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 is Proud to Announce the Madame Ilary for Sofia Vintage Collaboration!

What happens when two women that you love, admire and support (both in life and work) combine their amazingness? Well; in my opinion, an awesome result which I’ll prove in this post!

So let’s start from the beginning: Ilaria, founder of Madame Ilary, is my beautiful friend that I met last year during a theatre piece for which she was making costumes (yes, she is a talented costume designer!). We immediately felt the connection and she asked me if I was interested in seeing some of her handmade headpieces (turbans in particular). I accepted immediately, and a few weeks later I was at her studio where she showed me her amazing creations. I fell in love with her and with her talent- and, I’ll have you know, I now wear her turbans and her creations in general almost every day! She just doesn’t stop surprising me with her talent and creativity! Roberta is the wonderful owner of one of the most beautiful vintage shops I’ve ever visited, Sofia Vintage in Como. I met her last year too, at the opening of her shop and there again I felt that “something!” She’s a Leo, incredible vintage lover and expert, huge traveler… we shared too many things in common to let this new friendship go! Her second home, Sofia Vintage, is exactly the shop of my dreams and I love every single piece that she picked!

I share with them a lot of passion, willingness, strength, ambition and hidden dreams- which made us good friends. So it was almost natural that Ilaria’s and Roberta’s paths through me would sooner or later cross. Fortunately this happened quite quickly (a few months ago) and it ended with a beautiful collection created by Madame Ilary for Sofia Vintage with an incredible retro touch. I had the chance to have a little preview of this amazing spring-summer collection, now available at Sofia Vintage, and I was completely blown away by the incredible patterns and style of the midi circle skirts, the amazing turbans and other pieces that I can’t reveal right now, but you’ll soon see here!

As for me, in the middle of this amazingness, I had the chance to model some pieces of this first collection! I was completely at ease in these circle skirts paired with knot turbans, vintage clutches and hats. And I can’t wait to show you the new pieces coming soon!

When Italian handmade quality meets vintage and retro style, when style meets creativity, when vintage meets handcraft, when talent meets originality… this is what can happen!

Good luck to my beautiful friends and to this new incredible collaboration that starts with the of best promises!

The Ladybug (the Woman and the Sun) Vs. Van Gogh (The Man and the Earth)

About a month ago I visited one of the most crowded exhibits ever held at Palazzo Reale in Milano, the Van Gogh expo “L’uomo e la terra” (The Man and the Earth). The exhibit focuses on the importance of the simple life, the life of the farmers, of the villagers and the attachment to the earth (intended as mother of life) in Van Gogh’s art. This wasn’t the best Van Gogh expo, I must admit. Especially because this part of his artistic career is very often underestimated and not particularly famous, except for some pieces like The Postman.

To be perfectly honest, I was a bit disappointed… maybe because it was quite small (compared to the Marc Chagall exhibit for example) or simply because it wasn’t my favorite of Van Gogh’s artistic eras!

But it was a wonderful sunny day, maybe the first real spring forward day, and I was in wonderful company so I decided to take some pictures around Palazzo Reale and just enjoy the blessings of the day!

I wore a Please burgundy sweater, Acne Studios black jeans, Max and Co coat, Replay biker boots. My folk clutch is from La Maison Momonì, sunglasses are Céline. I added a lovely brooch from Hidden Forest Market in Verona and vintage red leather gloves from Sofia Vintage in Como.

The Ladybug’s Sofia-sticated Vintage Photoshoot #5: I Disagree Kermit, It Is Easy Being Green!

I can’t really call this one part of the photoshoot. Let’s say that after shooting some vintage outfits for Sofia Vintage in Como, my eyes landed on this beautiful green dress and I totally fell in love with it!

I tried it on (with a dark green vintage hat) and paired it with my Replay biker boots just to see how it looked on me… BOUGHT IT! I loved the feminine shape and the color so much… you will definitely see it on me again!

Here are some pictures to share with you of “that moment” when you try something on and you really have the feeling that it must be yours (can’t you see it on my face?!).

In my defense, it’s kinda hard to leave Sofia Vintage empty handed!

The Ladybug’s Sofia-sticated Vintage Photoshoot #4: The Vintage Bon-Tonian

This time we tried to imagine a perfect vintage look for traveling in Bon-Ton style!

Another perfect vintage outfit that the wonderful Roberta Ciceri, owner and founder of Sofia Vintage, rocked the styling of The Ladybug in, with great vintage clothes and accessories (suitcase included!)- all from her beautiful vintage shop on via Vitani, Como.

The shoes come from my personal wardrobe… beautiful ankle boots from Sergio Rossi in perfect retro style!

What do you think?

The Ladybug’s Sofia-sticated Vintage Photoshoot #3: The ’70s in Red

Another from my photoshoot visit at Sofia Vintage in Como last December.

