Dress Polka Dot This Summer!

Polka Dot...what a funny name for such a simple pattern! But, do you know its origin? Polka was originally the name of a dance that became very popular throughout Europe and the Americas, during the 19th century. Polka Clubs  chose dotted fitted jackets as uniforms  for its female members. Because of the dance popularity, many manufacturers started creating products and naming them after it. This is how the dotted pattern itself became known as Polka Dot. I personally love this pattern design: it is so simple, fun and feminine!

About two weeks ago I shared a picture of myself wearing this outfit at the beach on my Instagram and a few days after I got notified that the same picture was published by the Tunisian fashion magazine Femmes de Tunisie. That was so much appreciated! So, I thought I'd  give you a brief description of the outfit and suggest you how to dress Polka Dot this summer.

I sometimes like to spend the weekends in my other beach house in a very small village, away from the city where I currently live. For the occasion, I started rummaging through my old wardrobe and accidentally found this Polka Dot silk dress by Denny Rose, which I combined with these platform leather sandals from Oasis and my beautiful green and blue striped beach bag by Polo Ralph Lauren. That’s how I got this lovely summer look. You can try a simple Polka Dot shirt or crop-top and wear it with a pair of high waist Denim shorts.

I am wearing:

Silk Polka Dot Shirt Dress Denny Rose

Beach Bag Polo Ralph Lauren

Leather Sandals Oasis

Sunglasses Céline

Watch Hublot

Spring’s Officially Over!

Spring’s officially over! Or, Summer’s officially started! To me it makes no difference, as for many of those who live in a Mediterranean country, where it’s sunny and warm almost all throughout the year (except for the three months of the winter season). Obviously it gets hotter in Summer, but I appreciate more the coolness of Spring!

Yesterday, while updating my closet, I started reminiscing about my best moments of Spring 2014. So I went to my work space, opened iPhoto's on my Mac and went through all the photos from the latest albums. What can I say? I smiled, laughed, pondered on every moment my mind was replaying from my freak memory.

A life moment that I had the big pleasure to share with my family and will never be forgotten is when my beautiful Sister was given the title of "Dottoressa"! Just the day before, I accompanied my sister to the flower shop, where she ordered her graduation crown (In Italy, new graduates are crowned with a headpiece made of bay leaves, called Corona d'Alloro.) two weeks before. So excited, my sister was telling me how she had been waiting for this moment since my graduation: "Can't wait to see how my corona looks like. I asked them to make it just like yours, coz that's the way I like it!”. 

As we arrived to the shop (not to mention we had to drive from our place for about an hour to reach it and it was raining endlessly), the floral assistant came forward and with a big smile on her face handed this miserable green and unpleasant crown to my sister. This was the most ridiculous and hilarious moment I have ever attended in my whole life. My sister’s reaction to this fact was C-R-A-Z-Y! She broke out into a furious Hulk! Luckily, I was there with her and as an antidote managed to calm her down a bit. The floral assistant was so embarrassed and sorrowful as she acknowledged it was her mistake for not reading the note taken by her boss on my sister’s order. As my sister went outside the shop to relax her nerves and make a phone call, I talked to the assistant and agreed we would together make a new corona with all the details my sister asked for. 

End of the story? A wonderful full crown made of medium green bay leaves - some covered with gold sparkles-, a red silk ribbon, some little ladybirds and very small pinecones (obviously both are not real ones) scattered here and there, was tied by myself around my sister's head the day of her graduation...and her beautiful proud smile still lingers in my mind!

Last but not least, here’s a recap of some of my Spring looks!

Elegant Chic:

Sunglasses Gucci

Sweater Ted Baker

Skirt Adolfo Dominguez Costura

Shoes Burberry

Bag Emporio Armani

Watch Longines

Casual Chic:

Sweater Ted Baker

Jeans Maison Scotch

Fur Jacket Zara

Urban Chic:

Trench Coat & Cashmere Scarf Burberry

Jeans Guess

Shoes Kurt Geiger

Make-up is my new drug!

 

Since my very young age, I grew passionate about style, makeup and beauty. I remember I was a little girl with puffy cheeks, big eyes and had big beautiful bouncy curls all over my head...and as mommy says "she always wanted to dress as she pleased"! In fact I could never have enough of staring at myself in the mirror and act like a grown pretty lady! I've always been obsessed with my hair at first place...but can't tell the same about my addiction to make-up. I had this hate/love thing for makeup that, I can't even understand how, all of a sudden it blossomed into a real fondness!

Just after graduating, I started developing a deep interest in becoming a makeup artist. So I spent my summertime searching for a Makeup artist academy in France and the UK...made an accurate selection and went to see them one by one! Somehow, all of the courses that these schools/academies had to offer did not fully convince me. I don't know what it was exactly, but something was stopping me from taking this adventure!

Back home, I started thinking that Makeup is about artistry, creativity and practice. Hence, I didn't give up on it: I kept my passion alive and now want to share all this with you.

Face contouring:

1.Mac Mineralize Moisture SPF15 Foundation

2.Mac Pro Conceal and Correct Palette/Medium Deep

3.Dior Blush 849

4.Mac Mineralize Skinfinish

5.Mac Medium Dark Mineralize Skinfinish

Eyes:

1.Mac Pro Longwear Paint Pot/ Perky

2.Lancôme Hypnôse Doll Eyes Palette/ Reflet d'Améthyste

3.Yves Saint Laurent Eyeliner Baby Doll

4.Lancôme Hypnôse Star Mascara

Lips:

1.Bourjois Rouge Edition n.36

2.Dior Lip Maximizer

Another beautiful Venice

The train was riding so fast, but I only did realize that when I opened my eyes and looked up at the screen in front of me: 340km/h? Amazed for instance, yet hesitating, I looked outside the window: fields and clouds were passing by in what seemed to me a slow motion...and I fell asleep again. Eventually, I arrived to my destination: Shanghai, the city par excellence!

Since the beginning I consciously knew I was going to fall in love with this city! Why? Well, It’s big but a small universe, vibrant and mysterious, It’s modern but at the same time conservative. It’s strange, but I kept thinking I somehow felt home in Shanghai. However, what exceeded my expectations is the eternal Zhujiaojiao, an ancient water town in a suburb of Shanghai. Baptised as China's little Venice, this town looks like a tiny different world apart, beautiful and timeless. Its inhabitants are very welcoming and always smiling at tourists. I have  never thought of finding a similar place and hope you can get my point from the pictures.

In Zhujiajiao, there's no place for the individualism or materialism or consumerism. I had a wonderful day roaming around the narrow streets of this village: like in a fairy tale, every corner was telling a story and people were the chorus.