The Ladybug has found the One: the red Odicini dress at Opherty & Ciocci

Do you know this incredible feeling of falling in love with something? That you can’t stop thinking of it, that you want it so badly and you can’t live without it?

Well, this is my feeling with this fantastic dress. When I was asked to choose a piece from Opherty & Ciocci and to style it for the blog my first choice was this amazing vintage red Odicini dress! I have looked at it for so long on their website and this was nothing compared to the feeling that I had when Marco brought it to me in Milan: it is wonderful, no picture can make it justice! I shouldn’t be surprised considered that it was created by the hands of the Italian couturier Andrea Odicini, one of the most talented designers in my personal opinion.

The shape is just amazing and the volumes are incredible: I couldn’t stop smiling when I wore it (can you tell from these pictures?!). I usually don’t wear a lot of red clothes but this dress definitely made me change my mind on red!

I didn’t wear anything else: just a pair of black pumps and vintage 80s golden earrings because all my attention was focused on this piece of art!

If you want to buy it, it is still available here …but do it quickly before I buy it for myself!!

Photo Credit: Milena Molinari

The Ladybug’s vintage riddle of the day!

November has just ended and I have a little riddle for you: which amazing vintage event takes place twice a year in Milan, in April and November? I know, this is easy and as I guess that you are a vintage lover it is even easier! It is the Milano Vintage Week! The thing is that, if you are a vintage lover in Milan there are for sure a few shops and markets where you can go for vintage shopping but many of them are way too expensive, so all that you can do is wait for your favorite vintage event in town where you can still find good pieces at affordable and fair prices and where you can breathe (and shop) vintage for a couple of hours!

This year I brought one of my non-vintage-lover friend who ended up buying vintage inspired pieces, which is the first step to move into vintage fanatics world! I did the same of course, but this is no news!

As always my little vintage paradise in Milan was full of great stalls and pieces and I could see my “vintage friends” (Opherty & Ciocci, Shabby Chic, Magnifica Preda, A.N.G.E.L.O.), meet new dealers and crafters and be part of some of the many events and activities that at every edition make this Vintage Week fun and pleasant (workshops, presentations, beauty and hair tutorials, retro inspired photoshoots).

I also visited the lovely exhibit (in collaboration with A.N.G.E.L.O.) dedicated to Valentino with some of his beautiful pieces from the 70’s and 80’s. The two rooms dedicated to the designer were a real paradise for those who love vintage, but also for those who appreciate a good piece of fashion. I spent a lot of time admiring the decorations and the wonderful work on these pieces, and I was really amazed to find a kind of creativity that doesn’t exist anymore. It was a way of reminding me why I love vintage fashion so much!

I wore Heka Couture lace jabot, Dixie black culottes, Max&Co black coat, Maison Momonì folk clutch, 8 pointed brogues and & Other Stories glitter socks.

The Ladybug’s happy Summer Jamboree 2015

What more can be said about Senigallia Summer Jamboree?

I guess that if you follow my blog and if you love vintage, wherever you live in the world, you know everything about it! For me is the impossible-to-miss summer event: I love so much the atmosphere that I spend the winter months daydreaming of my so desired few days in Senigallia! I can call it my second home now as, after three consecutive years I know the place quite well and I already have my little favorites (my beach, my restaurants, my friends, my beer). Still I can’t get enough of my favorite vintage event in Italy: the live music and dancing all along the city center, the crowd of vintage people, the happy and relaxed atmosphere, the pinups at the beach, the vintage cars, everything makes you feel like living in another place and another era and you know how much I love the 40’s and 50’s! Themed parties, burlesque shows, live concerts on different stages, dance classes and an incredible vintage markets with the best vintage retailers where you can also get your vintage hairdo or makeup!

I love getting dressed for the event, walking and meeting all my favorite vintage sellers and friends, sipping a beer and trying some swing and rock and roll steps (even if I am still not able to dance!) and just enjoying the priceless atmosphere!

This year I could only spend one day at the Summer Jamboree but I lived it all from the beach time (in a vintage style with a 40’s inspired Frida Querida one piece) to the night out wearing a special outfit especially created for me for the event by the fabulous Madame Ilary who made my beautiful high waisted navy trousers with golden buttons paired with navy asymmetric turban decorated with pearls.

