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 Shares Her “Just-For-Me” ’70s Outfit Shoot

Don’t ask me why, but I found it hard to release these pictures to the public: they were “mine” and I loved them so much… maybe it was the dress, the hat or just the lovely atmosphere of the day. Some time ago KNAGUI and I walked past this street art and decided to stop for a couple of pictures, even though it was quite windy!

I’m also particularly in love with all the things that I coordinated to put this outfit together: in part because they came from some lovely trips and partly because I just love them for being really good pieces!

First the dress: it’s a wonderful long silky vintage dress in amazing condition from the late ’70s- I consider it one of my favorite pieces ever. I got in London last year when my friends took me to Retromania, a vintage charity shop that I fell in love with for their wonderful pieces at generally affordable prices.  I love the material, the colors, the shape… everything about this dress makes me feel good!

The hat is a vintage find from Humana Vintage in Milan: it is a bit small, but I liked it so much for the color and the feathers that I decided to buy it anyway (the price was very tempting too!).

The shoes are Jeffrey Campbell (purchased in Naples some years ago) and the lovely Chanel necklace is a find from a quaint vintage shop in Florence, Boutique Nadine, that I discovered during a beautiful walk along the Arno river, a few years ago.

[Photo Credit: KNAGUI]

 

The Ladybug Considers Her Own Portrait While Visiting the “Il volto del 900 expo” at Palazzo Reale, Milan

It seems my theme lately is about my museum visits.  I feel like Ben Stiller telling you of my nights at the museum: this time it’s my visit to the Palazzo Reale’s Expo “Il Volto del 900. Da Matisse a Bacon” (The Portrait of the XX Century: from Matisse to Bacon) in February.

Again another great expo in Milan, and again I was not really into going to see it, I am not a fan of portraits, but the look and the perspective given by the expo was completely different from what I expected.

More than 80 portraits and self-portraits arrived from the Centre Pompidou to present the evolution of the art of portraits during the XX century and how it changed based on the arrival of photography, psychoanalysis and the annulation of human identity due to wars and totalitarian regimes.

And as the face represents the door to the human being, the artists used their own and others to try to represent not only the person, but also to narrate the human soul in many different ways.

Picasso, Matisse, Bacon, Modigliani, Giacometti, Dalì, Magritte, all the biggest ones’ contributions were exposed, but as usual I locked my eyes on my own personal favorites:

I adored Kupka’s portrait of the young woman putting on lipstick and Tamara de Lempicka’s Kizette portrait, as well as Raysse’s woman portrait and the very modern portrait of Noel McGhie by Rancillac.

For the occasion I wore an American Apparel long skirt, Asos aran cardigan, Topshop animal print coat. I paired it with Sam Edelman ankle boots, Balenciaga bag and vintage necklace and felt hat (my latest hat from Humana Vintage).

The Ladybug Springs Forward… One Year Later!

As you know already I often forget sets of pictures in my folders and they get lost until I find them again by “mistake!” This is what happened with this shoot from about a year ago that KNAGUI took of me while we visited the Museo del Novecento in Milan together (at the Andy Wharol Stardust collection) and the Palazzo Reale.

Better later than never, right?

I am wearing a yellow dress from Zara, brown boots, a Max & Co navy cape and vintage accessories: my brown leather bag (from Vera Vintage in Florence, some years ago)  and this brown hat that I found in Humana Vintage some time ago for a ridiculous price!

I’ve always loved this shoot we did inside the Palazzo Reale along with the shots by the “bookshelves” of the Museo del Novecento and the forbiden ones KNAGUI nearly got us arrested for just outside nearby!

(Photo Credit: KNAGUI)

The Ladybug Plays with the Ghosts of Vintage Future at the Vintage Workshop© in Milan

If you follow my blog you might know that I get excited when the Vintage Workshop© comes to town: not only because Angela Eupani, the founder and the and the heart of the event presented by the Associazione Culturale Ricercatori Moda d’Epoca, is a lovely friend of mine, but also because I know that I will find some of the most amazing pieces around in a room!

Almost two weeks before the beginning of the Fashion shows, Milan starts the busy job of hosting the fashion insiders events around town: at the Vintage Workshop©; buyers, stylists and designers can buy or rent pieces to be used as inspiration for their next collections. One of the homes of this side-bar fashion life is the Palazzo Stelline- where the event was held. It’s exciting to get this “preview” of what will be re-invented on catwalks next season. It says a lot about the role of vintage clothing and accessories in modern fashion: there’s nothing new under the sun and the past is still the first source of inspiration for the future! From these few days in Milan, you can forecast the trends for Spring-Summer 2015.

This year, apart from the usual amazing pieces that Angela brought, she decided to entertain her public with a special screening of a short film from digital artist, DarkAngel0. I had the chance to watch the premiere on the first day and I was absolutely amazed by the concept of time and space (and the soundtrack!) presented in this film and by the talent of this artist. I totally understand why Angela decided to collaborate with him, especially when I saw shots of the vintage pieces I admired in the room come to life on the screen!

No need to tell you how amazing the selection of vintage was (you can see some of my pictures here). I took my time playing with some amazing pieces like the heart shaped frames and coral hat, and the crazy pre-industrial hat (as Angela defined as: an industrial trend foreseen in the ’50s!) just to get in the mood of the surroundings (the new industrial was for sure one of the most important trends identified here).  I had a “grandma’s closet moment playing the diva among all those wonderful vintage pieces!

I am wearing all black with a vintage aran cardigan, but you will see more of this outfit soon on the blog!

Vintage Workshop© will be back in Milan soon; in the meanwhile, you can check them out during the Linea Pelle event in Bologna- if you are around!

The Ladybug Becomes the Ringmaster: Il Circo delle Pulci in Milan (Circus Station)

The Circo delle Pulci in Milan is now on the list of my favorite recurring events in Milan: I always love their locations, atmosphere and sellers even if sometimes I still have something to say about the pricing… I know, it’s my regular complaint but believe me; I hate when stallers overprice their beauties, especially when it comes to vintage.

This time the location for the event was the former train depot of Porta Genova, where the Circus Train stopped for a beautiful event in a dark surreal atmosphere where food, creativity, handmade goods, vintage and music mixed in a perfect combination!

The fun and great decorations were part of the game and I thoroughly enjoyed the circus atmosphere that reigned all over the place! This time there were a bit more handmade goods and handcrafts. And the Italian DaWanda site (the biggest European platform dedicated to handmade) was launched with grand pageantry- offering discounts to those who registered for the circus. If you have never tried you should definitely have a look as you may find real beautiful and unique handmade pieces.

I also bought a lovely ring from Buttons, the lovely stall of Cristina Rastelli, who creates beautiful jewels from vintage buttons: I fell in love with this beautiful silver ring with an oval white button, so I couldn’t resist!

I must say that it was hard to resist the food too: our friends from Vintage Bakery were there with their delicious cupcakes and the local cuisine (yes, I mean polenta and gorgonzola!!) was present too. And of course… liters of beer!

For the day I wore a white vintage ’80s cardigan with lapin and small pearls (from Deuda Vintage at the Padova Vintage Festival) as a jacket, black Zara top and shorts with Max & Co. black riding boots. I added a black clutch from Topshop and a vintage emerald green hat from Humana Vintage in Milan.