The Ladybug, a black wall, a white door and Kandiskij’s Russian inspiration

Last weekend I was hanging around with a friend of mine: we had a lovely lunch in one of my favorite places in Milan, the restaurant Orto,  we had a long chat in their lovely garden (it’s not properly a garden but you are surrounded by plants and it feels like a garden!) and the weather was so good that we took a long walk after lunch.

We walked to the Mudec museum and we decided to step in to see the Kandinskij exhibit even if both of us had already seen the beautiful exhibit dedicated to the artist four years at Palazzo Reale. Maybe it was the fact that we adored that past exhibit but we didn’t enjoy the visit very much.

 

The exhibit was dedicated to the story of its so-called “genius period”, leading to the birth of abstraction. Most of the works come from Russian museums such as the Hermitage and “they trace the development of Kandinskij’s visual imagery, deeply rooted in Russian tradition, and of his inescapable path towards abstraction”. It is also a journey across the Russian visual sources from which he took most of his inspiration.

The thing is that the exhibit is quite small with few interesting pieces from the artist, not even comparable with the one held in Palazzo Reale in 2013.

Anyway, it was also a good day to take some pictures so here they are!

Even if the weather was good it was still a bit chilly, that’s why I wore my flowery Barbour (a limited edition that I found in an outlet years ago!) on my Victorian style frill shirt from Alexa Chung’s Archive second collection for M&S. I added black skinny jeans from Acne Studios and comfy shoes for the long walk (Nike white sneakers at & Other Stories).

Last touches: Sine Modus headband, Cavalli & Nastri 70’s vintage bag and vintage silver earrings!

The Ladybug’s 70’s Afro outfit (L’Afrique, c’est chic!)

When I think of the 70’s that I love I cannot think only of the “Flower Power” and “Peace and Love” trends around Europe and America.  I still love the flowers in the hair, the flare jeans, the wooden platforms but I cannot separate it from the “Black Power”, the early disco and all the fashion related to that era among black people especially in the United States. Afro hair, African headscarves, African bangles and large earrings.

Diana Ross is my fashion icon of the 70’s and when I try to re-create an outfit inspired to that decade I can’t help mixing flare pants with afro hair or just add something African to the outfit.

I must confess that I do that quite often: my love for African prints and fashion in general is huge since I was a kid and I used to go with my grandmother to the fairs and markets only to buy African scarves to put on my head; I used the same scarves when I was a bit older to create my Erykah Badu inspired turbans!

I often wear African pieces to my daily outfits and lately I also decided to leave my curly natural hair free in an afro styled cut.

When I bought my H&M printed navy jumpsuit (on sale for 7 euros last winter!) I immediately imagined to wear it in a 70’s inspired outfit. I didn’t have my wooden platforms with me so I wore it with my navy Swedish Hasbeens sandals but I added two afro touches: the beautiful handmade African turban by Sine Modus and the adorable original vintage brooch from Déjà Vu Vintagepedia.

The Ladybug wears turbans on a vintage skirt!

Who said that turbans can only be worn on your head?

My love for turbans (and hats and headbands and whatever you can wear on your head!) is pretty much known, so you can understand why I totally fell in love with this vintage pleated skirt from Sine Modus when I saw it in their lovely shop near Porta Venezia in  Milan!

The pattern, model and color just got my heart and I couldn’t help buying it…it was “so me”!!

By the way, I totally loved Sine Modus vintage shop in via Sirtori: you can find there beautiful handmade turbans and headbands but also original and rare vintage pieces (clothing and accessories) carefully chosen by the beautiful Chiara, Manuela and Elena…and believe me, they are three of the ladies with the greatest style and taste in Milan!

I wore the skirt for work just a few days before summer holidays and I paired it with a simple white shirt (Cos) and a pair of retro inspired sandals from Lazzari.

I added my handmade Nepalese silver necklace and Miu Miu bag.

PS: Now you can find Sine Modus vintage also in Isola district, in via Thaon de Revel, don’t miss their amazing vintage pieces if you are in town!