I added a striped Dixie top, my Swedish Hasbeens clogs-sandals and my genuine 40’s vintage straw bag from Vintage Galerija in Ljubljana.

As for the last picture, if you look attentively at the mirror you can see one of the most original ideas that I discovered at the Summer Jamboree this year, at my friend Marco from Opherty & Ciocci incredible stall: it is made from a vintage Spalding wooden tennis racket! I loved the idea and I will definitely steal it as I have one of this rare rackets at home!

The Ladybug on How To Become a True Vintage Lover: Milano Vintage Week

Milano Design Week is over (I will tell you more about my Design Week next week), but there is no Design Week in Milan without one of my favorite vintage events in town… Milano Vintage Week.

This beautiful event is quite young (it started in 2014) and has two editions- one of which happens during the famous Salone del Mobile and the other during MDW. So it’s no surprise I immediately feel excited about the best vintage coming to town in the weeks before their arrival!

I travel a lot checking out fairs and events to spot the best vintage around, but when it happens in Milan (at the Showroom Riccardo Grassi) I feel even more excited! As surprising as it may seem, there are not many vintage events in Milano, but the Milano Vintage Week is a special one- mostly because of the accurate selection of the stallers. I know most of them and I consider them among the best vintage dealers and lovers in Italy.

Among them, Opherty & Ciocci (in my opinion- one of the leaders in vintage research, quality and rarity of pieces in Italy, especially vintage designer handbags), Shabby Chic (who brought some wonderful handmade pieces made with original ’50s fabrics and amazing straw headpieces), Magnifica Preda (with a great quality choice of handbags and beautiful dresses) and A.N.G.E.L.O. (with his amazing collection of pin-up swimsuits and other rare accessories); just to name a few on the long list which definitely makes it worth a visit, so don’t forget to note it for the next edition!

But Milano Vintage Week is not only beautiful vintage dresses and accessories. There’s also Italian vintage design (and why not, it is Design Week!), handmade, a beautiful fashion exhibit in collaboration with A.N.G.E.L.O. that told the story of fashion in the Postwar years and presented interesting news. For example: there were vintage hair and makeup tutorials in collaboration with Elizabeth Arden- who also offered vintage hairdos and makeup to those who wanted to try it for a day and know more about the story of this long-running brand! Plus a lot of tutorials and workshops and “how to” events, including vintage makeup, weddings, china and the use of foulards to make perfect gift packages to reduce the use of paper!

Milano Vintage Week is the perfect event to actively try and experience vintage. It’s also the kind of event that I strongly recommend to those who want to know more about the beautiful world of vintage. I am sure that you will step in curious about vintage and leave a true vintage lover for life!

I couldn’t wear a vintage outfit as I wanted to because of my running errands during the day, but I paired my Acne Studios black jeans, H&M denim shirt, Lazzari brogues and Miu Miu handbag with a vintage striped shirt, vintage ’70s sunglasses by Maison Studio, handmade earrings by Metalica and handmade velvet turban by Madame Ilary.

The Ladybug at Milan Design Week 2014, pt. 2: Milano Vintage Week

So let’s recap: we said that the most important week in Milan is the Milan Fashion Week. Then comes the Milan Design Week, but what if I tell you that we also have a Vintage Week?

Indeed, during Design Week, Milan hosted the first Vintage Week ever- with stalls, expos and workshops all dedicated to Vintage. Let me say first say: compared to last year, I was very surprised by the relevance of vintage during this year’s Design Week and not only in terms of inspiration for design, home-ware and decoration, but also in terms of vintage related events.

So the last day of my Design Week, on a sunny and warm Sunday morning, I brought my friend Kay who was visiting me from UK to the first event of the day… the Vintage Week at the Riccardo Grassi Showroom. This vintage marathon attracted different kinds of customers: from buyers to vintage lovers and addicted, from fashion lovers to simply curious people trying to understand what vintage was about.

Clothes, accessories, handbags, glasses, jewels, shoes, books, home-ware… every kind of vintage article was exposed to fulfill everyone’s expectations on the theme!

The Vintage Week was an event in collaboration with A.N.G.E.L.O. who brought his beautiful collection of 24 wonderful silk vintage Hermès carrés.  Another small expo, “Vintage for Love” was dedicated to the vintage brides and weddings worlds.

