A Ladybug’s vintage aperitivo in Milan

I don’t know if it’s just me or if it happens to you too but my weekends always start with a phone call from (or to) a friend saying: What are your plans for today?

Once we realize that we are free and that we have time to spend together we start checking online what’s on in town, trying to find the event that will be perfect for our couple of hours of chatting and – possibly – drinking! It can be a market, an exhibit, a shop opening, a lecture, a concert.

Milan is a town full of events of every kind and it is almost impossible not to find what you are looking for, it is just a bit harder than anywhere else due to the large offer. But when you have a lovely place (Frida bar in the Isola district) organizing a vintage event (Let’s Vintage) with special offers and bargains it is easier to pick up the perfect event that makes everybody happy!

It was indeed the perfect occasion to drink my favorite ice tea in town (Hanoi!) and to grab vintage bargains for really ridiculous prices.

It was also the perfect occasion to wear my new thrifted palazzo pant from Mary Portas charity shop in Edinburgh (never worn, still with tags, only 4 quid!), my new favorite fringed leather jacket from IL2L at Your Shores, Michael Kors bucket bag, Nike 4 & Other Stories white sneakers and Céline sunglasses.

The Ladybug is a vintage geisha for a day (new outfit, vintage kimono)

I bought this amazing vintage kimono in Brussels a few months ago in a great vintage shop called Episode Vintage (one of my favorites in town). I have been looking for a vintage kimono for ages and when I saw this one I fell in love with it madly. It was too warm to wear it so I had to wait until autumn and a special occasion, which happened on a lovely weekend spent with my beautiful girlfriends in Milan.

I decided to bring them to visit the amazing Fondazione Prada and we had the greatest time among the new and old exhibits (I was amazed to find Giacometti’s statues “dressed” by John Baldessari) and of course the incredible Bar Luce designed by Wes Anderson. We also had fun taking pictures around so I asked them to take some pictures of me with my new vintage kimono.

I paired it with Dixie black culottes, my new Zara laced shoes (definitely one of my favorite pairs ever!), handmade skinny belt and Celine sunglasses.

The Ladybug and the uncomfortable question: are you a style stealer?

Let me ask you a question that I am often asked from (and often ask to) my girlfriends: do you mind if someone else buys something that she saw from you? Is it a problem if there is someone else with the exact dress or shoes that you are wearing in the same room as you?

Being “copied” is a sign of admiration: if I buy the same dress that you are wearing it implicitly means that I like the way you are dressed (at least that day!) or that your style is compatible with mine. Nevertheless I can name tons of people that are horrified if they see someone wearing something that they are wearing at the same time. And you? Are you a style stealer or you always strive for exclusivity?

Based on the assumption that the same dress (or shoes or any other piece) can be worn by two different women in a totally different way, I have the feeling that styling a piece is something very personal, as it is wearing a piece because you are the owner of the body and of the personality rocking it or killing it. At the same time, one of the reasons why I love wearing vintage and handmade is the same fact that I know that I will probably be the only one wearing that piece in the world!

As I have the chance to have many stylish and well-dressed friends (I guess this may be one of my criteria to choose my friends! ), it happens very often that we buy the same things, especially with my work colleagues with the elevated risk of arriving at work and see your colleague wearing the same thing as you! We all feel comfortable with what we wear and this may be the reason why we don’t care that much about that but we always ask each other the same question: do you mind if I buy the same?

I am talking about that because I “stole” today’s outfit dress from a friend of mine working with me who bought it online. I didn’t steal it for real, I just fell in love with it and with the retro shape at the point that I needed one too! I asked the usual question and I received the usual answer, so I felt free to go on Yoox and buy this 8 dress from the Kisua for Africa collection. (I still send her a little text the night before to let her know that I am going to wear it the day after!).

But this is not the only piece that I “stole”! I also stole the idea of the silver peep-toe ankle boots from a pair that I saw on my friend-colleague, but we have so many common pieces (especially shoes, on which we have the very same style and passion) that we decided not to ask each other the usual question because we already know the answer! These adorable ankle boots are from Fiori Francesi and I got them during the summer sales.

I paired everything with my diva Celine cat sunglasses (my own!!).

Apparently I am definitely a style stealer….and you?

The Ladybug’s tips if you cannot (always) wear vintage at work!

When you are a vintage addicted but you work in a corporate office it is not easy to wear vintage every day. I do my best by adding a vintage accessory or piece mixed with designer or high street pieces, but lately I am rediscovering the sweet taste of handmade pieces with a retro touch.

I might start to share more outfits of this kind with retro inspired pieces usable for your 9 to 5 work just to add some ideas to solve your vintage everyday dilemma in front of the mirror with a wardrobe full of vintage pieces but none of them is suitable for work! I know we are mostly on holiday right now but that dilemma is there, waiting for us the same exact day we will need to go back to work!

Because my question is: why should we delete our own personality during the day, five days a week? I am a vintage gal but I respect my job, so here is the first of my retro inspired pieces that you can use at work.

The handmade skirt with big pleat in the middle is a perfect example: it is a piece that we can easily find in the late 60’s but that had its greatest moments in the 70’s and again in the 80’s. I loved the way it fitted the curvy bodies because it caresses the curves but the big pleat gives a kind of feeling of elevation and slenderness.

I picked up this handmade grey model created by Madame Ilary and I paired it with a simple with shirt by Cos (white, black grey and navy simple shirts are a must in the wardrobe to pair with statement vintage and retro pieces!), a pair of beige pointy heeled shoes by Les Lolitas Milano (just to add some more slenderness!) and a colorful beaded African necklace by Moschino to give an ethnic colored summer touch.

The black 80’s inspired bucket bag is Michael Kors and the diva black sunglasses are Celine.

More ideas soon on the blog in the meanwhile let me know what you think!

The Ladybug Fades to White…

Sometimes a good outfit post is what you need to make your day brighter, especially if you have an amazing new white shirt that you want to wear almost every day because you love it so much!

A few months ago I told you about my visit to the White Trade Show to meet the talented designer Indra Kaffemanaite, owner of the emerging brand Balossa. I also told you that I fell in love with her collection of white shirts, with the aerial dimension and details of her pieces and how she made me change my point of view on white shirts- moving from a perfect foundation for a vintage statement piece to becoming a real statement piece in itself.

And you may remember that I also told you I was going to own one; so here it is, my first love! This one caught my eye immediately because of the amazing asymmetry (pairing with my new haircut asymmetry!) and of the beautiful work on the large sleeve. I wore it in a special corner of Milan, Piazza Sant’Alessandro.  It’s one of my favorite spots… the city seems so faraway even if it’s just around the corner. It’s also where time seems to have stopped for a while, and you can breathe a little vintage in the Milanese atmosphere.

In this outfit I decided to let the shirt be the main character: I paired it with black skinny jeans from Acne Studios and black décolleté by 8. More details: Celine black sunglasses, Coccinelle camel bag and Alcozer & J ring.

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.