The Ladybug and the 70’s Flower Power

Is there anything that screams summer more than a flowery piece?

Look at the women magazines: every summer issue with the key pieces of the season have a floral trend since I was a young woman and started to be interested in women fashion (let’s say about thirty years ago!). The truth is that the power of a colorful flower piece is undeniable. This is why we called it Flower Power in the 70’s and we still love it!

Last year I remember buying this flowery palazzo pant from Dixie in a rainy afternoon just because I loved the colors and it made me think of summer! Also I knew that the 70’s were doing a comeback and the shape was very figure-flattering!

I use them quite often and I brought them to Sicily for a simple yet retro inspired outfit, for a casual walk in the city center with friends.

I paired it with simple white vest from Mango, Swedish Hasbeens sandals, Michael Kors bucket bag and Africa wooden earrings from Harlem (courtesy of my dearest friend Simona).

PS: as you can see I’m totally relaxed when I am on holiday: natural hair and no make-up are my summer trademark!

The Ladybug goes French for the opera!

What if you receive a last minute invitation from your friend to go to the opera at the Teatro alla Scala to see the rehearsal of “Rigoletto” and you didn’t have enough time to plan your outfit?

You just go French, because no matter what, how and when but French style is always chic, elegant and has that retro touch that we all need in our lives!

I must confess that I read books and posts promising to tell you how to be a perfect French stylish girl in every situation but unfortunately I guess it is something very hard to get, unless you were born in France!

Any attempt is still welcome so I created my opera outfit starting from a vintage French beret hat that I found on ebay many years ago. I decided to add a statement vintage hatpin from Tricia Leonard Vintage shop in Munich. I mixed all this vintage with high street and designer pieces: a black coat from Sportmax, a black sweater from Dixie, grey culottes from Imperial. To complete the outfit: Marc Jacobs thrifted grey ankle boots from Epiphany Vintage in Frankfurt and Miu Miu handbag.

The Ladybug visits the Fondazione Prada in Milan

Before going on holiday, during one of those Milanese hottest July weekends I decided to get some good air-conditioning with my friend Ilaria in one of the most interesting new spaces in town, the Fondazione Prada new permanent venue in Milan. This institution, started in the ‘90s is completely dedicated to contemporary art and culture and inaugurated its new venue in Milan in May 2015.

We had enough time to visit all the permanent and temporary exhibitions and we were totally in a awe. The same architectural space is incredible: it combines seven existing buildings with three new structures (Podium, Cinema and Torre) and it is the result of the transformation of a distillery dating back to the 1910’s.

The Haunted House hosts two of the most interesting permanent installations conceived by Robert Gober and two works by Louise Bourgeois. Processo Grottesco is another permanent installation by Thomas Demand.

Other temporary projects were: Serial Classic, focused on classical sculpture; the amazing An Introduction, a collection of modern art that apparently led to the opening of the Fondazione in the Galleria Sud until the Deposito area; Trittico defined as a “dynamic display strategy” in the Cisterna area and In Part, one of my favorite collections curated by Nicholas Cullinan and situated in the Galleria Nord.

A separate mention has to be done for the most incredible area of the Fondazione Prada, the Bar Luce, accessible also from outside, designed by film director Wes Anderson and recreating the atmosphere of a typical Milanese café of the 50’s/60’s with patterned décor, pastel colors and a lovely pink juke-box!

We took some pictures around so that you can see what it looks like and visit it for real as the place is really worth a visit!

I wore a denim dungaree by & Other Stories, Dixie striped shirt, Miu Miu golden flats, Peter Pilotto for Target round frames and a canvas bag from The Vintage Festival in Padua.

The Ladybug’s first “marketing” experience: East Market Milano with Madame Ilary

In the last two years I have been asked tons of times why I didn’t start selling “for real” instead of only selling my vintage and thrifted goods online. I have been asked if I wanted to open a shop or if I thought of selling during vintage markets and events. My answer is yes! I still dream of having a vintage shop or of having enough space in my house to keep all my vintage and thrifted collection in a storage room and to bring it around during the weekends and selling it at funny markets all around Italy.

Still, as I’m not working on it for the next future, I am keeping open my Ebay shop (btw feel free to have a look at it whenever you want – you can find the direct link in the Contact page) and I am enjoying the online selling which allows you sometimes to start new virtual friendships all over the world!

At the same time, when my friend Ilaria from Madame Ilary asked me to share a stall with her at the East Market in Milan I couldn’t say no, for many different reason: first of all it was a “first” for both and I really wanted to make this experience with her as we often talked about that; it was a way to test our business and see how it worked “in the street”; secondly the place was really perfect: the area of Lambrate where the market takes place is vibrant and full of life lately and I thought it was perfect for our “launch”; last but not least, the East Market is for sure one of my favorite markets in Milan: full of interesting people, street food, flower market and a beautiful area outside to eat, drink and chat.

