euros for one kilo of clothes is really cheap and you won’t be disappointed by their selection as, unlikely the average vintage kilo sales we are used to see, here you can really find some lovely pieces for ridiculous prices! (For example I bought a floral circle skirt for 3 euros).

If you are in Bruxelles at the right time you can also look for the Brussels Vintage Market in the Halles de Saint Géry: it takes place every first Sunday of the month; locals say that it is a bit more expensive than the regular shops, but I guess that you can just have a look and confirm – or not – what they say! (This might also be my excuse to go back to Bruxelles again soon!)

If you are around, I also suggest visiting L’atelier en ville, a concept store in an incredible location where you can buy art and clothes but also drink and eat in one of the most interesting places in town!

As if all this wasn’t enough, the four girls moved to the lovely Flagey area, with the lovely lakes and beautiful houses but also with a lot of beautiful people enjoying the warm and sunny day in the park or in one of the many bars along the way. No need to say that we joined them for our last aperitif before leaving this warm and welcoming town, our lovely friends and one of the funniest and most pleasant weekends ever during which we did all the things that we love more with some very special and beloved friends!

Bye bye Bruxelles…see you soon!

Dress: Episode Vintage Bruxelles; Sneakers: New Balance; Bag: Balenciaga; Sunglasses: Prada

The Ladybug, Some Good Old Friends, The Navigli and the Beautiful Antiques’ Market

I can’t remember the last time I went for a walk along the canals of the Navigli and enjoyed the festive atmosphere of one of the most beautiful Antiques’ market that I’ve ever visited. The last time may very well have been a year ago, when I wrote this post about my great finds at the Market.

Strange that it’s been so long since this market takes place every last Sunday of the month and I truly adore it!

So when my friend Silvia visited from Switzerland and asked me to go, I was very happy to organize a few hours on the Navigli. While there we had lunch with our friend Valentina (the amazing photographer of these pictures), and enjoyed the promenade among vintage and antiques’ stallers.

I didn’t buy anything (ok, maybe some vintage books for few euros at Il Libraccio), but I really enjoyed the day: simple things, good lunch, good friends, nice weather (almost a miracle during this season in Milan).

I opted for a relaxed warm outfit: wearing a simple H&M denim dress (and golden lips necklace) and a warm brown fur aviator coat jacket by Fornarina.

I added my vintage touch by wearing my vintage “Texan” boots (a memory from my trip in NYC – I bought them at A Little Wicked on Houston Street) and a vintage handbag from a German vintage seller on Ebay!

[Photo Credit: Valentina Micheli]

The Ladybug’s One Proud Mary: Rolling On the Canals of the Naviglio in Milan

During the first months of living in Milan, when I’d mention to someone that I was a vintage lover they all asked me the same question: “Sei già stata al Mercatone dell’Antiquariato sul Naviglio?” (Have you been to the Naviglio Antiques Market?).

Everybody was giving descriptions of this huge Antiques Market, which not only had great character because it happens all along the old Canals of Milan, but was also a sort of pilgrimage venue for lovers of anything vintage.

When I first went in September with my friend Francesca, I understood what they meant: the entire around the Naviglio Grande and Ticinese are full of stalls selling Antique furniture, home-ware, vintage clothing, accessories and all sort of Memorabilia. The atmosphere is sparkling and a lot of people love this big market and spend their whole Sunday looking for the perfect “old piece” to take home!

The Antiques Market of the Naviglio takes place every last Sunday of the month and the loveliest thing about it is that all the bars, restaurants and shops along the canals are open and full of people all the time! Some of my favorite vintage shops in Milan are in the area, even if I prefer to visit them when it is less crowded. Still there is a “Sunday Driver” atmosphere that I really enjoy every time that I go there because, as you may imagine, this is my new favorite “event” in Milan!!

I missed October’s market because it was a too rainy and cold that day, but I went again last Sunday with my friends Sara and Alejandro.

By the way; did I mention that you can make great bargains there!!

Indeed, even if it is quite pricey for my standards, if you take the time to look and get a feel for a seller, you can negotiate quite well. And most of the time you will find incredible pieces at amazing prices. I’ll give you some examples:

The first time that I went in September I came home with:

–       This absolutely crazy color block Versus by Versace dress from the ’90s (designed by Gianni Versace himself when Versace was “VERSACE”) for 45 euros!

–       And…believe me….this genuine Balenciaga small City bag for….50 euros!!!!

Well, this deserves a paragraph of its own: when I saw this bag, almost completely covered by Louis Vuitton and Gucci bags I completely rushed towards it to touch it and pray that it was genuine! I have been looking for this bag, not new, for AGES and never found it anywhere else! I was fainting when I touched it and the soft leather was melting in my hands! It was IT!!! Let me say that it was in awful condition: zippers and two studs were missing plus there was tape around one of the handles (neither me nor the seller knew if it was broken or not). So I started a very long negotiation with her to lower the price until I got it for 50 euros! With the help of my amazing shoesmith (and 18 more euros!) my bag was as new and ready to use!!

This last time, Sara sighted a real charity stall from the Church with amazing stuff at even more amazing prices!!

–       I bought this vintage real fur jacket/coat for only 25 euros and it is so amazing that now I can sell my old ones!!

And

–       The piece that I’ve been looking for for the last 5 months: a big vintage French hatbox for my floppy hats!!

There too, I needed to negotiate my price and I went from 150 euros (that I’ve been asked in vintage shops and from some stallers at the markets) to a more reasonable 70 euros for this amazing hatbox!

The pictures that I’m sharing here are mostly from the first time that I went in September… by the way, I’m wearing a Zara military shirt with H&M t-shirt, leggings and necklace. I’m also wearing my vintage white cat-eye eyeglasses and my Oxfam canvas tote for my new vintage finds of the day! Oh… I’m also wearing my new coral lipstick from Kiko… a great find for 3 euros. And it’s better than my YSL – no joke!