The Ladybug and the forbidden apple in Milan

Most of my outfit posts starts exactly like this: during a walk, an aperitif, a dinner or any other event, if I see something that I like or a nice place for a little shooting, I ask poor people who are with me to take pictures of me. I don’t prepare them in advance, because I like for them to be spontaneous and to reveal the real way I wear my daily outfits.

This is what happened for this one too. It was an hot Sunday afternoon in Milan and I was enjoying a walk and a cold beer with a friend in Parco Sempione when I saw – again – the famous Apple created by Michelangelo Pistoletto especially for Expo 2015. The 8-meter apple completely covered by grass and reintegrated with the famous missing piece with a metallic stitch, represents the possible connection between nature and artifice and was already exposed in Piazza Duomo in May. I was surprised to see it here again and it inspired me an outfit post!

That day I wore suede shorts from Topshop (from a few seasons ago) and a simple white tee from Cos. I added my animal print espadrilles from Dune London, an handmade necklace that I bought last summer in a Singapore market and a vintage 70’s leather bag with metal handle from Cavalli e Nastri in Milan.

The Ladybug Queues Next: Next Vintage in Belgioioso!

If you used to going to vintage fairs quite often, for years, the risk is that you may become… blasé.

But there are some fairs that bring a bit more to the table. They’re the same, but different at the same time. One of these, for sure, is Next Vintage in Belgioiso. I don’t go twice a year as they organize a Spring and Autumn edition, but indeed at least once a year, I need to be there.

The atmosphere in Belgioioso has that certain something that you don’t find everywhere: maybe the location (the wonderful Belgioioso castle and garden that by itself worth a visit), maybe the selection of stallers from vintage to handmade, maybe the good vintage that can be found there, whatever it is… I think that if you love vintage you must go there!

It may not be easy to find a bargain there: I find it a bit pricey (especially some sellers who honestly sell over the regular price), but you can for sure admire many rare and hard-to-find pieces from different eras.

This edition, a wonderful expo featuring Roberta di Camerino vintage pieces was offered to the visitors. The pieces came mostly from the Fondazione Sartirana Arte and from different vintage dealers (like A.N.G.E.L.O., Vintage Art, Aloe & Wolf, Viola vintage and many Others)…a dream for every vintage lover! I’ve never seen a lot of her pieces in real life, but those exposed there were absolutely amazing. The connection between them was the use of the “trompe-l’oeil” technique, very popular at the time and in her creations, and perfectly managed by the designer most of the time.

And for me, it was time for some shopping too: I got a late ’70s vintage doctor bag from Sculptures to Wear and a lovely handmade beret from Madame S, whom I met for the first time. She makes amazing headpieces and like me, usually attends fairs and vintage events.

I also modeled for my friend Angela, of Sculptures to Wear, some of my favorite bags from her amazing vintage collection.

For the warm afternoon I wore my Rolling Stones’ tee from a charity shop in London (I got it for a few pounds in Oxfam, if I’m not wrong), vintage skirt from the Montagnola in Bologna, Marco Brogues and Cavalli & Nastri vintage bag from the ’70s.

By the way, I am also wearing my new Miu Miu glasses… since I found out that I need glasses, I decided to go for an eccentric pair of retro inspired cat-eye frames… what do you think?

The Ladybug goes green for the last days of winter!

It’s April and, even if a little late, spring has come to Milan too!

So…here is my last outfit post for this winter! I planned this post some time ago, because I bought on sale this beautiful Max & Co emerald green coat with Mongolian fur and I realized how difficult it was to create outfits with it.

I decided then to play a bit with it, dressed up and dressed down, and I understood that there are not impossible things to wear as long as you feel comfortable in them! My feeling is that the coat and I just needed some time to feel confident with each other!

I am sharing here two different outfits with the same coat: in the first one I decided to play it ladylike by matching it with a black Zara dress and Topshop sandals. I added a vintage touch with my patent clutch from Dappa Boutique, one of my favorite vintage shops in London.

In the second one I tried the green coat with denim for a dressed down look: I am wearing Met dark jeans, Benetton brown riding boots, H&M fedora hat and again a vintage bag from the 70’s that I purchased from Cavalli & Nastri here in Milan.

Which one do you prefer?

