The Ladybug on how to wear a vintage Indian dress hippy-but-not-too-hippy style! (Part 2)

Another vintage Indian dress, another “hippy buy not too hippy” outfit, another colored corner of Cagliari (I am madly in love with this little square and its adorable colored houses).

The beautiful Indian vintage dress in soft gauze with lovely quilted details and purple shades, comes from Delphine Vintage in Milan and it is perfect to show you a big deal of caftans and Indian dresses: they are ideals for layering! Being a fan of layering my clothes I think that this is one of the advantages (and maybe also one of the reasons why I love them so much) of this type of clothes. Also, in winter their possibilities of layering are almost infinite!

As it was still quite warm in Cagliari in September I went for a soft layering, adding only handmade large soft viscose navy pants from Madame Ilary and I loved this easy chic style so much!

I added the exact same accessories that I used for the first outfit with the other Indian dress: sequined flat shoes from Colors of California, vintage Cartier cross-body bag from Grey Vintage Shop and my vintage and handmade Indian silver rings!

What do you think of this second idea? Which outfit did you prefer?

You can see the first outfit here!

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The Ladybug Does Vintage for Charity: Vogue’s Vintage Project at Serravalle Outlet

“So this is Christmas and what have you done?”…sang John Lennon in 1971. A song that plays almost everywhere during the Christmas holidays, which I think is a good thing because when we are shopping madly or looking for Christmas presents for our families and friends we can allow ourselves some time to stop and think about what we’ve really done for those we don’t know who may be in need of our thoughts.

Last weekend I was entering the temple of shopping (Serravalle Designer Outlet) for the good prices to start officially my Christmas shopping season, when a big panel at the entry way caught my eye: The Vintage Project. When I read the word vintage, I got immediately intrigued and I couldn’t find peace until I finally found out what it was all about.

The Vintage Project is a charity shop, inside the Outlet, in which the total proceeds are given to support and promote charity initiatives; and what you can buy there is pretty amazing: clothes and accessories from the biggest designers like Fendi and Roberto Cavalli with amazing pieces at affordable prices. Behind this initiative stands Vogue Italia and Franca Sozzani herself, who also donated some of her personal pieces.The charity shop is only open on weekends for three months. It places on sale new products given by fashion brands and vintage gems.

Last weekend I had the chance to meet Antonio Capitani, who is not only a famous astrologist for Vanity Fair (I’ve always loved his horoscopes), but also a very special spokesman for Anlaids (www.anlaidsonlus.it), a charity association aiming to stop the spread of AIDS and help those affected by the disease (such a shame I didn’t think about a selfie with him… I simply got caught up in the things that he told me about the association and the cruel reality around AIDS).

I couldn’t find anything my size, even if I fell for some great pieces. But when I got home, I made a donation on their site. It is a small drop, but the sea is made by drops… right?

I wore Max&Co coat, Replay biker boots, & Other Stories scarf, Michael Kors bucket bag and a vintage hat.

The Ladybug’s Heavenly Trifecta: Mantova + Voglia di Vintage + Festival della Letteratura… YES!!!

I decided a while ago to head to Mantova for one of the multiple editions of Voglia di Vintage, one of the most important vintage events in Italy. I didn’t know the city, it’s not too far and the event created a good occasion to do some vintage hunting.  Unfortunately, the stars never really aligned for me to get there… until recently.

As people usually say, “everything happens for a reason;” and the reason for me to wait that long was the combination two of my passions (traveling and vintage) just wasn’t enough… the Universe wanted for me to add another one of my biggest passions – literature – and to put them all together in the same town on the same weekend! Mantova is indeed not only a lovely little town with a lot of history, a beautiful city center, delicious food and a famous vintage fair; Mantova is also the perfect venue for one of the most important literature festivals in Italy that I’ve always wanted to visit, but never managed to get to.

This is why I couldn’t deny the perfect invitation from all my passions in a same day: I decided to bring KNAGUI with me for this great adventure and I must confess that we had a lot of fun. The beauty of Mantova during these events is probably bigger than usual as it was full of people, different stalls of books, events, authors’ meetings in all the biggest places of the center and plenty of places to visit. We managed to go around all day and we enjoyed the festive atmosphere and the company of literature and vintage lovers from all over the country.

We visited monuments, bought some books and, after a good lunch in an historical “Osteria”, we sat and digested in the beautiful atmosphere of Piazza Virgiliana where the fair was held. I love the idea of open air fairs, especially on such a beautiful sunny September day when it’s not too hot and you can enjoy the last sunrays while vintage shopping! Of course, there was some shopping beyond the books… a pair of vintage frames from Punti di Vista and a lovely handmade necklace inspired by Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea from Pamphlet, a handcraft artist from Mantova who makes beautiful handmade jewels.

During this beautiful day I wore a colored vintage skirt from L Train Vintage in NYC, a striped Zara top, vintage bag and a pair of brogues I picked up from Shoegasm.  Now that I think about it, I guess I was in a New York State of Mind.

[photo credit: KNAGUI]

The Ladybug Still Believes Seeing is Believing: Klimt’s Expo at Palazzo Reale, Milan

One of the last things that I did before going on holiday this summer was a visit to the Klimt’s expo at Palazzo Reale in Milan. On the last day, of course!

