And finally..here I am! A colorful day at the beach, in Coney Island. Going on a well deserved vacation for a couple of weeks, before starting off again in September with our style posts about fashion trends experienced in NYC and Milan. Buone Vacanze!!! Ciao, Jennifer
Arm Party = Layering Bracelets + Bracelet Combinations. Probably Leandra Medine, better known as The Man Repeller, when coined the Instagram hashtag #armparty last year had no idea that this would become a major accessory trend. This trend involves piling up to your wrist every possible bracelet - everything from bangles and cuffs, to rope bracelets and silver or gold. And in NYC every major trend is never overlooked: bright coloured bangles are the celebrities of this summer, with gemstone-embellished wristlets and leather strapped cuffs sit next to metallic gold bracelets. You probably all have noticed that the jewelry this summer is chunky and bold, a bit geometrical abstract but also and baroque, sparkly and colorful.
There was a time when jewelry accessorizing meant statement earrings or necklaces, but not this summer: you have to host a summer arm party and your wrists are the centre of attention.
There is nothing better that getting style tips from a Fashion Insider. And this week we are all very very very lucky, because I had a not-to-miss Q&A with Silvia Bianchi, General Manager for Neil Barrett, Milan. Take careful notes! And thank you Silvia for your precious suggestions! Can you describe your personal style? I love mixing male style with sexy details. I like to find the right proportions in a look. Imagine your body divided in two parts: below and over your waist. If you show one part you have to cover the other. I like to wear very short skirts with a shirt, or long pants with a sexy top. And I never forget high heels. How does Milan inspire your day-to-day style? Milan is a great inspiration, it is always looking forward, a step ahead. Every day and night it is playful to find something special to wear and being different. Milan gives you the opportunity to show your personality and is very demanding: always surprise with clothes and accessories, never be ordinary. How does your job inspire your style? I loved Neil Barrett's style even before starting working here. I am very lucky to work for a fashion brand that I love – a philosophy and a style can determine every choice here. At Neil Barrett the focus is in the details: details make the difference in a dress, in shoes, in your house and in your life. What do you think about the current summer bold color trend? Are you wearing it? How are you wearing it? It's a few season that the fashion world is talking about color blocking and unexpected colors. Designers are very playful about it. They are making bolder choices introducing electric blue, brilliant yellow and emerald green (my favorite color in our spring summer collection). It's easier to wear black or white to be ultimately elegant, but using colors in the right way is an interesting exercise in every season. I love yellow flat sandals, emerald green dress and a hot pink bikini. How people in Milan are wearing this summer bold colors trend? In Milan nobody is afraid to wear something bold or colorful, but without crossing the line of elegance. Especially during Milan Fashion Week, people wear looks often more interesting than the ones showed on the runway! Designers and fashion blogger take inspiration by street style like a real red carpet. What is/are the must-have pieces for this summer in Milan? This season offers wonderful geometric prints. The main theme is somewhat classic, but with a touch of bold. In winter the must was a Celine bag. This season everyone has chosen Stella McCartney or a bold colored clutch, funnier for a night out. During a summer day I would rather use big sized bags to carry everything for the city. I like to carry big bags at the beach as well to be always ready to go to a pool party! What are some of your favorite places to shop in Milan? And online?I like to go around the city to discover new shops and new brands. If you follow the trends of the top fashion brands, then you can play them out with the new talents. In Milan I like Clan Cafè in the Brera district, Antonioli in the Navigli district and Agent Provocateur at Rinascente. Online I opt for net-a-porter.com, luisaviaroma.com and other main Italian brands’ online stores. And of course neilbarrett.com!
I
have recently been told by my friend back in Milan about a new viral multi-colored trend for all
the Italian fashionistas: Cruciani’s bracelets! Unfortunately they are not sold
in the US for now, but it is a fun, colorful and summery trend worth to write
about.
The
phenomenon of four-leaf clover bracelets by Cruciani broke in August 2011 when, in
front of Cruciani's boutique in Forte dei Marmi (Tuscany), people were
queuing to grab one or more colors of the bracelet of the summer. And the word
of mouth did not take long to spread all over Italy.
