lunedì 31 marzo 2008

To Keep Or Not To Keep?

So this is my question for you.

I'm not a big fan of ASOS, but due to a 25% off discount coupon, I decided it was time for a chance. I have bought tons of dresses recently, and I noticed I have no pants in my closet. Only a pair or two of jeans, but I really need a new pair or two so I had a look at ASOS and ended up buying these jeans.

I received them today, but I'm not convinced at all...years of skinnies maybe have changed my mind but I felt strange trying on them. I think my legs look really short and my hips larger than usual!
I could return them of course, but I'll be glad to hear you ideas first :-)
Please, look at the pictures below and let me know what you think!

Note for me: never buy jeans online! I should have known...


giovedì 27 marzo 2008

The Real Vintage Connection

Walking again on memory lane, sorry, but this time will be all about fashion and "vintage street style" at least!

Yesterday I had a look at all the old family photos I have - a little treasure for me - and I found tons of pictures of my grandmother during years and decades. I remember when she was old she wore funny fur hats and gold shoes and she had great dresses with wonderful prints. They should be perfect now but sadly my mom and my aunt left them to charity years ago, when I was too young to have a good fashion eye...

My grandmother was born in 1905 in a sunny beautiful little city in Marche region, Italy, where she grown up and lived until her parents moved to Milano after World War I. A few years later she met my grandfather, who was from Venice but was studying in Milano, and in 1929 they married. Many things happened and after all the darkness of World War II, they lived happily with their 4 children until my grandfather retired. In 1982 they came back to Marche and they spent last years of their lives eating hazelnut gelato.

Ok, no more words needed, I'm happy to introduce my grandma Mercedes.




With my grandfather Bruno



Hope you liked the story an the pictures, cause I have more stylish relatives and random people to introduce. I like to think they could all be modern Wardrobe Remixers or street style stars today...



martedì 25 marzo 2008

Time To Paint

According to catwalks, this Spring art is in the air.
The trend is noticeable everywhere, from dresses to accessories. Action Painting, Abstract and Pop Art and Graffiti are the strongest influences


Clockwise from top left:
Graham & Spencer Drawstring Waist Dress
Moschino Cheap & Chic Graffiti Dress
Jimmy Choo Pilar Box Clutch
Pringle Of Scotland Abstract Print Top
Sergio Rossi Patent Leather Pumps with Paint Drips
Chloé Van Gogh Print Dress
Pringle 1815 Abstract Print Mini Skirt
Diane Von Furstenberg Mondrian Dress

If you're so lucky you can afford the items above or even Dolce & Gabbana's artistic handpainted dresses you can literally become quickly a work of art yourself.


But also if you're on a budget you can still look at this trend searching for nice items on that goldmine Ebay is. All you need is artistic sense and creativity...


1. Vintage 60s Mondrian Dress
2. Vintage 80s Mondrian Color Block Mini Dress
3. Vintage Mod Color Block Dress
4-5. Lichen Shoes and Off The Air Shoes from NDEUR. Love his handpainted creations, a real work of art.
Polaroid: Vintage 60s Mod Pollock Shift Dress

...And if you feel brave enough you can paint and wear your own artwork... After the recent tye&dye trend revival and all the good attempts I saw here and there online, I'm sure many of us can do great things. C'mon, don't be shy girls!

domenica 23 marzo 2008

The Cherry Orchard

Easter for me is a good day for a trip down the memory lane.



I like Christmas, but I have not great Christmas memories. If a think of Easter instead, I remember my family, the big eggs hunt and the house where I've grown up, the manor...
It was a huge (believe me, it was really huge) ancient (1700) building my family bought at the in 1910.
As a child I was like a princess in her castle


and if in Winter the house with those sky high cielings was cold, in Spring everything turned out wonderful. The daffodils in the gardens, the roses, the light in the rooms, the warm afternoons, the parties, people I loved...
I don't know, I'm not sure anymore, if I was or not an happy child and girl, but what I know is that I'll never forget the days I spent there.

I lived in the "castle" until 5 years ago, when my family sadly decided to sell it.


I have all the memories though...



The photos below were taken the day I moved...






"Good bye dear house, (...) the Spring will come and then you'll exist no more"...

Happy Easter to all :-)

sabato 22 marzo 2008

Beauty Essentials

After my last post about nail polish and inspired by The Cherry Blossom Girl and Style Bytes, I decided to show you what's in my beauty closet.



