The Ladybug on vintage pride and prejudice

It has been almost 30 years that I buy vintage and I start having a sort of attitude like: “I know what it’s good for me so leave me alone when I do my vintage shopping”. This is not a very good attitude for a vintage shopper: the fact that we have clear vision on what we like and what we are looking for dors not mean that we can underestimate the surprising power of vintage!

I am wearing here the vintage suede jacket that started my thoughts and considerations on how vintage can still surprise me, as well as the eye of a vintage seller who convinced me to try it even if I did not want to (“It’s not my style” – I said – “I don’t like the color either!”). The good part of it is that the vintage seller was Tiziana from Vintage Afropicks and I have such a consideration and estimation of her work that I always give it a try when I see that she is insisting on something!

And I must confess that she was totally right: not only this jacket was amazing and fitted perfectly but I also loved the style and eventually thought that the color was great on me!! Unbelievable!!

When I left the shop I thought that I should never say no to a vintage try, even if I’m not convinced at first, because I’ve got my best pieces exactly like that, when I didn’t expect them!

For this shooting during a warm end of October day in Milan I wore this beautiful jacket from Vintage Afrocpicks with a handmade green pussycat bow shirt from Madame Ilary and my favorite black trousers from Rouje.

The bag is an old L’Autre Chose piece found during a sample sale, the shoes are vintage from Damsels in Distress. Ginkgo earrings are handmade from the amazing Made in Camper.

You can find women cheap shoes here

The Ladybug meets the Queen of Vintage: Anna Piaggi by Karl Lagerfeld in Milan

When I heard about the opening of Anna-Chronique: 70s and 80s. Anna Piaggi by Karl Lagerfeld at the Fondazione Sozzani in Milan I immediately felt the call!

Anna Piaggi is one of my main icons for many reasons, one of them being the fact that she was the first one to my knowledge to mix designer modern pieces with vintage many decades ago. I also loved her strong personality and the way she showed it through her clothes.

Last year, the Fondazione Sozzani with the Associazione Culturale Anna Piaggi launched this exhibit dedicated to Anna Piaggi but in particular to her relationship with Karl Lagerfeld in a double exhibit: a selection of drawings signed by Karl Lagerfeld portraying his muse Anna Piaggi, realized between 1973 and 1984. Not only 130 portraits but also pictures, manuscripts, jewelry and of course hats from her personal collection…a real dream for vintage lovers!

The second exhibit is a fashion diary of the 90s: 50 Karl Lagerfeld drawings realized between 1990 and 1997 where the style and fashion sense of the iconic Anna Piaggi are represented at their best through the eyes of king Karl!

To visit this double exhibit that I adored I wore a tribute to Anna Piaggi tee, handpainted by Madame Ilary (it was the perfect occasion to wear it!), a vintage electric blue blazer found on Vinted by Freja Vintage, a pair of Rouje jeans. I added a lovely ethnic vintage bag from Bivio, small Fulani earrings from Dielle Nubya and a pair of old beige Supergas.

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The Ladybug returns to the scene of crime (Gauche Caviar in Milan)

A couple of weeks ago I shared my first shooting in one of my favorite bars in Milan, Gauche Caviar.

The post was in Italian but I guess that you have easily imagined how much I love this place that really felt like home to me. One thing that I didn’t mention in my Italian post but that I will mention here is the music that you can listen to at Gauche Caviar: if you are a jazz lover and if you love retro music this place is not only fabulous to sip a good glass of wine or a cocktail but it is also perfect to listen to great music as a background for your conversation or just for your thoughts if you are alone.

If you live in Milan or just pass by for a quick visit, I really suggest you spend some time here as it is really worth the visit and easy to reach as it is in near the central Piazza Cinque Giornate.

This is then my second post at Gauche Caviar and I went for another vintage and handmade outfit with a retro vibe that really fits the place.

It all started with this beautiful silk shirt with a ruffle on the collar and precious details that I purchased from the adorable Josephine Vintage. She is selling on Depop and Vintag incredible pieces from the past, many of them are designer’s, and she quickly became one of my favorite online vintage sellers. I paired it with black and white roses silky pants handmade by Madame Ilary: these are a very glamourous version of her Marlene trousers and I always feel so elegant when I wear them! Same for the beautiful handmade turban with a brocade fabric and vintage trimming that I keep for the “special occasions”!

Embroidered sandals are from Anniel while golden bamboo earrings are from Giovanni Raspini (I received this pair of earrings as a gift from my colleagues for my last birthday and I was going to cry for how happy I was!) .

