THINKING OF ITALY

Whenever I see linen, there is something about this light natural perpetually wrinkled fabric, that instantly transfers me to summer in Italy.  Italians, both men and women alike, are obsessed with wearing linen clothes and you have to give it to them they do it so well.  

This whole outfit, minus shoes, was bought when we were on holidays in Tbilisi last year. We were just walking along Shota Rustaveli avenue, a wide elegant looking main thoroughfare of Georgia's capital named after a medieval poet, passing one big department store after another until in one of the big front windows I saw a sign for Massimo Dutti and stepped inside.  

The reason that I did that was very simple, while we in Australia have the representation of almost every major world known brands, this one has never made it to our shores.  I came to like this brand when I first saw it at one of the airports while travelling around Europe a while ago.  Although Massimo Dutti originates from Spain, for me their clothes represent the true essence of Italian fashion and lifestyle.  Because we were in Tbilisi at the end of European summer, all the stores were having massive last season sales which suited me perfectly since it was the end of Australian winter and whatever I would buy now, will be perfect for our spring season.

My first choice was a pair of easy-fit linen pants in an off-white colour with very thin black stripes that don't show up well on the photo.  On the next rack I spotted a linen blazer in a slightly darker colour also in stripes and underneath it was a blouse that I liked too so I scooped all three items and marched to the fitting room to try them on.  

I actually liked the fact that the pants didn't match the blazer as I was not looking for a suit in the first place and I am sure each of them would work with other clothes in my wardrobe, i.e. for a cooler day a pair of jeans could be paired for with the jacket and a contrasting coloured t-shirt over linen pants will complete a summer outfit.

As for the blouse, I like its abstract print in deep blue with accents of browns and purple blotches, a-la Jackson Pollock 😊 and again, it will look great with a pair of blue, white or black jeans.

My handbag is a birthday gift from my husband from Furla.  I like this brand and now have three of their handbags because their leather goods are of high quality, stylish and affordable.  

As for my footwear, while the sneakers, predominantly in white, are going strong in Australia, somehow Italians, especially men, prefer loafers, so choosing a pair of them by Italian brand Tod's was fittingly appropriate.  

A quick update on a dining table front.  It is arriving this week so stay put for the images.  If you have no idea what I am talking about, it's all in my previous post that you can read here.

OUTFIT DETAILS

Pants, blouse & blazer :  Mossimo Dutti

Shoes:  Tod's

Glasses:  Valley

Handbag:  Furla

HOW I WORE RED STRIPY CROPPED PANTS

Happy New Year, dear friends.
It has hardly been more than two weeks since we welcomed in 2020 but it already feels like an eternity, wouldn't you agree?    

Having had a lot of free time on my hands during the Christmas break, I took an honest inventory of my wardrobe and concluded that at this moment in my life I don't need any more clothes and therefore should stay away from all those crazy sales bonanzas temptations.  What we needed was new furniture for out dining room, so while most of the people were hunting for discount clothes and shoes,  so while most people where hunting for clothes bargains over Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Boxing Day sales, we went to look for a new dining table and chairs but not necessarily for the two of them together. 

Funnily enough, a couple of months ago we came to the realisation that the leather on our dining chairs has worn out beyond repair and it was high time to say goodbye to them and went to look for new ones.  It took us quite some time to find the chairs that we liked but when we finally found and bought them, turned out that due to their elaborate style, their size by far exceeded the parameters of our dining table.  Lesson learned:  measure the item before you buy it and not after 😃.  Luckily, we fairly quickly sold them on-line and armed with the measurements, started all over again.  This time the chairs that we chose were quite the opposite, lightweight classic bentwood style in natural oak.  

I liked them until the moment we brought them home and put next to our dining table.  The problem is because our table is made from birch wood, it differs from the chairs in colour as well as in the wood grain.  It didn't work at all.  However, the table was also quite old, and we were contemplating replacing it too, so armed with one of the new chairs, off we went again to find a new table.  After looking at a few tables made out of wood, it became clear that it was impossible to match the colour and the grain of the wood.  The best solution in a situation like this was instead of trying to find a match, go for an opposite.  

At a BoConcept store which specialises in Danish furniture we found exactly what we were looking for:  a sleek looking table in black laminate with matte finish and black lacquered legs in total contrast to our light colour chairs, which sales assistance  described as "the ultimate piece of minimalistic furniture where it's monochromatic look and clean lines create an elegant frame makes it a perfect table for any home".   It will be delivered to our home by the end of January and I will share with you the before and after photos then.  I must tell you, I can't wait to have it in my home.

Only once, on my way to the gym, I popped into Zara store next door just for FOMO.  There while browsing among heavily loaded racks of clothes, I came across these red stripy pants.  I was not going to buy them at first, I just liked the vibe generated by their bright and bold look but when I put them on and looked at myself in a mirror, I was smiling, I had a feeling like I had no cares in the world and with that attitude I walked out of the dressing room straight to the cash register and the rest, as they say, is history. 😍

When one of the main items of your outfit has such a strong presence, the key to making it work, is to chose the other elements in a simpler style, preferably in one solid colour of a lesser intensity, like white or natural so when you put them all together in one look, they would look harmonious and not fight each other for dominance.  Today I settled for a simple button down white shirt sleeve blouse, but black or dark navy should work too.  When the time came to choose the footwear, I wasn't sure what will work better with these pants, the flat slides or the sneakers and  I tried both; the sneakers won hands down.

Outfit details:

Pants and top - Zara

Sneakers - old Converse Chuck Taylor

Sunglasses - Adidas