Don’t you feel sometimes this desire of a flower 90s dress like those worn by Brenda and Kelly in Beverly Hills 90210? I have to be honest, I was born in the 70s, enjoyed the 80s as a kid and I was a teen in the 90s but that decade, fashion-wise, was not my favorite at all. The only thing that I keep loving about that era are the lovely flower dress, often worn on a simple white shirt! Kelly in particular was my style icon (way before SJP in Sex & The City and – I must confess – still today!).
In the last few years, as the 90s made their comeback, I started buying a couple of vintage pieces that reminded me of my youth, especially that Kelly/Brenda style that I enjoyed so much at the time. One of them is this cute long flower black dress completely buttoned that made these two girls pop into my mind as soon as I saw it! It was during a Vinokilo sale in Milan and it was hanging alone among men denim jackets (probably out of place!): it felt like it was waiting there to recall my memories!
But you know that I love matching different styles then I added only another 90s inspired piece (a pair of black Cult studded wedges – btw, do you remember this iconic shoe brand from the 90s? I found out that they still produces shoes with the same vibe) and I paired this 90s style with a touch of African flavor!
African wax headband is an handmade gift from Madame Ilary (I love the green and tangerine print) while the Fulani earrings are handmade in Africa.
This match will definitely remove a bit of the 90s vibe but it is still there and I liked it. Also, I was going to meet Marica and Faburama, founders and creators of Kanö – Sartoria Sociale in Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto (near my hometown) and I really wanted to wear some African pieces to honor them!
What do you think of this very personal match? Yay or nay?
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As it happens at this time every year, I am in the middle of a stressing struggle to find quality winter nightwear!
I am someone who really feels the cold (especially since I live in Milan!) and in the last few years I have been looking for quality vintage winter nightwear such as warm pajamas and nightgowns because, let’s face the truth, what you can find nowadays in the shops or online is really cheap and of the worse quality ever!
Before looking for this type of clothes on the vintage side I have been looking for ages in shops: high street offers as usual a range of poor quality products, highly toxic and basically made of plastic, so no surprise, but even sewing shops (Italian “merceria“) are now selling low quality products and this really makes me upset. When I was a kid we used to go to old sewing shops to buy good quality nightwear both in summer and winter. Warm pajamas and nightgowns were the best as they were super warm and high quality but today even in these shops quality has dramatically dropped off.
I was realizing that the fabric used for this type of nightwear is more and more the pile (also in the form of chenille) a synthetic fabric chemically produced by the petroleum, highly polluting as it was discovered that during the normal washing in the washing machine it may release more than 2000 polyester and acrylic fibers that go straight in our seas. Although pile can also be created by recycled plastic it is very difficult to find these pieces as, to be used, plastic bottles must fulfill very strict requirements, leading to higher production costs.
No other way for me than turning towards vintage, as usual! However, the offer on the vintage market is still quite limited, especially for winter nightwear (dressing gowns and slip dresses or petticoats are definitely easier to find for our summer nights!). In Italy there are basically two shops who provide quality vintage nightwear: Humana Vintage and Attilio Vintage. Humana is one of my favorite places for vintage nightwear but they have limited stock of winter nightwear and it often sells out very quickly. A good alternative is Attilio Vintage, a great idea of Gloria, who decided to recover his grandpa Attilio sewn shop archive. The old “merceria Mussi” was founded in Parma in 1946 and the archive of deadstock pieces (not only nightwear but a wide range of clothing) goes from the 60s to the 90s. They are “continuously discovered” by Gloria who sells them online, in some selected vintage markets and now also in a wonderful new shop in Parma! On their website and offline it is still possible to find good original quality vintage nightwear absolutely new.
Fun fact: when I was writing this post I found on Instagram that Tiziana from Vintage Afropicks was selling great 70s deadstock pajamas and I couldn’t help getting one for myself!
This led me to two conclusions: i) probably there will be more vintage nightwear sold on the vintage market in the next future (I am optimist!); ii) one of the great things about vintage is that you are constantly searching for something that you have in mind until, sooner or later, it appears somewhere!