The Ladybug on Spring, girlfriends and Herb Ritts

Imagine the first Spring weekend (well, the one just before!), your girlfriends being in town for the Stramilano (Milanese run) the next day and many girlish things to do during the weekend. What is on the menu? Food, running, shopping, pictures, art and much more!

It was hard to put everything in a weekend program but we managed and we are very happy about it, even if on Monday we felt like we needed the whole week to recover from the last two days! But let’s be honest, the time spent with your friends is the best time ever whatever you decide to do but when you do all the things you love and they love, well it is priceless!

This is just the photo-story of a Saturday in Milan, from a healthy regenerating lunch at God Save the Food to the Herb Ritts exhibit at Palazzo della Ragione, from shopping in the city center (including our favorite Bivio shops) to a vintage glass of wine at the Sine Modus shop in Porta Venezia, ending with a delicious Russian dinner at La Veranda, my favorite Russian-Ukrainian place in town.

Let me just add a few words on Herb Ritts exhibit “In equilibrio” at Palazzo della Ragione until the 5^th of June: there is not much to add about this incredible photographer but believe me, the exhibit is absolutely worth a visit for the collection exposed of fashion and celebrities photographs (including one of my favorite Prince photograph and my adored Bill T. Jones series) but also to admire his incredible art of making powerful portraits.

This is basically how we prepared for the 10K run of the next day…not really healthy preparation I know but incredibly fun!

I wore Diffusione Tessile navy maxi coat, Penneys striped shirt, Met jeans, Traffic People headband, Valentino glasses, Miu Miu bag, Nike 4 Other Stories white sneakers and Nars red lips courtesy of Simona!).

The Ladybug in Turbans Wonderland: The Grand Opening of Sine Modus

Sometimes being happy for other people’s success is really hard, I know. Most of the time, it’s because we don’t think it is really deserved and we pass our false felicity for their fortune with the notion that it is just good luck or make other haphazard excuses for their success. But believe me, when it is completely deserved and is the fruit of hard work, you cannot be anything other than happy and even a bit proud, especially when you were one of those who believed in it.

This is what happened with me for the huge success of the beautiful Manuela and Chiara, the amazing souls behind Sine Modus. But let me start from the beginning, which means December 2013 when I met them at the Lekker Market and could not move away from their stall of amazing turbans. You may know already my passion for hats, turbans, headbands, fascinators and anything that you can wear on your head, to the point that I often feel naked when I can’t wear something on it- especially in winter. And their handmade turbans were to die-for! I even bought one, not the one that I chose at first, but a turquoise one that they put on my head and I just fell in love with at that very exact moment. They were mostly classic turbans but very well done, with amazing variety of materials and with incredible shades and decorations. But what really made me crazy was the fact that their turbans were recycled from vintage dresses and shirts, giving them new life under the form of turbans. Since then I felt that they “had something:” they told me that they mostly sold at markets and events and that I could find them on Facebook if I wanted more handmade turbans. Which I did, of course. Every time they were at some market/event I went to find them to try new pieces (as they evolved to new more structured forms) and of course to get some new turbans to add to my collection. When I wear their turbans it’s always a smashing success (people stopping me everywhere in the streets and asking me about them – even in London!). We often talked about them selling online or even open a shop- and then it happened, almost a year after we first met. I was full of joy when I received their invitation for the opening because they were finally rewarded for their hard working and of course because I finally have a place where I can find them whenever I want!

It is a cute little shop in Milan on via Pomponazzi, 22 full of vintage pieces (from clothing to accessories) and of course loads of hats and their famous handcrafted turbans! You can recognize it from the big “ Vintage is in the Air” quote on their window and from the two beautiful and talented girls inside!

Well done ladies, very well done!

I wore Topshop silk shirt, Zara pleated skirt, Lazzari oxfords and of course one of my adored Sine Modus handmade turbans!