Facial Care, lips and hands:

- Vichy Normaderm Daily Exfoliating Gel
- La Roche-Posay Effaclar Active Matt Hydrating Emulsion
- Dior Tonique Magique Matifiant
- Garnier Fresh Cleansing Wipes
- Labello Lipbalm Effect Q10
- Glicemille Hand Creme (great product and great price)

Make up:

- La Roche Posay Unifiance foundations in Beige Diafane
- Collistar Silk Effect Loose Powder
- Lancaster Touch Of Glamour Silky Powder Blush No. 101 Sheer Ochre
- Rimmel Professional Liquid Eyeliner
- Lancome Virtuose Mascara
- Lancome Juicy Tubes in Raisin
- Opi nail polishes in Black Onix and Black Cherry Chutney

Bath and Shower:

- The base, first of all Dermogella Liquid Body Cleanser. Hypoallergenic, gentle on skin and practically no smell (perfect if I want to use a body mist or a moisture. I don't want 100 different fragances on my skin!).
- Kiehl's 'Original Musk' Bath & Shower Liquid Body Cleanser.
- The Body Shop, Mango Body Scrub.
- And I have to admit years ago I had a big thing for Lush products. Bath Bombs (expecially the Big Blue) and Bubble Bars were my favorites.


Fragrances:

- L'Eau D'Issey Eau De Toilette
- The Body Shop White Musk Chiffon Sheer Body Mist
- The Body Shop Mango Dry Oil Mist (for Summer)
- Healing Garden White Tea Body Mist. A must. I bought it when I was in NYC, but I can't find it here :-(

Haircare:

Nothing too complicate... Pantene shampoo (Ice Shine, Always Smooth, Classic Clean, Extra Straight...) and treatments and Sunsilk conditioners.

That's all! And you? How aboust your beauty essentials and favorite products?

giovedì 20 marzo 2008

Blue Nails

Yesterday I went buying some food at the supermarket. Unfortunately the beauty store near it is making a sale and when I saw even the new Chanel make up collection was on sale I knew I have to satisfy one wish.

I love nail polish and all the deep, dark colors are a must for my feet (I'm not that great with manicure, so I usually don't wear nail polish on hands). I wore black for the last two years, alternating it with dark black cherry red. When I was in high school I liked a lot blue nail polish, but actually I've never found the perfect shade, cause they're often too light and with a far than good coverage on nails. But this season, with blue nail polish as the new black, I knew I could have new chances. And now I know this was true :-)

I don't usually spend more than 10 Euros on a nail polish, but this time Chanel won me over and when I tried their Blue Satin, I fell for it. It's one of the colors, in limited edition, for this Spring and it's the perfect blue: deep, rich, really dark, close to black. Chic, in one word.


I can't wait to try it, this evening I'll save some time for a luxurious pedicure experience!

After Chanel, I think the best choice for a nail polish is OPI. They always have gorgeous shades (and I ADORE the names they choose. I could buy a color only beacause of its name!!!) but sadly I can't find their products here. I spend hours online searching for their million + colors...I would buy everything, even yellow and green!
They have a whole selection of blue shades of course; the Russian Navy is wonderful and probably the new Yoga-ta Get This Blue, from the India Collection is great too.

Russian Navy


Yoga-ta Get This Blue


Opi Ink


Light My Sapphire


Blue My Mind, if you need something bright!

lunedì 17 marzo 2008

Start Wearing Yellow

I love total black, but I also love colors.Every year, when Spring is coming, I need to forget the grey Winter buying something really colorful. I have a thing with red, but I'm really open to everything!
This year I started with the electric blue bag and now it's time for a new bag, a little happy yellow touch this time.


I usually like shoes/bag combo and I have a pair yellow shoes that I love, but yesterday I searched on Ebay for something new and I ended up buying these.



This is what I wear today. Could you think something more "Spring related"?!?



And if you need more yellow suggestions take a look at these fab girls :-)


1. A new chop for moi., 2. yellOW, 3. Untitled, 4. Yellow Flats

venerdì 14 marzo 2008

Complications Of Heart

When my mother said she needed an holiday, I'm not sure she meant ANOTHER hospital vacation. But she was forced to...
Because of this, I really had no time for my blog recently and I'm sorry I haven't replied to comments etc. (I'll try to fix everything soon, I promise!). I really hope things will be good again soon; I don't like emergency calls and ambulances anymore!

On the good side, Spring is finally came (or so it seems) and these hospital days were all about little dresses and new outfits. Maybe is a paradox, I know, but when things are so bad, I always need a little positiveness and a nice dress, a pretty necklace or a pair of red shoes are fresh air. I cannot forget life troubles, but I need to be strong and calm and these little silly things usually can calm down for a while!



lunedì 3 marzo 2008

Waking Up

Hey there! Today I feel a little better; thank you for all the sweet get well comments :-)

Yesterday and today the weather was wonderful. Not joking, it was like Summer, with 26° Celsius! The "world outside my window" looked a lot different from the photo in my previous post. Like in The Selfish Giant kids played all the day in the park, birds sang and flowers bloomed... They say tomorrow we will come back to a polar Winter, but for now I'm happy with this warm weather preview!


See you tomorrow with a "real" post :-)