I wasn’t wrong as we enjoyed the experience pretty much and we had a lot of fun even if we felt like the beginners of the market as most of stallers were way more experienced than us! Still it was the occasion to meet new people, to find old friends (like my beloved Francesca from Metalica who had a stall not far from us!) and to sell some vintage accessories and the wonderful handmade turbans made by Ilaria. The atmosphere was really interesting, a lot of people of different age, interests and style, a kind of potpourri that I appreciated a lot, definitely a great experience!

This means that you better watch out as you will probably see me around again in a market near you…in the meanwhile keep having a look at my Ebay shop!

I wore Dixie black culottes, Topshop white shirt, vintage bag by Frendo Vintage, New Balance sneakers, Nepalese silver necklace and handmade African turban by Madame Ilary.

The Ladybug Makes Good Excuses: Besciamella at Sofia Vintage

In my last post I talked about my excuses to go to Rome, but excuses to travel to Rome aren’t the only excuses that I make.

Recently I made my usual excuse to visit Roberta at her lovely renovated Sofia Vintage shop in Como, but this time I added a tasty event hosted by Besciamella Eventi on how to decorate fashionable cookies! As I am not good at anything related to cooking and baking, you may easily understand that this excuse was a bit of a stretch!

Still I enjoyed watching the lovely ladies making colorful decorations on shoe and dress shaped cookies, sipping champagne and eating strawberries while meeting new and old friends on a sunny Spring day in Como!

Apparently, anything can happen in a vintage shop, especially when it looks like a home!

And here comes my true excuse: it was also the occasion to have a look at the new summer collection, along with the new pieces from Madame Ilary… plus the new amazing swimwear from Frida Querida!

For the occasion I decided to create a vintage inspired outfit using only one vintage piece, this beautiful ’40s handbag from Vintage Galerija in Ljubljana. I wore a striped t-shirt and culottes from Dixie, Camper flats and a handmade striped turban from Madame Ilary.

The Ladybug Visits Her Sole Sister: Luisa Tratzi FW2015

My busy Saturday during Milan Fashion week continued with a visit to the beautiful Galleria Silvano Lodi in the middle of the Quadrilatero della Moda to visit the temporary show room of Luisa Tratzi. A real corner of peace in a crowded area where I had the time to admire wonderful art creations (because I can’t just call them shoes!) and catch up with Luisa to chat about her FW2015 collection, Miss Garçon.

Why Miss Garçon? First; because she introduces new flat shoes, especially brogues, with a touch of masculinity that maintain very feminine details. Secondly, because of the details that recall mens’ shirts found in many of the new pieces (from super sexy high boots to very feminine killer heels décolleté). Last but not least, the use of new materials with a wink to those jacquards used for men ties and ascots.

Leather (especially suede) and patent are still the most used materials. Those along with the famous de-structured heels, which I loved so during her last show in September, continue to be the center of Luisa Tratzi’s new collection.

Speaking of which, I had the chance to try both the wedge heels and the “crooked” heels and I can tell you that they are incredibly comfortable to wear!

Luisa Tratzi’s shoes are not just shoes but elegant and sensual pieces of art, especially because of the attention and study of the details. For their complex forms and volumes, I would call them sculptures. The new colors and patterns, introduced in this collection, are to die-for: from magenta to purple, from olive green to navy blue and every possible declination of patterns on the soft leathers and new ecological furs… houndstooth mixed with patent and metallic heels.

Yet again I see in her work a beautiful way of mixing modern (sculpted and geometric forms) with vintage (use of coil heels, multiple straps and classic patterns of past eras).

I introduced Luisa Tratzi last year as one of the most talented Italian emerging shoe designers, but let me tell you that, for me, she is a star in the Italian firmament of shoe designers. The great Italian quality and her strong attention to details, mixed with her incredible creativity- make her more than an emerging talent, but a new amazing reality to keep an eye on!

I tried to take as many photos as I could of my favorite pieces to share with you. Just a little something to hold you over until the new collection goes on sale.  For more, you can visit Luisa Tratzi’s site www.luisatratzi.it.

PS: This is me with my new friend Giotto, who enjoyed the shoes (and the soft red carpet) as much as I did!

I wore Max&Co coat, Topshop hat, Acne Studios jeans from Matchfashion.com, Dixie sweater, Tosca Blu ankle boots and nepalese necklace