Hi. The trip was amazing! We were in Milan for a few nights, and most of the trip we spent in the beautiful city of Bologna, with a few day trips (Ravenna, Firenze/Florence, Ferrara, Modena food tour). Bologna and Milan were a major contrast in terms of attitude and fashion--a rowdy university city full of students and famous for its delicious food (ham, cheese, tortellini and other hand-made pastas) versus the fashion and financial mecca.
Milan was where we flew in and again our departure point for home. We stayed four nights. I had been anxious about looking nice there, but as it turns out, I had no worries. There were certainly chic women (and men) there, but in my mind, these people stood out as a minority, and I was on the level with almost everyone. This was even more apparent in Bologna. I realized that unless you're going out somewhere really special, there is usually not much of an issue with what people are wearing; the trend is casual. Though that's still nice-casual. But I could handle it.
My go-to outfit was a fitted tee, nice bootleg jeans, my trench (when it wasn't too hot), occasionally a red silk scarf and a necklace, and the sneakers that kept my feet from getting in a bad way for most of the trip. It seemed to work. Even in nice trattorias, nice-casual seemed to work fine.
The weather jumped back and forth from a crisp 50 up to the mid-80's and then back down. The trench was perfect for the cooler temps.
I thought three pair of jeans worked perfectly (one RATE-ish and one nice bootleg, and one nice black Gap skinny jeans). We were able to do laundry.
I felt that I didn't have enough t-shirts. I think I brought four. The button-down from the Gap was too hot and anyway, I'd left on the tags and it went back to the store when we returned home.
The black wrap dress got worn for about two hours at a milonga (social dance). I also bought some Zara sandals for that purpose. This was my only sartorial purchase during the trip. I was disappointed about that, but after checking out the US Zara website, it appears to me that this sandal is not available in the US, so I'm a bit vindicated in that at least I have shoes that I couldn't have bought here! And I really do like them.
Still, I wasn't completely sure I would find something I liked (and could afford--pics below show plenty of nice things out of my range!) but I realized that I have very specific tastes. This was perhaps my style, or shopping, epiphany over there.
I was in Rome about four years ago...at a point where I could appreciate beautiful things, but I was not yet seriously considering nice clothes and accessories. Now I could kick myself: I remember two beautiful handbags that I saw at boutiques that were probably something I would invest in now--at least one of them!
Milan of course has the glitz and huge names: Prada, Versace, etc etc yada yada. First off, wow these are pricey (but I already expected that). But I didn't feel this huge pull toward them anyway.
I realized that what I really like, in terms of shoes, bags, jewelry at least, is something more artisanal, unique, offbeat. Those two bags back in Rome fit that bill.
(I still kept up the running joke with hubs: I threatened that every time he made a mistake with directions, it would be one more pair of shoes for me.)
So you'll see below some of the really gorgeous items I saw, mostly in Milan. Overall, in Milan and Bologna, trends didn't seem much different there than here: distressed jeans, lace, boots. Shoes were either blingy or studded. Yes, there were tons of sky-high stilettos, but also flat booties were widespread.
I should also mention that people spoke to me in rapid-fire Italian all the time, so I must have been doing something right
Some random pics:
1. Our first meal in Italy, in Milan, at Trattoria Da Pino, an Angie recommendation! It was delicious.
2-5. Walking in downtown Milan that first day.
6. Me in Firenze with the Ponte Vecchio (famous old bridge) in the backdrop, wearing my standard getup.
7-10. In the old city of Ravenna. Oddly, this place had the nicest boutiques (to my mind). But with hubs, I didn't do much more than look into the windows. It was high noon and unfortunately, I could not get a decent shot without reflection, and it's hard to make out, but here are some outfits I really liked. Try and note the RATE sneakers creatively paired with skirts and dresses. Also, Pic #9. I just loved that look--so Italian. Too bad it's so hard to see.
11. Ravenna is famous for its ancient mosaics. Just one detail inside a church.
12. Looking fab (and appropriately hygenic) on a food tour, learning every last detail on the production of artisanal Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
13. Typical street shot in the historical section of Bologna, where we stayed. These porticos or arcades are everywhere. Really nice for keeping cool in the hot climate.
14. A friendly watercolor artist who owned a tiny study where he sold us one of his beautiful prints of Bologna. He and my husband both practice similar Japanese martial arts, and in fact he was about to leave for Japan to do some training.
15. Cool RATE sneakers in Bologna. Unfortunately, 200 euros each.
16. Gourmet shop right off the Piazza Maggiore.
17. Back to Milan at end of trip. Emanuele Vittorio mall which houses all the highest-end stores.
18-23. Stuff.