Last but not least, a special mention for the amazing 40s velvet bag with golden chain that I got from A Rebours Vintage in Milan during my last visit. I loved it at first sight and it is incredible how such a small accessory can make every outfit great! This is the power of vintage pieces…I will never get tired of learning and praising this!

Photo Credit: Milena Molinari

The Ladybug is a wax princess for a day!

After being quiet for a few weeks (I was on holiday and I only updated my social channels!) I am back at blogging with an outfit post to show you my new dress!

This dress…it has such a power on me! I feel like a princess every time I wear it! People stop me in the street to tell me how beautiful it is and I really think it is!

I received this wax fabric as a present from a friend and I gave it to Ilaria (owner of Madame Ilary and Heka Couture) and this is what she created with it! I was wearing it while out with a friend in Milan one day before the holidays and when I found this graffiti-door I couldn’t resist to take pictures there!

I paired it flat Miu Miu sandals, Nepalese vintage necklace and a vintage silver handcuff.

Last touch, my vintage straw bag, a piece that I found in a lovely shop (Vintage Galerija) in Ljubljana a few years ago.

The Ladybug is a charity runner for Lierac

A few weeks ago I finally run 10K at the Lierac Beauty Run in Milan.

I say finally because last year I missed the first edition because my legs were too sore for running. I was so disappointed because the event is really great and it is for a very good cause as you can donate part of the cost of the run to the Umberto Veronesi foundation for the research against breast cancer.

“Pink is good “ is the slogan of the run, and indeed Milan was all pink that Saturday night! A real party and a great event completely dedicated to women.

Pink tees, pink bags (full of amazing Lierac beauty products…maybe one of the best race kits ever!), pink everything! At the event before the race you can have your tee customized with your name or you can get your hair done (like I did!) everything for free!

I was not really trained to run 10K this time and it was very hard (I think I did my worst time ever!!).  It was not too hot but my lack of training was crucial!

But what is really important during these events is that you totally enjoy yourself: I was there with some friends and colleagues and we really had a great time together in a pink-colored Milan summer night!

The Ladybug is a White Hunter: finding Africa in Milan

A few weeks ago I visited a great exhibit at FM Contemporary Art Center in Milan. I didn’t know about this very interesting space until I saw the flier of this event called “The White Hunter. African memories and representations” and I decided to have a look on a Saturday afternoon.

The exhibit started end of March during the Milan Art Week and it presented more than 150 works of contemporary artists (including my favorite African photographers Seydou Keita and Malick Sidibé) as well as pieces from anonymous traditional artists. The main topic is Africa just seen by different eyes and represented in many different ways. Maybe this is the reason why I couldn’t love it more!

The black building hosting the exhibit and the calm space outside was perfect also for a short outfit shooting!

It was indeed the perfect occasion to wear my Madame Ilary African wax turban that I added to a very simple outfit: old boyfriend jeans from Topshop, frilled white shirt from Alexa Chung Archive Collection for M&S, simple Benetton black trench coat and Nike 4 & Other Stories white sneakers.

I also wore my new folk clutch bought at Archivio Vintage event a couple of days before!

The Ladybug About Keith Haring Art

When I saw the advert of the upcoming Keith Haring exhibit in Milan I couldn’t help thinking of my last (and first) Keith Haring exhibit. I was in New York in 2012 and I was staying in Brooklyn in a B&B. I found there the flyer of Keith Haring exhibition at Brooklyn Museum and I felt so happy and grateful to have the chance to see his art for the first time in New York! I enjoyed that exhibit so much that I could never forget it! It’s definitely in “my best memories ever” archive!

The good feelings came to my mind immediately and I wasn’t sure if going or not as I didn’t want to ruin my Brooklyn memories. I decided to have a look anyway and it was a great decision! The exhibit that I saw in 2012 was more focused on Keith Haring adverts and drawings in New York subway stations and even if I found a few here in Milan the exhibit was basically different.

110 of Keith Haring works were exposed, from public and private collections from all over the world. Some of them were shown in Italy for the very first time. The exhibition tries to create a link between Keith Haring works and their source of inspiration: from classical art to pre-Columbian art, from American Indian and Pacific masks to his favorite artists, such as Pollock and Klee.

His colorful pieces are a joy for the eye but very often pain and frustration for the world lie behind them. I have always loved his art and I was happy to discover that some of my favorite pieces of him were exposed there.