The Ladybug’s Roman Holiday pt.2: The New Headquarters of Vintage in Rome

If my first day in Rome was all about the expo and the monuments, my Sunday was mostly about vintage hunting! So, I decided to ask my vintage expert friends in Rome to tell me which was the best area in town to find some interesting stuff; strange thing they all answered “Rione Monti!”

I didn’t know this area of Rome, so I decided that it would be great to kill two birds with one stone time: go for vintage shopping and become acquainted with a new area of Rome. The primary suggestion of Rione Monti was its very famous urban market, Mercato Monti, so that’s where I started my visit.

It is a small, yet interesting indoor market- essentially based on vintage and handmades… quite hipster I would say, which made it very interesting to me, even if I didn’t find anything to buy (strange, I know… I guess the problem was going before lunch time and I was super hungry!). Still, I had a lovely time talking to the sellers and getting to know them and their beautiful work.

After lunch I enjoyed myself in this lovely area.  I walked a lot and found a couple interesting shops around via del Boschetto all worth of a mention- like King Size, Pulp and Gocce di Memoria. Such a shame I had to run to catch my train… but at least I saved my credit card for the weekend (even if… I got a pair of Ash ankle boots on Saturday).

Again, I decided to be comfortable in my Zara sweatpants, Max&Co linen shirt, Nike trainers and Furla British flag canvas bag. I added one of the adored pieces from my turban collection created the beautiful and talented girls of Sine Modus, who make me feel stylish even with dirty hair and a casual sporty look with this handmade beauty designed from a recycled vintage piece. Check them out on their Facebook page, you’ll love them!

The Ladybug Rates the Best Christmas Markets in Milan: part 1

December is, of course, the month of Christmas markets. Everywhere around Milan you can find all kinds of handcraft, vintage, food and little markets where you can get ready for your Christmas gifting or just enjoy music, food and a lovely atmosphere: from grunge, to rock to BCBG… you can really find a lot of stuff in town, for every style and pocket.

I went around extensively the first weekend of December to spot the most interesting markets to share with you (I won’t mention the very disappointing ones!) so you too can visit next year, if you happen to missed this time around.

Even if I enjoyed it a lot last year, I decided to avoid the Artigiano in Fiera this year and go for more local and small markets, hoping for less crowds!

The last Saturday of November was such a cold and rainy day that getting warm and cozy inside little markets was for sure one of my best ideas of the day. I started at the Fondaco market: a bit pricey I must say, but for a good cause. This market, with a lot of handmade original and interesting pieces, aimed to give more home assistance to terminally ill people. It wasn’t really my style, but there were some cool pieces in this big market.

After a Mexican lunch I headed to Supermarket, a space created by Spazio Venduto, in the Navigli area with a completely different atmosphere: two floors of handmade, vintage, music, art and food with a more rock/indie young atmosphere that I appreciated quite a bit… very cool pieces coming mostly from handcrafters  or small vintage collectors.

The last stop of my Saturday was my favorite market of the day: It’s Time for Christmas, a lovely indie market with my favorite stallers of the day like Lovever (a beautiful concept store completely dedicated to Love) and the adorable Atelassé who creates vintage pins from comics or newspapers. I got my first buy of the day at her stand: I got myself a personalized Lamù pin and two more pins (one with my adored Mafalda and the other with a London map) to add to my collection for my new “handmade by me” headpiece (…give me some time, hopefully it will one day be revealed!).

On Sunday I headed to my favorite market of the weekend; the Lekker Market, a special Christmas edition with a lot of design, vintage, home-ware, handcraft, music, food in a lovely atmosphere.

I found two (actually, four) of my favorite female handmade artists and I couldn’t help buying things from them.

First stop: the beautiful handmade turbans of Sine Modus: it took a while to choose one, but with Chiara’s help I went for this beautiful iridescent blue turban.

Second stop: the two lovely Israeli Natalies of Oh la la Milano with their amazing jewelry… it took some time there too, but in the end- I picked these two lovely bracelets from their handmade collection.

See you next week with more Christmas markets in Milan to visit next year!