It was great to see my friends Marco from Opherty & Ciocci and Nicoletta from Shabby Chic (two of my favorite vintage sellers in Italy), but a part from them the area was a bit bland: maybe because it was Sunday morning, but nothing “new” was really exposed and it was quite “standard business targeted on Italian customers” (what I mean is: “the more labels the better”). I was a bit disappointed by this event that was very well advertised- which is why my expectation was so high!

Still; I tried some cute pieces from Telma Vintage, (what do you think of these frames?)

and some amazing headpieces from Shabby Chic (yes, I bought the straw hat with the purple net and flowers!!).

For the occasion I wore a vintage sparkling sequined top from Humana Vintage, Zara trousers, an H&M biker jacket, Sam Edelman ankle boots, Balenciaga red handbag and Peter Pilotto for Target sunnies.

…Oh, and how could I forget my TOG “create” canvas bag… my Design Week favorite!

(Photo Credit: Kay Wilkinson)

The Ladybug Accepts the Call of Summer Jamboree 2013: Senigallia By Night

For those of you who never heard about the Summer Jamboree, it is definitely the most important, famous and amazing Italian Festival of the American culture and music of the 1940s and ’50s. It started 13 years ago and year by year it attracts people from all over the world, all ages and cultures in a beautiful festive atmosphere which I enjoyed during that weekend.  Ten days of music, costumes, clothes, accessories from the ’50s… you almost have the feeling of living during that era.

I was surprised by the massive amount of people walking around the streets of Senigallia on Saturday night, moving from a stage to another places in some of the central squares of the village to listen to the best Italian and International Americana artists, or dancing rock ‘n’ roll or just shopping vintage and retro clothing in the many stalls all along the lovely streets of the town. From neophytes to aficionados, everybody tried to honor the Festival by wearing something ’40s/’50s, rockabilly style! I was completely amazed by the crazy quantity of events, concerts, parties: Hawaiian inspired parties, Burlesque classes, vintage car expo and even a Johnny Cash expo!

During the day, the beaches are full of adorable pin-ups in their ’50s bathing suits- enjoying the Adriatic sea and the town is a desert (only me visiting around apparently!), but when the night falls everything changes and that’s when the party begins! It is impossible to describe the amount of people invading the streets of the city center, but the atmosphere is magical! I also managed to buy some little things (a beautiful Laura Ashley dress at “Fermata d’autobus”  a lovely seller from Livorno  and a pair of vintage “’80s does ’50s” sunglasses from Punti di Vista… you will see them both worn here soon!). And for sure it was great to say cheers to my friend Marco from Opherty & Ciocci who brought some of his amazing stuff as well.

I decided to KISS… “keep it simple & sexy,” yet inspired: I wore a simple one strap black body top by Topshop and a long black skirt from American Apparel; I added my new vintage Prada black sandals and then I went for a touch of red and a touch of retro! A vintage red clutch and a beautiful red orchid hair-clip that I picked up on Ebay! …Red lips (Armani… my new favorite lippy) and nails (Chanel Dragon) and a pair of amazing original glasses from the late ’40s found in Reggio Emilia from Tabatà Vintage.

The Ladybug Puts on a Couple Kilos in the All the Right Vintage Places: Opherty & Ciocci Launches the First Italian “vintage kilo” site!

If you are reading this blog, I assume you are a vintage lover. And if you are a vintage lover, I assume that you also know about this very popular new trend in the States and the UK of selling vintage stuff by kilos: I saw it in many shops and markets abroad and I found the idea absolutely amazing. Generally for 10/15 pounds or dollars per kilo- you can fill a bag of vintage clothing and bring home a lot of vintage pieces for an absolutely affordable price.

Moreover, if you’ve read my blog from the beginning, you may remember me telling you about the first (successful) attempts to trend this idea in the Italian vintage market.

But when I saw online that the first ever site to sell vintage by kilo in Italy was about to launch, I got really excited and decided to investigate. No surprise, really, when I realized that the project was an idea of one of my favorite vintage sellers in Italy, Opherty & Ciocci.

I met Marco, the founder, last year in Forlì at the annual vintage fair a month after starting my blog. We corresponded before and it was very nice to meet in person: since then; Marco has been one of my biggest and affectionate supporters, so I decided to give him a call to congratulate him and I asked him a few questions about his new project “ILIKEKILO”.

