september italian weddings

While we are waiting for a couple of days to officialy enter into Fall and start seeing the upcoming trends being unveiled in the 2 fashion capitals, let's finish off the summer with some wedding attire. September seems to be the new hit month to get married in Italy. The weather is lovely everywhere in my homecountry in this time of the year, so I get why. Not bridal dresses. Guests are far more interesting to me. And Italians know how to pull off a chic and elegant outfit, opting for basic colors palettes, premium fabrics and standout accessories.

And for those who have never been to a wedding in Milan, here a few insights on how Milanesi guests dress up for a wedding. I have for you 2 examples, 2 different color palettes, 2 different styles.

Let's start with my dear friend Claudia, she's wearing an effortless and ethereal blush dress, of a spanish brand that I was not actually very familiar with, Hoss Intropia. Claudia has an exquisite sense of style - always great findings. Love her late summer style, perfect choice for a chic wedding at a villa in Milan.

Hoss Intropia dress

At another Milan venue, my other dear friend Benedetta, goes for a darker and bold palette: black-and-white Moschino dress, Chanel bag and shoes, and a playful headpiece bought at La Rinascente.
Italian posh.

Moschino dress, Chanel bag, Chanel shoes

http://www.styleite.com/media/schiaparelli-prada-impossible-conversations-review/#0

Color inspiration at The MET. Today I visited the successful exhibition "Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible conversations"  at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This exhibition is a retrospective on the not-so-well-recalled eclectic Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada, stilista Milanese globally acclaimed for her creative minimalism. 


The exhibition opens and reiterates with videos (directed by Baz Luhrmann), in which we see these 2 fashion masters sit at two opposites of a big black table sipping champagne, and talking about their inspiration on fashion, how they envision women and their style throughout the years. 

You'll find more than 90 outfits and 30 accessories that capture the most iconic pieces of the two designers, and you will appreciate the similarities and parallelisms (“Waist Up/Waist Down”) of the two Italian designers, starting from the Twenties and Thirties for Schiapparelli, to the Eighties and contemporary for Prada. They definitely explored very similar themes (in fact the exhibition at the end leaves you with a sense that Prada has re-interpreted very clearly Schiaparelli's key styling concepts throughout the years), but the outcome of the two designers has been different as it is filled by the culture, inspiration of the era in which they have played.


If you are in NYC and you haven’t seen it so far, hurry up! It will be open just until August 19, 2012 and it is well worth the visit.

http://www.metmuseum.org/en/exhibitions/listings/2012/impossible-conversations/introduction

http://www.peoplestylewatch.com/people/stylewatch/gallery/0,,20612242,00.html#21187624

I know it does not have anything to do either with Milan or New York. But it definitely has to do with the bright color trend. And with style. And if you have followed me on my blog up to now or my Pinterest board you would surely know I am a big fan of Kate Middleton's style. She is always impeccable in her choices, elegant, simple but never boring – always up to the last trend.

On July 19, 2012 the Duchess of Cambridge enjoyed a private showing of a photographic exhibition in occasion of the upcoming London Olympic Games. Kate wore a simple electric blue Stella McCartney’s Ridley Stretch dress, a piece from the designer’s fall 2012 collection. The bright electric blue form fitting dress is great in its super simple lines and its most distinctive feature is the darts on the outside of the fabric. The main accessories was a Olympic symbol recalling Cartier statement necklace. As usual, Kate has a inclination for subtly giving a nod to the occasion through her choices (blue in fact recalls the color of the UK Olympic uniforms). 

The piece is priced at $885 on the Stella McCartney US, but of course, as it happens with most of the outfits or accessories worn by Kate Middleton, it is no longer available on the UK McCartney site.

Not only Kate’s decision to wear a bright blue dress is following this Summer big hit trend, but wearing Stella McCartney makes perfect sense, as she designed Team GB’s Olympic uniforms.

And I came across this super detailed blog entirely dedicate on the daily Duchess's outfits: whatkatewore.com

Sometimes the best answer is the simplest one.  A few days ago, I spotted this wearable T-Shirt dress in Soho. Its deep aquamarine color makes it very fashionable for this summer, even though it is a very simple fitted dress. It's super warm in New York right now and the ladys of the city are opting for relaxed and easy outfits, without giving up the bright color trend at all. This dress seems very comfortable and leightweighted, and I believe the T-Shirt cut makes it really fun. I like that to make the color of the dress pop out, she paired it with neutral accessories: a light brown leather bag and matching flat summer sandals. And not to freeze for the A/C in the office or whenever you enter in a store here in NYC, why not carrying with you a simple white summer jacket?

Yellow has tons of different shades. From canary yellow, to lemon yellow, from golden yellow to neon yellow. Designers have creatively played with yellow both in a fun and sophisticate way. Yellow is the color that recalls the sun and summer, and you cannot go wrong if you choose to wear it among the bright colors. It is not an easy shade to go for: you have to take into consideration your complexion, your hair color and choose the right yellow to avoid any style wrong step. In Soho, New York, I spotted this lovely yellow dress, stylishly paired with leopard ballet flats. I really think it is a easy yet trendy outfit. And today yellow, in a very pale and subtle nuance, was spotted on Duchess Kate as well. 

A regal trend, then.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/05/kate-middleton

http://www.vogue.com/culture/article/getting-ready-for-the-2012-tony-awards-nina-arianda-james-corden-cristin-milioti-and-jeremy-jordan/

Yesterday night (for the first time live for me) I watched the Tony Awards on TV, at New York’s Beacon Theatre. I am a huge fan of Broadway shows and I was very anxious of viewing this event live. Previously I could usually just view some extracts uploaded on YouTube.

A part from enjoying a lot the great performances of the Best Musical nominees, I was very happy to notice the full color blocking trend I am exploring in my comparative research and running on this blog. The bright color trend was a fashionable choice among nominees, and I could see that the trend was embraced especially with simple monochromatic gowns of the it-colors of the season. I particularly liked Once's Cristin Milioti's simple chic emerald green Jason Wu strapless silk chiffon gown, elegantly draped on the bodice, accessorized with a gold clutch and green jewels. In my opinion, the best dress of the night.

http://fashionbombdaily.com/2012/06/11

Audra McDonald, Tony Award winner for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, went for a one-bright-color choice as well: a effortless yet elegant one-shoulder electric-blue dress, accessorized with very simple understated jewelry.

Another proof that here in NYC the one-bright-color trend is very fashionable and is worn a very simple, sleek and visually powerful way - a real must, also on red carpets, this summer.

And finally coming to NYC street style, this is the trend I have been noticing a lot around: long and short one-color-only dresses, paired with basic color accessories (black or brown), worn as a stand-alone or with another bold color.

You can hardly see women wearing this color trend in Milan, but here in NYC is pretty popular. I do love long strapless colored dresses. As a fashionista from Milan, I am not sure I would wear it back in my city (because of the basic chic rules I respectfully follow and that I talked in my previous posts!), but I am definitely going to give it a try here in New York. It seems so effortless and summery, and seeing colors worn like this really makes you wanna follow this trend.

Sometimes I feel a bit off-balance with my total neutral (still on the Milan time-zone) way of dressing, but I promise I will try!

Also InStyle in its Instant Stylist game features the trend I am exploring: colorful dress, in this case emerald green, accessorized with low neutral sandals, a complementary colored straw bag (yellow and blue), light blue scarf and a touch of gold with the long necklace. Would you wear it for a pool party (if the weather goes back to be warm and feels back to be in summer in NYC?)