I can't be planning a trip to Italy and not be having at least a small-scale fashion crisis at the same time. It's just not possible. I also tend to get them on trips to Paris but in a slightly different way - in Paris, the ladies are chic because they are intentionally understated. In Italy, the ladies turn head becuase they always seem to be wearing an item that is unintentionally overstated. Maybe it's just me that thinks that but there is just something about Italian women that is just a wee bit over the top - not over the top everywhere - they're too effortless for that. But they're willing to incorporate an accessory, a color, a pattern, and of course, a pair of sunglasses in a way that no one else simply is not, all while never calling into question their ladylike ability to put things together. They have a way that's more carefree, an attitude that conveys more care about living life rather than cramming life into conventions.
For a little Italian inspiration, I always think of the ever-icon Sophia Loren. In looking at pictures of her, you see that thread of an element that's emphasized just a bit more than the others: seductive without being tawdry, and playful without being irreverent or clownish. A touch (well okay, more than a touch) of eyeliner, a pout, a coif and one eye catching item seem to inhabit every look - I could never pass for her, but I should think I could handle at least one of those signatures at a time... I hope.
And take a look at some of her simpler pictures - I'd say they've made Jessica Pare a dead ringer for her in Mad Men, no?
I so admire her style as she got older as well. She aged so beautifully, i.e. 'Grumpier Old Men' - she was gorgeous! Honestly she and Anita Ekberg are my fitness icons - real bodies but healthy bodies. So when I'm slaving at the gym, I keep those two screen sirens in mind!
ReplyDelete