Anyway, if you know more shops/sellers who may sell vintage winter ngihtwear, please share them with me as I am still struggling to make winter vintage nightwear a great alternative to the cheap poor quality pieces that seem to be the only alternative on the market right now.
Anyway, if are wondering why I am using these pictures to discuss of vintage nightwear here are a few reasons:
No need to show you pictures of me in my nightgown!
I couldn’t imagine another set of pictures that could go with it!
I often use this lovely vintage shirt from French vintage seller Inside the Clouds to sleep
I wear turbans also when I sleep (I swear! I make turbans from silk vintage scarves to protect my curly hair)
Levi’s black jeans vintage, turban handmade by Madame Ilary, sandals Clarks.
Did I tell you that vintage makes me happy? I guess I did but sometimes I am still surprised of how a vintage piece can make me smile and make me feel so good and in peace with myself!
I took these pictures the very first time that I wore this vintage dress: it is a beautiful vintage wrap dress that I bought on Depop from Clementine Vintage (one of the loveliest sellers on the app) because I loved its warm autumn colours. When I received it I was super happy because it was even better than in pictures and I loved the fit on me, I tried it with a big brown belt (the same that I am wearing here, from Mango) and I looked at myself in the mirror with a huge smile…I think it was the same that I have pictured here!
In time I understood that the happiness that I feel when I wear vintage comes from the fact that I feel so true to myself; I can feel the energy and the power of this piece on me, I feel beautiful for my eyes because I don’t care about the others, about how they feel about my style. I mainly dress for myself, with the aim of getting to that feeling of peace and joy in my own clothes, I don’t dress to look thinner or taller…just to feel happy! Can you relate to this? I am curious to hear about that because sometimes I have the feeling that many people dress to impress others, not to accomplish their own self and personality.
I paired the dress with Strategia military green suede ankle boots and Metalica Creazioni brass earrings. Rings are from Francesco Tramontano and vintage.
When I am asked about my style, I used to say that I loved mixing vintage, high street and designer pieces but things have slightly changed lately. In my constant search for fashion sustainability and ethics I am slowly abandoning high street like Topshop, Zara and Mango (although I buy something every now and then) to handmade and sustainable fashion, loving the fact that something has been created for myself only, that I know who made it and how it is made (without human exploitation) and using quality fabrics that last longer. Vintage is still my pillar, as well as designer pieces especially those I can afford, which means thrifted or vintage.
Lately I also developed a real passion for finding vintage designer pieces at bargain or accessible prices, for example at Humana Vintage or online from Opherty & Ciocci, where I got these two amazing accessories that I am wearing in this post: the vintage Yves Saint Laurent scarf (used as an headscarf) and the 70s Celine clutch. Both pieces are still available on their site for a very fair price.
My marine jacket with golden buttons is thrifted from a Salvation Army store in New York (I love charity shops!) for a few dollars, while my denim shirt with little pussybow is from Max&Co. It is a quite old collection, I have worn it a lot and I bought it during the summer sale session I think two years ago.
The military green trousers are part of my sustainable fashion turn: they are from 4.10, I love their fabric and shape but more than ever I love the fact that they are ethically made, in Italy. A piece of slow fashion and an example of amazing design, quality and respect of the environment and of people’s work. I really wish one day we could all afford more pieces like that.
90s inspired sneakers are from Dixie, hoop earrings are from Genny Pi in Milan.
One of the best days of the year has once again arrived: today is The Ladybug Chronicles’ third birthday!
It’s so hard for us to imagine that it has been three years, yet we cannot remember what life was like before!
It is not an easy job: it takes a lot of time, passion, dedication and effort, but we are here and we’re still enjoying it as we did on day one. And to be honest, even more. But there’s only one reason for this- you Lovebugs, you are the best readers ever!
Thank you for your continued support over the years and for bringing your friends and family to our little vintage world! We’ve met new friends, traveled around the world, started new exciting adventures and collaborations, but… we aren’t satisfied!!!
The best is yet to come: we have a lot of pictures to take and even more words to write.