Believe it or not, I wasn’t very excited about it. Not because I’m not a fan of Klimt… I mean it’s nothing like that – when I was at university I was one of these girls with Feltrinelli’s Van Gogh and Klimt posters on the walls (The Kiss, of course!), but my excitement was diminished because of the reviews I’d personally received- they just weren’t promising. And I must say, they were confirmed.

Maybe because it was the last day and the museum was full of people making it almost impossible to have a proper look, but the truth is: there wasn’t much to look at. Very few Klimt’s paintings, some reproductions and a lot of minor artists, equaled one disappointing expo.

But overall, it was a nice day and I had a lovely walk in a “Zara summer sales” outfit! Aptly named because I bought the shirt and the skort a few days prior at Zara during the sales. I just added this lovely pair of Topshop golden glitter flats with ankle strap (also acquired on sale via their online shop… they were 9 euros, so I guess it was a bargain- especially since I simply love them!) and a vintage handbag from Humana Vintage in Milan.

Coral lipstick from Marc by Marc Jacobs makeup at Sephora.

The Ladybug’s Tips for a Vintage-fashionable Christening

How complicated is it to get dressed for a Christening? It is not as formal and elegant as a wedding, but you cannot wear you jeans either!

I was invited to the Christening of the child of my colleague/friend a few weeks ago. While preparing for it I realized my decision of what to wear was taking way longer and was much more complicated than for I’d experienced for other formal events. All the outfits that came to my mind were too elegant for the occasion and I was losing my mind until the day I was walking in corso Buenos Aires in Milan and headed into a temporary outlet where I found (for 50 euros) the perfect dress for the Christening: a beautiful pleated navy dress with beige peter pan collar from Kling!

I paired it with my Zara beige trench and my amazing Prada suede navy sandals that I wore for the first time (wonderful shoes, but how hard were they to walk in!).

I wanted to keep my usual vintage touch, so I decided to carry my “new” navy and white vintage bag (a great find from Humana Vintage) and this lovely ring made with a white vintage button created by Cristina Rastelli of Buttons.

Oh… red lipstick is mandatory, of course! (this is Giorgio Armani)

The Ladybug and Her Comics Hero-icon: A Journey Through the Secrets of Valentina

Who’s that girl?  That would be me from a few years ago.  I rocked the hell out of this sexy bob! I thought I knew all there was to know about the inspiration behind it, but I found out the influence was far greater than the eye can see.

The beautiful expo dedicated to the work of famous graphic writer Guido Crepax wasn’t only about “Valentina,” but let’s be honest… she’s his most significant creation and represents his work more than any other female that he’s penciled. Belinda, Anita, Francesca and Bianca are nothing compared to the allure and character of Valentina. Her lovely French bob and her model shaped body mixed with her charming style and her elegant eroticism made her the biggest heroine ever drawn by Guido Crepax.

Inspired by his wife and the famous silent cinema actress Louise Brooks, who was also a photographer, Valentina quickly became an icon of fashion and of course, the dream of most of Italian men!

A beautiful expo in Milan celebrated this productive and amazing cartoonist from June through September 2013, and it was one of my favorite expos of this year.  A lot of pieces from his personal belongings, drawings, album covers, magazine illustrations, short movies and many other unique pieces showed for the first time thanks to his children- who also created some pieces for the occasion. Ten rooms of the Palazzo Reale were used to try to recreate his work and life ten years after his death.  And of course, there was a special focus on Valentina.

I’ve truly loved her since I was a young girl, but I was so amazed when I realized, during this expo, how much she was linked to the haute couture and design of the era.  In many drawings you can find her wearing Dior or YSL pieces that, in fact, are now vintage. To further my wonderment, I learned that she also “featured” famous design pieces of the era and that she was inspired by the fashion of the time. Couple that with her (which in all actuality was his) relationship and deep love for Milan and photography and you’ll understand why I was totally in awe!

For the occasion I wore a striped Topshop cropped top and a pleated navy H&M skirt.

I added one of my favorite vintage handbags, a wonderful nearly new navy bag bought in Reggio Emilia during my visit in town, and a pair of L.K. Bennett espadrilles.

At the end of the journey, I joined the chorus of women who over the past few decades ring out the mantra, “I wanna be like Valentina!!!”

The Ladybug Crochets Her Way On the Train to New York Memories!

On this evening, I was going to a work appointment with KNAGUI and we decided that the “vintage” atmosphere of the old train we took was a perfect setting for a photoshoot!

Actually; except for the shoes (the adorable ’70s inspired Foxy wooden platforms from Jeffrey Campbell), I was wearing a lot of vintage that night!

The dress is a gift purchased from New York’s L Train Vintage in the East Village: one of my favorites! A cotton white dress with blue and red inserts that reminds me of the vintage tennis style of the late ’60s, early ’70s. Honestly, it’s a beautiful reminder of America and “my NYC.”

My brown leather bag is a vintage find from E-bay (a German online shop where I got a lot of thrifted and vintage stuff) and my bracelets are from Madewell in NYC.

I kept it simple by wearing very little makeup (almost nothing at all!) and putting my hair in a chignon… I enjoy the natural look sometimes (as did/does my photographer) and the dress really inspired it!

(Photo Credit: KNAGUI)