(Photo Credit: KNAGUI)

The Ladybug May Not Be L.L. Cool J, But She Still Rocks Da Bells…

As I wrote in my recent post about Sicily, every time I go back home I feel a bit like a tourist and love hanging around to reveal old memories or just discover something new.

On one of those days, I decided to take KNAGUI to one of the prides of my hometown, Messina: the old bell tower of the Cathedral. It’s one of the most ancient in Europe and it seems that its beautiful functioning is one of the most complex in history.

After watching (and filming!) it at high noon, we decided to take some pictures in the beautiful warm Sicilian weather. I’m wearing a vintage coat from the Salvation Army in NYC, a Saint James striped marine top and Met jeans.

I know I should change shoes, but I’m too in love with these Rag & Bone booties! I’m also wearing a vintage ’70s bag from Cavalli & Nastri and my new Kiko red lipstick!

[Photo Credit: KNAGUI]

The Ladybug & Friends’ Very Vintage Weekend in Milan!

So; take three girls: one from Italy and two from London, add a lot of love for vintage, a splash of fashion and sprinkling of cakes… Put them all together for a weekend in Milan, during the fashion week and what do you think you’ll get?

I’m going to tell you right now!

I met Daisy from Make Thrift London and Salina from Vintage Teatime on Twitter and, if you follow my blog, you might know that we met for real in London this past February during one of the amazing Pop Up Vintage Fairs. We became true friends and I returned the love by inviting them to spend a weekend in Milan, which happened two weekends ago, during the Milan Fashion Week.

We had an amazing (but tiring!) weekend walking around.  We toured all over Milan, from the city center (the Duomo area) to the very characteristic Navigli’s area- visiting monuments, suggested points of interest in town and, of course, shops! Especially vintage shops!

On our first day, we decided to take it slow with shopping (even if I didn’t!) and to do more visiting.  We started from Piazza San Babila through the Duomo, then the “Quadrilatero della Moda” where we spotted a few local celebrities and many lines for parties and fashion shows! We ended the day in the Brera area (at Marc by Marc Jacobs shop, of course!) with a Japanese aperitif! (Did I mention we ate cakes and real pasta earlier?!? The saffron and bacon gnocchi were to die for!!!)

While in Brera, I introduced Daisy and Salina to my girl crush in Milan… this girl works in Cavalli & Nastri and every time I see her- I fall in love with her amazing outfits (do you remember her during the VFNO?). This time I fell in love with her beautiful vintage hatpin!

I also took them to my favorite vintage/charity shop in Milan (so far): Humana Vintage where I’ve been very bad and bought a lot of stuff, but I’m going to talk about them (and about ALL that I bought there so far!) soon. Let me just tell you that this is absolutely one of my favorite places in Milan! (visit their site for more info: www.humanavintage.it)

For the second day I decided to bring the girls to the Navigli for brunch, ice-cream and of course… more vintage shopping! We were a bit disappointed because most of them were closed, but we managed to buy some stuff though… like a lovely vintage ’70s bag from Cavalli e Nastri where we also spent some time taking pictures in their lovely shop on via Mora.

Tired but still excited about the weekend, it was time for Daisy and I to take advantage of Salina’s greatest expertise in baking cupcakes… we started baking quite late, but we enjoyed it so much and our cupcakes tasted delicious!

I think we’ll have to do that again soon… maybe in London for another great Pop Up Vintage Fair??!? …Maybe we can ask a good “boy – friend” of TLC to come along to take photos, maybe perform at the fair and… carry our bags.

The Ladybug’s ’70s Inspired Look

For me there’s nothing better than wearing vintage: the feeling of being unique and different is stronger than any trend or fashion diktat! But sometimes I love the retro-inspired clothes and accessories that you can find in the high street shops or online!! It was a grey and lazy Sunday afternoon, I was cold and bored and of course I was curing my boredom online, to be more precise on Whistles’ online shop! I saw this adorable navy square dot midi dress paired with this navy felt hat and I just fell in love! Let me say that I rarely spend more than 100 euros for an outfit and this dress/hat was way more expensive than that, but the dress was 30% off so I decided that sometimes I can give myself a special treat, don’t you think? Tonight I decided to wear the exact combination of the navy hat and dress and I added a ’70s inspired Costume National camel boots and some original vintage ’70s bangles from Cavalli & Nastri (one of the loveliest vintage Boutiques in Milan). Oh I forgot….I’m going to a ’70s inspired party tonight… Dig that!