Some Sundays are simply epic. Take fashion, creativity, cosmetics, food, friends, bloggers, sun and fun- mix them well and you will have the first Fashion Blogger Day in Como organized by Sara Biondi of Newseventi Como. The event was produced in collaboration with the Accademia di Belle Arti Aldo Galli and MI-NY Cosmetics. It was quite an exciting affair as I had the chance to be a delighted guest with my fellow bloggers from Lombardia and Veneto. Food, fashion, vintage, beauty… we were all there and ready to enjoy the day!
We spent the morning in a Factory… yes, like Andy Warhol’s famous studio: a place where creativity and talent are developed and fed; where fashion, textile and design meet together and are free to express in the name of creativity. This is the Factory of the Accademia Galli where we met the students, the President Salvatore Amura and the class coordinator Marina Nelli who answered our questions and gave us not only the possibility to know more about what they do, but also to take pictures and fully enjoy the place. As if it wasn’t enough to have our creativity fed, we were offered an amazing brunch – a brunch I would call, “creative cuisine!” – prepared by the students of the Centro Studi Casnati.
It was enough to make my day, but the surprises didn’t end there.
In the afternoon we all moved to the beautiful Piazza San Fedele in Como to visit the MI-NY shop, where we acted like kids in a candy store with all those colored and scented nail polishes and makeup!
My fellow blogger and make-up artist, Erica Makeup Dolls, gave us great tips on how to use makeup and we also modeled for her. She created a beautiful makeup based on the movie Cast Away on me. She said that I made her think of sea, travels and passion… maybe it was my Sicilian origin or my passion for travel or maybe it was just my turban… either way, the result was amazing!
Of course, I also did some shopping… I love my new MI-NY white Miss Marilyn nail polish… great quality-price relation and so “on trend!” MI-NY was a great discovery for me and I am now a regular client of their shop in Milan on corso Buenos Aires!
I will tell you more about my funny outfit of the day in my next post!
Last week I was asked a very challenging question: as a vintage blogger, what for you is it to have a vintage lifestyle?
I must confess that I had to think about it and as you can see I needed to write down my ideas on it to make it clearer also to myself!
My idea of vintage goes far behind the fact of wearing vintage clothes and accessories almost every day, or going to vintage inspired parties or shops, it also goes far behind my natural interest and preference to what is older and has “history” (furniture, movies, art etc.).
I realized that my idea of vintage lifestyle is very much so related to my idea of what is healthy and genuine: yes, for as strange as it may seem this is my vision!
There are things that I do every day (outside of dressing up in vintage clothes!) like eating properly, or paying attention to recycling and consuming, or working out that I consider as my own vintage lifestyle.
Since I moved to Milan, I discovered a new passion for eating properly: this means trying to eat everything of good quality but in punctilious portions! I stopped eating junk food- leaving space to healthier foods like fruits, vegetables and legumes or whole carbs, which helped me not only lose weight but also made me feel happier and healthier after only a few weeks of my new eating habits! I also try to eat as many organic things as I can: I found a monthly market in Milan where only organic genuine foods are sold and I try to shop there as much as I can. I now avoid canned goods and industrially produced “things.” I also try to buy my weekly food at shops where you can choose to purchase the quantity you need. These shops are popping up around Milan and you can easily find them almost in every area. The idea is amazing, especially if you consider that it reduces costs and waste of food. Being a single girl I know what it means to have to throw away food that you couldn’t eat before expiration.
Recycling and using materials in a befitting way as well as avoiding to waste or pollute the atmosphere, for me, gives life to my concept of a vintage lifestyle. Some days I just say to myself: isn’t it what my grandma used to do? And I’m not only talking about the correct use of plastic and paper, but also about wearing and reselling (or giving) what we use, buying second hand clothes or only wearing vintage fur!
Last but not least, there’s nothing more “vintage lifestyle” than a good work out! Whatever you decide to do (gym, running, swimming, playing sports, etc…) taking care of your body is not only the most exciting and self-flattering thing to do but also, for me, the most creativity-sparking act of my day! “Mens sana in corpore sano” is one of the most famous Latin quotes, right?
We will talk more about my new work-out and diet challenges in the near future; for now I just hope that I answered the question and that you may find here some interesting, healthy, vintage ideas!
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