The theme of this outfit was [singing] “the lady in red from 19-70s…” lol. Yes, I jest, but once again Roberta Ciceri, the owner and founder of Sofia Vintage, knocked this styling out of the park with head-to-toe vintage clothes and accessories come from the ’70s.

To find some of the greatest pieces I’ve ever seen or to humbly subscribe to her personal shopping tips, visit her wonderful vintage shop on via Vitani in Como.

The dress is to-die-for and so are the gloves… and the bag… and the hat… and the boots… and the shop… and the owner… and, and, and…!

The Ladybug’s Sofia-sticated Vintage Photoshoot #2: Black and White

As promised here is the second outfit from my photoshoot visit at Sofia Vintage in Como last December.

The theme of the shoot was black and white and it is completely styled by Roberta Ciceri, the owner and founder of Sofia Vintage. Head-to-toe vintage clothes and accessories come from her wonderful vintage shop on via Vitani in Como.

As for me, I am in love with everything I wore, but the hat… is utter perfection!

The Ladybug’s Sofia-sticated vintage photoshoot #1: The Yellow Submarine!

I won’t repeat here again for the nth time how much I love Sofia Vintage Shop in Como and why I love it so much: especially since you read my blog regularly, you already know!

But I really wanted to share some of the shoots from a photoshoot that we organized at the shop a few weeks ago: 5 beautiful vintage outfits styled head-to-toe by Roberta Ciceri with her personal vintage picks from her store.

Outfit #1: this first outfit is kind of amazing! The wonderful vintage yellow coat and dress make it all! Shoes, bag, hat and umbrella are all vintage from Sofia Vintage in Como.

The Ladybug vintage makeover by Alessia Bee at Sofia Vintage in Como

I guess you understood how in love I am with Roberta Ciceri’s vintage shop in Como, Sofia Vintage.

I adore spending time in this beautiful shop and I couldn’t miss another occasion to head in and see what was new but even more to get a personalized vintage makeover with one of my favorite personal stylist and make-up artist, Alessia Bee.

A few weeks ago indeed Roberta organized a great event in her shop by inviting Alessia Bee who was there to create a vintage style with hair and make-up for all the lovely customers and some (lucky) bloggers! Even Roberta hosted the event with her hair style with lovely victory rolls!

Let me tell you that I’ve been looking for a vintage makeover from Alessia Bee since I first knew about her: I never met her before the event but I was amazed by her personal style and her great work that I saw in pictures in many different vintage events. And I was surprised that, although I was expecting a lot from the event, not only I wasn’t disappointed but I was uber happy about the final result! I really loved what she did on my hair and with my make-up and I came back home with a bunch of great tips that I now use for my daily make-up. Indeed I finally found my perfect shade for my eyes (I started again using eye-shadow every day since then!), I learned some great tips to use eyeliner and I was totally amazed by the use of a natural pencil for the lower line of the eye instead of a dark one to create a bigger eye vibe; moreover I learned how to style my hair very easily for a simple yet impressive vintage look when I have not much time to get a complicated hairstyling and which product I could use to give more volume to my curly hair! Still I looked very natural and I adopted her “Less is more” motto to create my new daily routine styling!

You can find some pictures of Alessia Bee styling me and the final results where I added a beautiful vintage coat from Sofia Vintage over my vintage shirt and skirt (I will tell you more about my outfit soon!).

Of course it wasn’t all about vintage styling: as every time that I am at Sofia Vintage it looked more like being at Roberta’s place with great cakes homemade by Roberta’s mum, healthy drinking and many friends!

I guess I will definitely go back soon for some Christmas threats!

The Ladybug Feels at Home at Sofia Vintage in Como

Two weeks ago I told you about the party for the Gloook opening in Como and guess what? It opened just a few steps from my adored vintage shop Sofia Vintage, so as you can imagine I couldn’t help heading in to see what’s new and say hi to Roberta and her crew!

It is amazing how incredibly at home I feel in this place: it’s an atmosphere that you can breathe, feel and bask in because it looks more like a home than a shop. There are books, sofas, a sewing machine, a wardrobe and all the things that you usually find in a house- plus there is always something to drink or eat like in the home of any perfect host.

But this feeling doesn’t come just from the furniture and location, it originates mostly from the warmth of those who “live” there, beginning with Roberta, the owner and founder of Sofia Vintage, who also serves as “the host” of this beautiful house!

Many new arrivals from Roberta’s trips around the world were there, and I couldn’t help having a look and buying some new vintage stuff… like this lovely ’40s white hat that I can’t wait to wear!

It’s also always nice to hear her stories about her trips to the States (where most of her pieces come) and to get some tips from her on vintage hunting especially in New York!

Outfit: Anymoore jacket, H&M faux leather midi skirt, ASOS blouse, Marni sandals, Sofia Vintage bag