TLC:  Marco, first of all, tell us who is behind Opherty and how did you develop the idea of Opherty & Ciocci?

MO:  Good question! To make a long story short: when I was only 22, I was the manager of the customer service and marketing of an important laboratory of movie production. But the more I advanced, the less I was satisfied. I needed to create something “mine,” something that really made sense. At the same time, my mum was enjoying selling stamps and memorabilia on ebay. She was experiencing great success and her hobby was becoming more demanding every day. So I suddenly decided to create something within the family: I decided to combine our common passion for vintage and showcase, everywhere in the world, what we Italians do best [while simultaniously] creating a business that is eco-friendly. In the end, with a lot of passion, [patience and persistance], here we are! And I love to think that this is just the beginning!

TLC: In a very short time you have become an important reference for the Italian vintage scenario. What do you think people appreciate most about you?

MO: I think that our strength is in the customer relationship. We have loads of customers all around the world and at every holiday we receive a lot of greeting cards, pictures of their families, and a lot of questions about how we are doing! A customer for us is a friend first, and they are friends for life! We do our best, sometimes at our own expenses, to make our friends happy and satisfied. I firmly believe that if you really have passion and believe in what you do, this all comes spontaneously.

TLC: Some time ago I read that you transformed the Mercato Monti in Rome into a real pilgrimage venue for all the Roman (and not only) vintage lovers. Can you tell us more about this experience?

MO: The Mercato Monti is now family. Next Sunday we will celebrate 3 years, and during the week- all the stallers will go out for dinner to enjoy each other company and celebrate this great organization. Which essentially is lead by Ornella and Fabrizio who, with their passion and attention towards customers and stallers, have created a reference point for vintage, new designers and collectors. They supply a wonderful creative window to become known and expose what they do with greater passion.

This is why, with Ornella, I wanted to organize “the event within the event” the “ILIKEKILO”  at the Mercato Monti.  On Sunday 25^th of November: there will be a huge vintage kilo sale with more than 30 m2 of vintage clothing and accessories to weigh! The funny thing is: whatever you create with Ornella is already a success!

TLC:  Let’s talk about “ ILIKE KILO:” the idea is clearly Anglo-Saxon inspired, where buying vintage by kilo is a very popular trend. Can you tell us more about it?

MO:  Excatly. The kilo sale was born in London, but it is also popular in New York and Los Angeles. We adopted it in Italy for vintage shopping and of course, the only one who could bring it here was A.N.G.E.L.O., who is always a step ahead! This shopping revolution will soon be popular everywhere around the world. But the most surprising thing is that nobody [in Italy] brought it online! Oh well… since the 14^th of November it is online at ILIKEKILO.COM! And as I like to say, for us this is just the beginning… the best is yet to come!

TLC: Do you think that the Italian market is ready for that shopping revolution?

MO: Well, I think that we shouldn’t try to figure out if the Italian market is ready or not. Most of the times, the market is ready and it doesn’t know that it is! Of course we cannot introduce novelties by chance: we took inspiration from the English and American successes and added the main characteristics of the “Made in Italy” (quality, class, style) which will make it, inevitably, even more interesting.

TLC: Every time that we have a “vintage guest” at The Ladybug Chronicles we have our special question: can you give us tips about the best places in Italy or abroad to find affordable amazing vintage pieces?

MO:  I think that one of the funniest and most exciting things for vintage lovers is the answer to this last question: the most amazing and glorious vintage finds can be hidden in that memorabilia stall just around the corner, at a ridiculous price! This still happens even if nowadays, there is more attention to what we sell or sell off. We live in a country that has been making fashion and style for more than a century: as for the ruins, if we keep searching the results will [continue to be] satisfying and even astonishing!

If you want to try this amazing online vintage kilo experience you can visit the site www.ilikekilo.com : you can browse the different categories, choose your favorite items and weigh them on the virtual balance, as you do at the market! For only 15 euros per kilo, you can get amazing genuine vintage clothing and accessories… As a first of its kind in giving you the power to shop online for the exact items you want by weight, this site is absolutely worth the look!

And if you are in Rome this Sunday 25^th of November, you can try the real experience at the Mercato Monti: “you do not wanna miss it!!!”