The exhibit will be in Milan at Palazzo Reale until 18^th of June 2017, so don’t miss your chance to discover (or re-discover, as it was my case!) this incredibly talented artist-activist. 

For the exhibit I wore ASOS black dungaree, Topshop palm shirt and an almost vintage leather jacket! I paired with Madame Cosette velvet ankle boots and Michael Kors Bucket bag.

The Ladybug’s addiction: Manolo Blahnik – The Art of Shoes

It was announced as the event of the year and I must say that Manolo Blahnik exhibit “The Art of Shoes” at Palazzo Morando in Milan was really “the event” of these first months of 2017.

It is the first big exhibition in Italy dedicated to the iconic shoe designer, a real not-to-miss event not only for shoe lovers but for all fashion and art addicts. I say art because I cannot “reduce” Manolo Blahnik to a shoe designer. He is a true artist as his shoes are real pieces of art and this exhibit just recognize his talent as a “shoe artist”. No surprise that the exhibit will move next to the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg!

But while it is here in Milan (until the 9^th of April) don’t miss the opportunity to visit The Art of Shoes where 212 shoes covering 45 years of Blahnik career are exposed along with 80 drawings. This is not only a celebration of shoes and fashion but also a celebration of Italian influence on Blahnik’s creations: classical sculpture, baroque age, Visconti movies, the corals of Sicily and much more.

You can find here vintage iconic shoes with more modern iconic pieces like the shoes created for Marie Antoinette movie directed by Sofia Coppola, the shoes worn by Carrie in Sex & The City and more iconic pieces celebrating the world (from Africa to Scotland, from Spain to the Far East), nature and plastic arts.

The location Palazzo Morando is just perfect: art surrounding art, with the incredible permanent collection of the museum and the chance to visit with the same ticket a very interesting exhibit on the history of sequins “Ricami di Luce”.

I must be honest, I took hundreds of pictures during the exhibit and it was hard to choose my favorite pieces but I tried my best!

The Ladybug’s big dream: Basquiat exhibit in Milan

Six years ago one of the biggest European exhibits on Jean-Michel Basquiat opened in Paris, at the Museum of Modern Art. I was seriously thinking of getting a ticket to Paris just to see it but although my huge love and admiration for this incredible American artist, I never managed to see his art live. The first time that I saw a few of his paintings I was at Miart in Milan in 2013 but that’s nothing compared to the huge exhibit started at Mudec Museum this October and showing more than 100 works (from private collections) of the short but intense career of this amazing artist who died in 1988 at 27.

He has been defined a writer, a graffiti artist, the symbol of the new African diaspora and a son of the African slavery but what I have always loved of Jean-Michel Basquiat powerful art is the way he put together his African roots and the energy of NYC suburbs. These two sides of his art are a huge part of this beautiful exhibit that will be in Milan until the end of February 2017 and I am thinking of going back to see it again before it ends.

The exhibit also shows his art as a bridge between different cultures and it is probably one of the biggest occasions to see Basquiat’s art in Europe or at least in Italy and I must say that it is absolutely worth the visit.

For the exhibit I wore a beige Please sweater, Topshop boyfriend jeans and Max&Co navy coat. I also wore my new clogs from Archivio Vintage and my new Bonne Maison colored socks with my Cavalli e Nastri vintage 70’s handbag.

The Ladybug explores Japan in a vintage kimono

Saturday afternoons that I love:  brunch, exhibit and movie with my best friends! I can’t really ask for more!

In preparation of our Deejay run we decided to feed our soul with art (but also with food!) and we dedicated our afternoon to see the beautiful exhibit dedicated to the Japanese artists Hokusai, Hiroshige and Utamaro at Palazzo Reale in Milan.

This journey through the art, nature and culture of Japan was full of amazing moments: the beautiful landscapes of Hokusai (especially the ones dedicated to bridges and to Mount Fuji) made me feel the need of traveling to this amazing country that I’m dying to see.  So did the nature drawn by Hiroshige and the beautiful Japanese women described by Utumaro.

The Great Wave of Kanagawa is definitely one of the most powerful pieces but it is hard to pick up your favorites among two hundreds “ukiyoe” prints that you can admire there.

As I was in a Japanese mood I thought it was the perfect day to wear my vintage kimono from Episode Vintage in Brussels paired with my new Frida tee by Vanna Vinci and mum jeans from Topshop.

I added my BFF heart chain from Black Heart Creatives , Superga shoes, Celine sunglasses and Michael Kors bucket bag.

If you want to visit the exhibit it will be in Milan until the 29^th of January, I am sure that you will love it too !