The Ladybug and another vintage Armani blazer!

Not too long ago I was telling you about a great charity market where I was invited last year in December and where I found some great bargains. In particular, I was showing you my tartan Valentino skirt that I got for only 20 euros and that I totally love.

I also promised to show you more of my little bargains from that charity event, so here is another one: a vintage wool Armani jacket with a lovely shape that makes it perfect not only for work (as I am wearing it here) but also with denim and more casual outfits, depending on how you pair it and accessorize it!

This is my second vintage Armani blazer (the first one was from Opherty & Ciocci) and I find his vintage jackets amazing: the shape is so flattering and they look elegant without getting the “granny” feeling. When I saw this jacket hanging I started thinking about how to wear it, because it looked too old style for me but in the end, when I tried it, I realized that it was not the case at all!

In this case, as I was wearing at work (another example of how to wear vintage at the office!) I added a red vintage shirt with peter pan collar that I bought at Humana Vintage and a vintage dragonfly brooch that I found on Ebay for a ridiculous price!

All the rest of the outfit is new, like my black culottes from Cos and my red ankle boots from Dixie. Golden earring are from Genny Pi in Milan.

Photo Credit: Milena Molinari

The Ladybug is a chameleon in the park

There is a new park in Milan: they call it “la Biblioteca degli Alberi” (the Trees Library)  and I really love to take pictures here because of the contrast with the modern skyline and because of the beautiful light that there is here during some hours of the day.

I didn’t realize that I perfectly matched the colors of the park until I saw the pictures on my phone screen! It was funny but not completely wrong as I remember that when I got dressed that day I was specifically needing to be more in contact with my mother earth. I couldn’t do it in a better way: taking pictures in the nature dressed like…nature!

I was staying super cozy in my new Zara teddy coat (maybe the best selling at Zara as I see it almost everywhere!)  and in my new mustard turtleneck wool sweater from Benetton. I love this color in winter because I love to mix it with light blue and rust even if in this case I paired with military green. I have a special love for these 4.10 trousers because I love their fabric (super soft wool) and their shape but more than ever I love the fact that they are ethically made, in Italy. A piece of slow fashion and an example of amazing design, quality and respect of the environment and of people’s work. I really wish one day we could all afford more pieces like that.

My 90s inspired sneakers are from Dixie and my black bag is from Coccinelle. Handmade brass earrings are from Metalica Creazioni.

The Ladybug is a color-block vintage girl

Yellow power! Yes, yellow is my favorite color because it is bright, sunny and warm just as I am…or as I want to be!

This winter I decided to wear it more, not as much as I do in summer, but I decided to add some yellow sparkle to my winter wardrobe. This is the reason why I bought this soft faux-fur leather midi skirt at Dixie this last autumn, it’s a statement piece but I thought that I could wear in winter with total black for example.

It was not the case of this autumn outfit that I shot some time ago and where I decided to play the color-block girl and where I switched my total black + yellow idea with a splashing colors outfit!

I paired the yellow skirt with a green vintage Kenzo ruffle shirt with colored stripes at Opherty & Ciocci with a vintage light blue scarf that I wore as a headwrap from Humana Vintage.

Special vintage touch: a pair of amazing vintage Givenchy sunglasses from Opherty & Ciocci!

Black heels from 8 at Yoox, Fulani brass earrings from Africaialha on Etsy.

Photo Credit: Milena Molinari

 

 

 

The Ladybug and a her new love for 80s vintage short-sleeved blazers!

Short-sleeved blazers are so vintage that they never came back on trend after their best moment in the 80s and beginning of the 90s! This means that if you want to find a short sleeved blazer the only way to go for it is finding it in a thrift store or vintage shop.

I haven’t thought about them for a while after my 90s period, but when I saw them at Humana Vintage in Milan I couldn’t resist them: they were colored, with padded shoulders, long with jeweled buttons! I got two (a green one and a red one) as they were in a special summer promotion at 5 euros each!

As usual, one of my friend asked how can you style them? Well, in many ways I answered!

I decided to start with a dressed down outfit, perfect for an end of summer Sunday morning in Milan, with my vintage green piece that I mixed with Dixie black culottes and 90s inspired huge sneakers from Dixie. I decided to make it a bit more feminine by adding a tiny black belt to give more focus on the waist, that I bought in Osaka during my last summer Japan trip.

I added another vintage piece with my adored hooked vintage bag from Vintage Studium on Depop (I told you about it in my last post!) a retro inspired cactus brooch from Erstwilder (remember, my favorite Australian brooches with a retro twist!) and vintage golden loop earrings found on Depop.

What do you think? Can you go for this vintage trend right now?

The Ladybug and the story of a Senegalese baobab

In the last few years I developed a high attention to symbols. When I talk about symbols I mean objects and shapes that means something to me or that have a special power on my feelings and emotions.

One of the most powerful symbols in my life is the tree: it can connect me to the power of nature, it reminds me of the importance of having solid and robust roots, it makes me think of resilience and adaptability when I think of its foliage. I feel protected and solid at the same time when I think about this symbol, which may explain why I love its representation.

When I traveled to Senegal a few years ago my idea of the tree symbol stepped to a next level: it was the first time that I saw real baobabs and I felt something strong in front of these amazing trees. They represent this amazing country and I realized that their foliage creates a sort of open arms shape that I fell in love with (maybe it’s the representation of the famous teranga!).

I decided that during one of my next trips to Africa I will get a baobab tattoo and that I needed this tree in my life (although the baobab seeds seller in Goré told me that it is pretty hard to plant them and make them live in Europe). As I cannot get a real one I decided to go for a brooch for now! When I saw this one from Erstwilder in their Africa collection, I bought it straight away.

