Fashionable Gourmets

Sex and food is a classic duo, but it seems the new thing is fashion and food combo. It's not surprising indeed, as Refinery 29 pointed out recently, there are lots of fashion/food related blogs, from Maison des Reverie, which I love, to the over the top Luxirare . Also we surely can't forget these adorable fashion cupcakes and all the designers inspired cookies and desserts from bakeries and restaurants all around the world, like the marvellous ones from The Berkeley .


Just to confirm once again the theory, CFDA has just published American Fashion Cookbook , a book compiled by over 100 american designers where you can find illustrations, food related quotes, a foreword by Martha Stewart and, of course, recipes. From Derek Lam’s Yellowtail Crudo to Mark Ecko’s “Adults Only” Chocolate Chip Cookies...yum!


You can have a look at the first 30 pages on Assouline publisher website .

Lewis NYC

The Fall collection of Alison Lewis is a lovely one






but I totally agree with Rhiannon : what make me really love it is the fresh mood of the video below...power of a backstory!

LEWIS Fall 2009 Collection from LEWIS on Vimeo.

Lovely Head

If there is an Hollywood costume designer with an intriguing personality, that is Edith Head.


She was born in Nevada in 1897 and after becaming a language teacher she started taking drawing classes. In 1924, despite her lack of experience, she was hired by Paramount Pictures, gaining a job in their costume department. She began designing costumes for silent movies and during the 30s she became one of the most important Hollywood designers.
During her long career she has worked for Paramount and Universal, on Hitchcock movies and was a favorite designer for stars like Barbara Stanwick, Bette Davis and Shirley Maclaine. She was nominated for 35 Academy Awards and won 8, more than any other woman in Hollywood history. She also took part in some tv shows, giving style tips, like the modern Rachel Zoe &Co.!


This could sounds as a fairytale but Head is not at all the classic heroine princess you may figure out in your mind...

She was a strange woman, very private and low profile but with a perpetual iconic look: a full flat bangs - apparently copied by Anna May Wong - and the round dark glasses, that almost surely inspired the styling of the character of Edna Mode in The Incredibles.


Also, she had a great talent and during her long career she had designed some of the most remembered movies outfits, but despite all this she had a very controverse personality. Why? First of all she got her job at Paramount stealing another student's sketches for the interview and she did it again several times during the last part of her career: she used to take credit for other people's work, like when she accepted the Oscar for Sabrina, when we all know (now) that Hepburn's stunning outfits were designed by Givenchy.


Unfair? All in all, the only thing I know for sure is that I'll never forget the outfits Edith Head has created for Grace Kelly in Rear Window and To Catch a Thief. She did great things, when she did them for real...

Styling Anna

Awhile ago I was invited by Kathrin Leist, journalist and blogger for Two For Fashion , to take part in a very special and fun campaign...


They sent the paper doll above, which is incidentally named Anna like me, all around the world to a conspicuous number of fashion bloggers, asking them to dress her the way they thought she should be dressed in their city.
The occasion was entirely up to us: Anna could be styled for dancing, shopping, surfing,...and of course we could use all sorts of medium, from digital techniques like Photoshop effects, to collage, paint, etc.
All Annas have been included then in a diashow as part of the exhibition Catwalk, hosted by Vogue Germany at the NRW-Forum and featured weekly on Two For Fashion .

To style a paper doll? When I was a child I adored to do it (and occasionaly I still do it...!) so of course I immediately accepted to jump on the bandwagon!




I didn't want to create an everyday look for my Anna, so I thought to play just with simple shapes and plain geometry, building the whole outfits. Other sources of
inspiration were 80s fashion, color blocks (an obsession of mine,
yuo know) and two famous Annas: Anna Piaggi, for her colorful personality (no pun intended!), and Anna Dello Russo, for the sculptural approach to fashion.


It's very fun to look at all the Annas each fashion blogger made; these below are just my favorites, but you can check the whole set here

Back To The Future

After ten long days of fun the Summer Jamboree has reached its end. No need to say it was a blast!

Yesterday, the last day, there was even an additional amazing vintage market where I managed to find three vintage skirts (yes, the stuff was great and the prices affordable too!!) and Tiz - who during the last week has officially became my partner in crime - bought an amazing dress.
Here's the two of us yesterday when shades, fans and parasols where much needed due to the super hot weather...


From today I'll be back to the future and back to regular posting even if there will surely be at least one post with more pictures from the festival soon...

