The Ladybug, a new haircut and a new biker jacket

Many people asked me about my new haircut: why did I cut so short?

Honestly sometimes you just need to make up your mind, refresh it with new thoughts or just re-style yourself and look at your own face in a different way! I just don’t mind about my hair being short, it’s not the first time (actually I cut it short quite often) and I know they it grows so fast that in a few weeks it will be long again!

I just take the good side of it at the moment: I can play with my makeup, I can wear big earrings and I can try it with very feminine looks or some tomboy style!

Here I was in this tomboy mood but I was proudly wearing my new faux-fur Zara black biker jacket that I coveted for so long before finally finding it online! I really love the texture as it looks like leather and it has an 80’s feel that I adore: I have been looking for a vintage one like this but I couldn’t find anything that I really liked so I decided to go for this high street one! The only thing that I don’t like is that I see it quite often worn by other people in the streets, but hey! this is the downside of high street!

I paired it with Acne Studios black denim and H&M denim shirt. I added my new 60’s inspired Marella ankle boots (one of my favorite picks during the winter sales!) and my Miu Miu bag.

The Ladybug received a beautiful vintage gift…

Carmen is one of my best friends since we were students at University: we have been sharing moments, experiences, smiles and tears since the end of the 90’s meaning that our friendship can be considered almost vintage!

I don’t see her often as she doesn’t live in Italy but during our trips we always try to meet somewhere in the world just to spend some time together and to get updated with each other life news live instead of texts and expensive international phone calls!

A few weeks ago she came to see me in Milan and she brought me two beautiful gifts: her adorable dog and a beautiful vintage dress from Germany! Regarding the latter she told me: I didn’t know how to wear it, then I thought you would!

I accepted the challenge and I wore it straight away: long dresses are my passion and I can’t wear them without a statement necklace. This time I decided to wear two pieces that I found in two different markets: a Nepalese silver necklace and a leather black one.

I also imagined it with a pair of white sneakers (mine are Nike for & Other Stories) just to make it more versatile for a Saturday afternoon stroll in the city center.

Bag : Miu Miu

The Ladybug on how to get the perfect retro look for the office (again!)

This is one of the most debated topics among vintage lovers and one of the questions that I receive more often from my readers. We love vintage, but how can we try to have a retro or vintage look when we work in a corporate office and we are supposed to wear suits? Shall we leave our passion for our weekends?

My answer is always: No! When I started working in a corporate office (where I still work) I standardized my workwear to look like the others: dark colors, blazers, pencil skirts etc. It didn’t work for too long as after a few months I realized that this was totally killing my personality. With time I decided to add small vintage and retro pieces just to add color or a retro touch to make people get comfortable with it. After more than ten years I wear vintage shirts, dresses or jewels at work and I have managed to make my colleagues understand that this is just a part of myself. I never cross the line but I don’t want to hide my own personality every day during the week or have a double wardrobe, one for work one for my spare time. Well, there are still things that I wear only during the weekends and that I would never wear at work but I can say that they are limited.

If I’m not wearing vintage, I always try to make it look retro, by adding details that say “Hey, this is me!”. I went all black for this outfit, wearing a classic little black dress from Diffusione Tessile paired with a bon-ton retro black spring coat by Benetton (they have them in many colors though and for a very good price!). If you wear all black with a pair of heeled bicolor lace-up shoes like these from Fratelli Rossetti, you will see that they will change the whole outfit! I added my day bag from Miu Miu (it pairs perfectly with the color of the shoes and it is big enough to contain all my stuff!) and a very retro touch with this adorable flamingo brooch from Erstwilder, one of my favorite jewelry labels lately (I am totally obsessed!) that I bought in the lovely Godiva vintage boutique in Edinburgh (btw, I will tell you everything about my last trip to Scotland very soon!).

If you also add waves to your hair I guess that your perfect retro outfit is ready for your next workday!

PS: The pictures are not taken in an office, but mostly in Capra e Cavoli, one of my favorite spots in Milan for a good aperitivo (I love their mojito and they always offer new great side dishes!), but it was just a drink after work, so my outfit comes from a real workday! (I thought the disclaimer was pretty much needed! Hehe)

The Ladybug goes retro for a movie date

How many times did you find online (or on women magazines) the best outfit tips for a movie date (usually with him)? Well, this is not the purpose of my post! It happened that I wore this outfit for a movie date but if there is an advice that I can give if you go for a movie/theatre/dinner date with whoever it will be, make sure to be yourself and to dress only for yourself and not to please your date or anyone else!

That said, I see no other way to be myself than wearing vintage or retro inspired clothes!

This is the reason why I went for this lovely retro tartan dress by Miss Patina with white peter pan collar and cuffs. I really love this brand, they make the cutest things with a vintage and retro touch that made me fall in love!

I added thrifted Prada patent shoes, Miu Miu bag and red lipstick by Mac (I don’t know if it is a good choice to wear red lipstick for a night date but make sure you have it in your bag in case you need to put it on again after the movie!!)

The Ladybug listens to Gauguin’s Tales from Paradise

Yet another great exhibition in Milan! This time it was in one of my new favorite venues in town, the Mudec (Museo delle Culture) where, until the 21^st of February you could visit the exhibit “Gauguin. Tales from Paradise”.

The exhibit collected 70 art pieces (not only paintings) coming from many different museums and private collections and focused on one of the reasons why I have been loving Gauguin since I was a student: the inspiration coming from different geographic areas that influenced the painter’s production, from French region of Bretagne to Egypt, from Peru to Cambodia and during the most mature period of his art, Polynesia. This constant link with the place, the art, the culture and everything characteristic of the specific area he was in contact with, influenced his work.