24. Hubs being incredibly amused at my interest in pretty, shiny things.
25. Oh yeah, the Zara sandals.
Ciao!
Milan was where we flew in and again our departure point for home. We stayed four nights. I had been anxious about looking nice there, but as it turns out, I had no worries. There were certainly chic women (and men) there, but in my mind, these people stood out as a minority, and I was on the level with almost everyone. This was even more apparent in Bologna. I realized that unless you're going out somewhere really special, there is usually not much of an issue with what people are wearing; the trend is casual. Though that's still nice-casual. But I could handle it.
My go-to outfit was a fitted tee, nice bootleg jeans, my trench (when it wasn't too hot), occasionally a red silk scarf and a necklace, and the sneakers that kept my feet from getting in a bad way for most of the trip. It seemed to work. Even in nice trattorias, nice-casual seemed to work fine.
The weather jumped back and forth from a crisp 50 up to the mid-80's and then back down. The trench was perfect for the cooler temps.
I thought three pair of jeans worked perfectly (one RATE-ish and one nice bootleg, and one nice black Gap skinny jeans). We were able to do laundry.
I felt that I didn't have enough t-shirts. I think I brought four. The button-down from the Gap was too hot and anyway, I'd left on the tags and it went back to the store when we returned home.
The black wrap dress got worn for about two hours at a milonga (social dance). I also bought some Zara sandals for that purpose. This was my only sartorial purchase during the trip. I was disappointed about that, but after checking out the US Zara website, it appears to me that this sandal is not available in the US, so I'm a bit vindicated in that at least I have shoes that I couldn't have bought here! And I really do like them.
Still, I wasn't completely sure I would find something I liked (and could afford--pics below show plenty of nice things out of my range!) but I realized that I have very specific tastes. This was perhaps my style, or shopping, epiphany over there.
I was in Rome about four years ago...at a point where I could appreciate beautiful things, but I was not yet seriously considering nice clothes and accessories. Now I could kick myself: I remember two beautiful handbags that I saw at boutiques that were probably something I would invest in now--at least one of them!
Milan of course has the glitz and huge names: Prada, Versace, etc etc yada yada. First off, wow these are pricey (but I already expected that). But I didn't feel this huge pull toward them anyway.
I realized that what I really like, in terms of shoes, bags, jewelry at least, is something more artisanal, unique, offbeat. Those two bags back in Rome fit that bill.
(I still kept up the running joke with hubs: I threatened that every time he made a mistake with directions, it would be one more pair of shoes for me.)
So you'll see below some of the really gorgeous items I saw, mostly in Milan. Overall, in Milan and Bologna, trends didn't seem much different there than here: distressed jeans, lace, boots. Shoes were either blingy or studded. Yes, there were tons of sky-high stilettos, but also flat booties were widespread.
I should also mention that people spoke to me in rapid-fire Italian all the time, so I must have been doing something right
Some random pics:
1. Our first meal in Italy, in Milan, at Trattoria Da Pino, an Angie recommendation! It was delicious.
2-5. Walking in downtown Milan that first day.
6. Me in Firenze with the Ponte Vecchio (famous old bridge) in the backdrop, wearing my standard getup.
7-10. In the old city of Ravenna. Oddly, this place had the nicest boutiques (to my mind). But with hubs, I didn't do much more than look into the windows. It was high noon and unfortunately, I could not get a decent shot without reflection, and it's hard to make out, but here are some outfits I really liked. Try and note the RATE sneakers creatively paired with skirts and dresses. Also, Pic #9. I just loved that look--so Italian. Too bad it's so hard to see.
11. Ravenna is famous for its ancient mosaics. Just one detail inside a church.
12. Looking fab (and appropriately hygenic) on a food tour, learning every last detail on the production of artisanal Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
13. Typical street shot in the historical section of Bologna, where we stayed. These porticos or arcades are everywhere. Really nice for keeping cool in the hot climate.
14. A friendly watercolor artist who owned a tiny study where he sold us one of his beautiful prints of Bologna. He and my husband both practice similar Japanese martial arts, and in fact he was about to leave for Japan to do some training.
15. Cool RATE sneakers in Bologna. Unfortunately, 200 euros each.
16. Gourmet shop right off the Piazza Maggiore.
17. Back to Milan at end of trip. Emanuele Vittorio mall which houses all the highest-end stores.
18-23. Stuff.
24. Hubs being incredibly amused at my interest in pretty, shiny things.
25. Oh yeah, the Zara sandals.
Ciao!
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