And I leave you with this video I recently found on the gorgeous blog of the gorgeous Jessica Cangiano :-)

Flowery Meadows

A little break from the Jamboree to show you my new favorite vintage summer dress. I must thank you the adorable Dotti who told me about Shemonster an amazing german Ebay store where I've found this little jewel :-)



The Summer Jamboree is sadly ending tomorrow...I'll be back to regular posting, replying and commenting from monday.
Have a great weekend!

Summer Jamboree - First Look

Here are some of the pictures I took at the Summer Jamboree . As I announced there was a blogger meetup too (my first ever!). I met the wonderful Tiziana of Greetz From Tiz .


At first I was a bit nervous, but she's a total cutie and I'm so happy we spent some time together! She's also really talented: her first collection of sweaters and handmade vintage inspired skirts is marvellous. If you're attending the Summer Jamboree this week you can't miss her stall, otherwise you'll soon find her creations for sale on Etsy too :-)

Our outfits: Tiz is wearing one of her amazing sweaters!


the sailor dress below is my new favorite and the cat eye sunglasses I'm wearing are my latest purchase (I bought them at SJ, of course!).


There are great stalls...


Old Woogies shoes: awesome!!



...beautiful people...






and even Elvis is attending!


I'll be there again these days so there will be more outfits and more pictures soon :-)

Return Of The Mad Men

So, are you ready?! Tonight, at 10PM/9C on ABC (or on the big screen @ Times Square, if you're in The City!) don't miss Mad Men season 3 premiere!
Being in Italy I'll have to wait for a little more of course, but I'll surely enjoy Dyna Moe's weekly illustrations...



the wonderful Joan paper dolls



and the Sally Draper's Cocktail Cheat Sheets...!




Also, have you Mad Men-ed yourself? After oh so many attempts (I didn't find a proper way to download the pictures on my pc till now, that's weird!), I finally did it!

It's funny but I actually have a dress like that. And of course there's my yellow wall too!


Here's me, Don and a couple of drinks...


...I can go crazy without my Mad Men!

On a side note, I apologize in advance for the possible lack of posts of this week, but I'm enjoyng the Summer Jamboree and some secret blogger meetups...Posts and photos to come soon!

Waiting for the Jamboree: Time Escapists

This will be the last one of my "Waiting for the Jamboree" posts, as tomorrow's the day: the 10th edition of the Summer Jamboree is here!

Ten days of fun dedicated to the culture of late 40s and 50s. Beautiful and "refreshing" indeed, before coming back to the everyday routine!
But for a growing number of people "escaping" from the 21th century, retreating into the past is not only a part-time fun occupation but a way of life.


In 2008 the British Channel 4 aired Time Warp Wives *, a very controversial documentary by Sally Hewitt, featuring Debbie, Diane, Joanne and Sammi, four women that live every detail of their every day life like they're in a past era.

For Joanne and Debbie it's the 50s, while Sammi and Diane are devoted to 40s and 30s, respectively (read interviews with three of them here ).


While this can be considered a bit creepy ( Pleasantville and the two movies about The Stepford Wives come to mind!) or depressing or utopic from certain points of wiev, I think it's also fascinating. I mean, it's not just about vintage dresses here and isn't certainly an easy thing to make this kind of choice in 2009 world without trapping yourself in a time capsule. I don't even know if this is possible without falling in continuous contradictions... It's not easy to recreate a perfectioned version of a bygone era just for you, while all the people around you are living in a contemporary world and probably would not understand what you're doing. It requires talent, patiente, personal balance and cold blood. Cynically - and just for a second- I wonder if this also requires a pinch of hypocrisy...

Is this the pursuit of happiness? Is it just a palliative for our need of living in a perfect world, built around a stereotypical idea of old times - styled from movies and tv, skipping troubles and bitterness? Is it a way to live according to your own values and psychology, without facing the judgement of others?


I really don't know what it is, but in the end I think it's all up to people and it's not fair to simplify and standardize personal experiences. Some of the women in the documentary have then declared they felt misrepresented by the film, so there's probably a lot more to see and to know. We already knew it indeed...


All in all it's not important why people make a certain choice. The point is that people CAN make that choice and if someone feel confortable and happy with something without hurting anyone, than it's ok.

As for me, I totally don't feel the urge to live 100% in the past (is it possible withouth owning a time travel machine, anyway?) but I'm happy with the opportunity of being just a "part-time time traveler", like I wrote in my profile, and have fun without all the confusion!


* At the moment you can have a look at Warp Time Wives documentary here although - and weirdly enough - it works just if you're in UK...!!