Cruciani’s
bracelets made their grand debut in
Milan back in September 2011 at THE fashion event of the year, Milan’s Vogue
Fashion Night Out. Cruciani dedicated a limited edition of the bracelets, created
ad hoc for the Milan’s Fashion Week
and its success was instant among the Milanese
fashion crowd. Cipriani’s partnership with the famous textile group Caprai, made
this collection even more valuable for the exclusive craftsmanship. The
bracelets are all made from needle lace macramé by Caprai textile group: absolutely
100% made in Italy.
The
most famous Cruciani’s bracelets are easily distinguishable from 7 shamrocks
macramé lace flanked by a C. In particular, the bracelet with the cloverleaf
was born from an idea by Luca Caprai and now it is available in a variety of
subjects: from the famous four-leaf clover, to hearts, to the ultimate success,
the butterfly. Each represents a symbol, respectively luck, love and femininity
and freedom.
The
price of the bracelets Cruciani varies depending on the model, but the average
for each bracelet would be 10 euros, that is $14 dollars, so it is really
budget friendly! You can check all the bracelets out and buy them online (shipping
in Europe) at www.braccialetticruciani.it. You can find
the complete list of licensed retailers in Milan here.
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.
Today is the day that in
Milan everybody – and I literally mean everybody and the city becomes a “ghost
city” for the entire month of August – goes in vacation, as it is the first
weekend bridging into August. All my friends back in Milan are ready to leave
for the beautiful beaches in Italy, or are already travelling to do so.
So, thinking about vacation
time and tanning on the beach, I am thinking also about beachwear!
And in Milan everybody LOVES
Calzedonia’s swimwear – which is unfortunately not available in the US. I have
been a dedicated and loyal fan of their collections since they opened in 1986
in Italy and season after season they have become the most trendy, fashionable
and successful Italian brand for hosiery and beachwear. So as I am not in
Milan, I have missed my yearly Calzedonia’s beachwear shopping, but my mother
was so nice to send me one J
Calzedonia’s beachwear for
Summer 2012 is all about bright colors! My favorite collection is the one
called “Raffy”, simple styles and young lines for an easy to wear bikinis to
comfortably fit the body. Patterns are declined into three different models:
push-up, bandeau (my all time favorite!) or triangle tops. And you can choose
whatever color you prefer, as each pattern is offered in every color of the
season. Raffy collection is a timeless trend for all women, with different body
types, as you can mix and match different styles for top and bottoms and
different sizes as well.
Below some examples of the
swimwear collection for this Summer. It is not easy to find a definite one
trend for the swimwear this summer, the brand likes to present various offers
from bandeau bikinis (the most popular trend and I would say also the most
comfortable for tanning), triangle bikinis, to more edgy paillettes bikinis.
What do you think?
The brand launched a campaign for this Summer to recycle old swimwear, in collaboration with "I: collect Ag", a company that operates in the field of environmentally compatible recycling.
Until June 30, all types of swimwear for men, women and children, regardless of brand - and not necessarily purchased from Calzedonia - would be revived in the form of insulating material for buildings, share rubbery carpets, upholstery. But even stuffing of toys, bags or rags for cleaning.
Green initiative, among many others that occupy the front pages of newspapers in this period, which also brings an economic advantage to those who embrace it: for every old lady costume, whole or bikini, which will be returned, there will be a discount 5 euros on the purchase of a new bikini. An interesting idea without any doubt.
I am
trying to show post after post how in NYC the bright color trend is a big thing.
And colors have been showed off in various types of outfits, from shorts to
shoes, from accessories to dresses. But a huge trend building up on the bright
color trend is the asymmetrical skirt. Being quite an unusual fashion piece,
an asymmetrical skirt is not easy to choose and not that easy to wear. Most of
the ones I saw here in the streets of New York are pleated bright color skirts worn in a quite
simple and easy way: bright asymmetrical skirt, a simple t-shirt or a tank top, a pair
of sandals and a statement bag.
But I
prefer asymmetrical
skirts worn with high heels. This because the cut of the skirt would stand out
to be very floaty thanks to the posture given by wearing high heels. Like dresses, skirts are one of the most feminine and elegant
pieces in a woman’s wardrobe. I believe all of you would agree with me in
saying that there are days when you want to feel special, girlish and feminine
and wearing a skirt gives that additional non-so-che.