Polynesian paintings are a pure joy for the heart and the eye: I literally couldn’t move away from many of them, especially “Words of the Devil” and “Woman with a Flower”.

For the event (and considering the freezing weather) I wore Sportmax black coat, Acne Studios jeans, Dixie black sweater. I added two pieces that I love: a pair of leopard printed ankle boots that I bought last year from Zara on sale (for about 30 euros!) and my black handmade turban from Madame Ilary with a pink vintage hatpin from my friend Tricia Leonard Vintage in Munich. Bag is Miu Miu.

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 supports handmade designers at the Blue Velvet Atelier

During the frenzy of Christmas period, among markets and crazy shopping, I was invited to a very special event in the heart of Milan, the Blue Velvet Atelier in Corso Como. Two days in a beautiful space where art, fashion, handmade and design meet together for a different kind of event. Not a market but a temporary shop that looks more like a boudoir with some of the best handmade designers around. Plus: free delicious cakes, Dammann Frères tea, street food trunk and a special corner for hair and makeup!

I went to see my beautiful friends Ilaria and Gemma from Heka Couture exposing there their beautiful creations: I loved their hats, turbans, headbands and clothing as usual and I bought from them some of my Christmas presents for my beloved ones (yes, I’m trying to make more turban-addicts!!) and of course for myself! By the way, what do you think of my new check headband? 🙂

I also found some new handmade designers like Lora Nikolova Bijoux & Art, an amazing jewels designer (I fell in love with her necklaces and I bought a lovely pair of earrings and a beautiful tree-brooch) and Riminimade who makes beautiful handmade shoes that you can “create” yourself with the color and fabrics that you prefer (I didn’t buy a pair but I definitely will, I’ve already created my favorite pair!!).

For the event I wore my new blue coat from Diffusione Tessile in perfect “dressing-gown style”, Acne Studios jeans, Please sweater, New Balance sneakers, Miu Miu bag and my new Heka Couture headband!

 

The Ladybug’s “Nice” weekend!

A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to spend a beautiful weekend in Provence, France. More precisely in Juan-les-Pins and Nice. It was totally unplanned and unexpected and maybe this is the reason why I enjoyed it so much. The weather was incredibly warm and I felt really envious of people living there because they can see the sea every day and in the middle of November they could eat outside in the sun without wearing tights or coats. I felt a bit out of place with my black tights and my heavy coat.

It was a total-relax weekend: little lunches and dinners outside, meeting old friends, walking around and shopping a little bit. Speaking of which, if it happens that you are in Nice don’t miss the lovely Caprice Vintage Shop, not far from the beautiful and crowded Place Masséna: it is one of the best vintage shops in town and the vintage selection is amazing! It is defnitely worth a visit!

Let me just share here some of my pictures from my day in Nice, on the famous Promenade des Anglais: I am wearing Zara 60’s inspired black dress, vintage laced ankle boots from Foxhole Vintage in Brussels, Miu Miu bag and handmade headband by Heka Couture.

The Ladybug and the joy of wearing a vintage dress

One of the things that I often ask to other vintage lovers is the way they feel when they wear a vintage piece. I am one of those people thinking that a piece of clothing or accessory has energy and that we can feel and live that energy when we wear it. If this theory is valuable for every dress, shoes or hat that we wear it is amplified when it comes to vintage pieces.

The same fact that the same piece lived before me with one or maybe more people through the decades gets me excited. In time I realized that when I wear one of these vintage pieces and look at myself at the mirror, I smile. As this happens on a regular basis I can conclude that wearing a vintage piece makes me happy. This may be one of the explanations for my unconditional love for vintage!

Whatever the explanation is, I love this shirt dress very much: I bought it during my last weekend in Bruxelles a few months ago, at Episode Vintage one of my favorite vintage venues in town. I thought it was too small for me so I gave it to my friend who is thinner and taller so that she could try it. She was too tall for the dress and she insisted that I tried it because it was too good to leave it there!

When I put it on me it was just perfect and I smiled a lot: my friend was right, I couldn’t leave without it!

Today I used it for work, pairing it with Topshop skinny belt, retro inspired t-bar shoes from New York and Miu Miu bag.

Of course, I also paired it with a huge and sincere smile!

The Ladybug’s outfit for a shopping day (the only one!) in Sicily

I must confess that when I am on holiday in Sicily I bring with me super light suitcase: only swimsuits, flip flops, sun creams, sundresses, running shoes and clothes and maybe a dress or two in case I decide to do something different that going to the beach, running or relaxing at home. This is my real way to relax: I go out and do things eleven months a year and when I am on holiday I go in a total relax mood that doesn’t need any makeup or heeled shoes and dressing up.

There are just two occasions when I need to get dressed properly during my summer holidays: my birthday party and a last summer sales session at home usually with my sister in our favorite shops in town.

This is when we made this little shooting during a little break in our shopping session!

I wore a Mango dark orange tunic dress with an handmade African knotted headband handmade by Madame Ilary with an old African fabric that I had at home (it was an envelope bag for an Asos Africa dress that I bought many years ago!), Nike for & Other Stories white sneakers (the only pair of shoes that I brought with me!), Valentino round frames and Miu Miu bag.

I’ve been told by a girl in a shop that I looked like a 60’s girl…best compliment of the day!