(In the pictures some of my favorite items, taken from the Facebook page ILIKEKILO)

The Ladybug lands on Memory Lane at the Forlì Vintage Fair

Vintage is all about memories, whether you’re recycling your own style with a renewed class or invoking the memories of others through your finds or creating your own memories by redesigning and defining your ideal style… Vintage IS memorable!

When I was 18 I left Sicily to go to college: I loved foreign languages and decided that I wanted to be a translator (don’t ask me what happened to that dream!). At the time one of the best colleges for Interpreters and Translators was the SSLMIT in Forlì – a lovely town between Bologna and the Riviera Romagnola where I spent the most amazing and happiest years of my life! Forlì was, and still is, a quiet and calm town where people prefer their bikes over their cars. It’s full of students from everywhere in Italy and abroad. Being situated near big cities like Bologna and great clubbing centers as Rimini and Riccione made it the perfect place to have fun, meet new friends and enjoy my first experience out of my hometown! This is why I hold great and happy memories of this place. It’s also why I was so excited to go there for the Forlì Vintage Fair which is probably the most important vintage event in Italy (they count about 15 thousand visitors every year, in two semiannual events). It also boasts as one of the oldest (the first edition was in 2008) ongoing Italian vintage fairs.

I took the train from Naples and met my friend in Bologna.  We then headed to Forlì by car.  With a full weekend ahead of us, we scheduled to only attend the event on Friday afternoon (the 23^rd of September, opening day). I won’t explain here the emotions of that day (a great surprise in Bologna and all the feelings of my “homecoming!”), but I’ll try to share with you that afternoon of fun!

Basically the Fair was divided in 3 big areas: the proper vintage area, the biggest one, with many stands of vintage clothes and accessories from the ’40s to the ’80s; the design-remake area, a very interesting bunch of stalls where new designers exposed their retro inspired creations, using old recycled materials and creating new forms of art from the past; and the collectibles area, where it was possible to find any kind of antique object, from toys to perfumes to small furniture.

In the main vintage area I could find some of my favorite sellers and discover some more or even meet those with whom I’ve been in virtual contact, but had never met for real! A special mention goes to Tara Vintage, honestly the best designer vintage seller around with great clothing and accessories pieces from Chanel (I fell in love with a very expensive black pleated dress from Chanel! Sigh!), Hermès or Vuitton; to Opherty & Ciocci (I finally met my virtual friend Marco!) with the most amazing ’70s handbags (yes, I bought one!) and some great Gucci vintage pieces; and of course A.N.G.E.L.O. Vintage Palace, who is the ‘author’ of the beautiful vintage Issey Miyake itinerant museum. Then there’s Lamù Vintage (a new friend!), personally one of my favorite stalls for sunglasses (yes, I got a pair too….a fantastic Dior!) with Oggetti Smarriti, and to Boutique Nadine, on my top list of vintage and retro shops if you ever go to Florence (don’t miss it, as they added a new store recently!).

Also many events were planned during the Fair like burlesque classes, American bar and retro music artists playing live… I was tempted to attend a burlesque class, but I really didn’t have time because a long car trip to Milan was waiting for us that same night!

To be fair I also have to put my attention on two negative facts: first of all, the complete lack of air conditioning. It was freaking hot inside (and outside!) and we even left earlier because of that: it was impossible to try fur coats or wool hats and I guess this problem affected not only the visitors but also the sellers. Secondly, a negative mention to Di Renzo Vintage, a stall with cool vintage hats but very unfriendly owners. I was asked not to take pictures (erm….why?? They couldn’t say…crazy!) and when I said I was a blogger- they said I should have told that… Really?!?! So….we left there two hats we wanted to buy and put a cross on them! (Of course, no pictures of their stuff either! Lol) *note to owners: If they see it, they will come. Word of mouth is the best publicity.

Here are some of my pictures of the event. The Ladybug’s vintage finds of the day – Forlì Vintage Fair coming soon!

The Issey Miyake vintage collection from A.N.G.E.L.O.

A lovely burlesque performer

Some shots from the great Tara Vintage collection

Cute vintage inspired head-pieces

Cuteness!

A.N.G.E.L.O., of course!

Cute white glasses from Oggetti Smarriti (so stupid I didn’t buy them….pfff)

With Marco from Opherty & Ciocci

J’adore….

Rocking the 80’s…

Animal prints forever!