I wear it very often, not only because I love it, but also because it has a very therapeutic effect on me especially when I am a bit sad or have low energy. It was the case when I took these pictures during a beautiful autumn day in Milan and I know that my face says it all. My friend Simona, when she was taking these pictures in Parco Sempione told me: “it is so hard to take pictures of you when you are feeling low” and she was right, my face looked different and my smile a bit forced but I could feel the power of my baobab!

It was a Friday afternoon, that’s why my outfit was pretty casual, still absolutely vintage!

My yellow 80s jacket and flower top is from Humana Vintage, jeans are from Mango and 90s inspired sneakers from Dixie. Golden loops are vintage too and I bought them on Depop.

The Ladybug’s mixed color palette

Another winter outfit with the colors of autumn…am I completely inverting seasons or is it just the weather confusing our minds?

Sometimes I like to push a bit my style, matching different colors and playing with apparently unlinked color palettes like a few weeks ago, when I paired caramel, camel, teal and pale blue in a funny outfit that attracted all eyes on me (I know, people are shocked quite easily lately…where is your imagination guys?!)

It all started with this new caramel corduroy culottes from Zara that I wanted so much because I loved the color and the 70s style. I had to buy them online because I couldn’t find them in shop and I immediately wore them with my caramel wool headband from Dixie that matched them perfectly!

In the middle I added a touch of pale blue with this Cos sweater (with a huge bow in the back) and my long camel coat from Diffusione Tessile.

As it didn’t seem enough I decided to add teal tights (I always buy colored tights but I barely use them!), 60s inspired brown boots from Marella, vintage silver loop earrings and of course brown lipstick!

The Ladybug says Goodbye to Munich

I really hate this last set of pictures of Munich just because they are the last ones of an incredibly amazing three weeks spent in Germany!

I must confess that when I left I really needed a sort of detox from Milan: it was not Milan itself it was just some situations that I couldn’t stand anymore and from which I needed to stay away for a while. And this unplanned work trip to Munich was exactly what I needed: I loved the project, the company of one of my best friends and colleagues, the city that I was exploring for the first time in summer, which was a real  surprise for me. It was so vibrant and full of life, we met a lot of old friends and we made new ones: it was exactly what I needed to reboot my whole body/mind system.

It was so painful to leave but I was leaving to Sicily just a few weeks after so I convinced myself that it was time to go home, but not before a last day shooting!

The spot was as usual a new corner of Munchner Freiheit, our favorite area of Munich this time! It was a beautiful warm and sunny day and I remember that we made friends with a lovely woman while shooting who was incredibly curious about who I was and where I was from!

For the last day I wore my new African printed pompom top, another handmade creation from Heka Couture with Ankara fabrics that I love (do you remember the circle skirt made with the same colors that I wore in Munich a couple of weeks before?).

I paired with black culottes from Dixie and loafer mules from New Look at Asos.

The Ladybug is pink in Munich!

As you may have seen on my social networks, I spent three weeks in Munich in July for work so I took advantage of a new location to shoot a couple of new outfits!

I will start with this pinky one, it was one of the first days, incredibly sunny and fresh…a real pleasure to be there and enjoy the German summer while the heat was unbearable in Milan!

Here I am wearing two of my new online finds: this lovely Mango pink striped top with one frill sleeves (I found it on ASOS during the summer sales!) and these Hush pink 40’s inspired frames that I left in my Hush wishlist for a while before buying them because it was the first time that I bought from their site and I didn’t know that much about them. Now I am totally addicted to this site and the sunglasses are amazing!

I wore them with black Dixie culottes and with my adored (and super old!) Jeffrey Campbell sandal-boots!

I will show you more “German” outfits in the next few weeks, so stay tuned and let me know what you think!

 

The Ladybug’s second “Star Wax” episode

Last week I told you the story of my “Star Wax saga” (you can read it if you missed it in my last post, first “Star Wax” episode) and as I anticipated we used this beautiful African print fabric for a few pieces.

Among them a beautiful blazer that I wore for the rehearsal of La Boheme at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan a few weeks ago, handmade with love by Madame Ilary.

I was feeling incredibly 80s when I first wore it to try it, so I decided to create an 80s inspired look with genuine vintage accessories of the era.

First of all I customized the blazer with an elasticated belt with a golden ribbon as a buckle, a vintage find from my Singapore trip a few years ago. Then I added original 80s golden clip earrings from an antiques fair in Sorrento many years ago.

I kept all the other pieces black and high street: Dixie culottes and Zara pointed ballet flats.

PS: there was also a very 80s inspired black bucket bag but I don’t know why I’m not wearing it in the pictures!!

The Ladybug, her mum’s pictures and the long vest

I could never get tired of watching my mum’s pictures from the 60’s and the 70’s: she was so stylish and fashionable that I keep looking at them and wonder “where are now all these amazing clothes?”

I can name all the pieces that she wore in her pictures that I wanted so badly: colored mini dresses, platform boots, denim flares, big sunglasses, optical dresses etc. I asked her about them many times and her painful answer is always the same: “I threw them away”! I comfort myself thinking that she was so tiny at the time that probably they wouldn’t fit me even if she would have kept them but I still daydream of some of her best pieces.

One of these was a long orange leather vest from the 70’s: since I first saw it I started looking for a long vest in vintage shops and markets but it’s still really hard to find.

Last year I surrendered to a new high street long vest just because I really wanted one. This one is from Dixie, in grey tweed but it was longer and I decided to cut it a bit to better fit my figure.

I paired it with wool black culottes from Cos, Prada black turtleneck (outlet find!)  and Liu-Jo grey heeled boots.

Still, I keep looking for a vintage leather long vest so, in case you find it, just give me a hint!