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It may not be Milan, but Florence’s fashion culture is well-regarded and on the rise. The articles to browse here offer something for every style, from where to find high-quality second hand clothing, the contemporary designers calling Florence home, and the city’s most refined fashion brands, festivals and outlets. Everything you would need to step out in style.
Perusing the windows along Florence's cobblestone streets and scavenging for a coveted item of clothing is more passion than a pastime for the devoted shopper, but for the visitor with limited time, navigating the shopping world of Florence can be difficult-and expensive! Luckily, Florence and the surrounding area
There is only one thing more exciting than visiting Florence: shopping in Florence. And the possibilities are even more exciting when you consider the vintage shopping opportunities here. Because navigating ...
These days, ‘Xmas madness' is epidemic, a shopping fever that grips everyone, a buying virus few seem immune to. People under the influence of this very severe illness feel the need to purchase excessive quantities of frivolous and extremely nonsensical-but-so-cute little things for friends and family. &
Visiting the marvelous exhibit entitled Salvador Dalì. Il sogno si avvicina (‘The dream is getting closer') at Milan's palazzo Reale (until January 30, 2011; www.mostradali.it), I found myself reflecting on the essence of personal style and on a time when clothes were vehicles for self
Fall is here: time to forget about summer breezes, tanned legs to show off and flowing white linen dresses. The amazing autumn colors of Tuscany are, however, reason enough to get excited about the new season, as are the warm layers of fabric that cover and embrace our bodies in
Florence, June 15 to 18: traffic is jammed; it's impossible to find a cab, let alone a table in a good restaurant. C'è Pitti! Earlier this month, Pitti Uomo exhibited hundreds of spring/summer 2011 collections, from classic suits to denim, tees and shoes to accessories ranging from
Tired of scratchy clothes that make your skin itch? Sick of garments that use chemicals that damage the environment and your skin? Then it is time for a change in your wardrobe! Eco-fashion means not only preserving the environment with what you wear, but also buying fewer pieces. Eco-
What is design? Some call it the ‘functional' art form, where creativity and beauty strike a balance with use and user. When something pretty is also practical, it is often said to have been designed well. Design professionals consider design the ‘contamination,' in the best sense of the
The earth is sick: for some time now, human society has altered the balance of the environment. Now terms such as ‘global warming,' ‘icecap melting' and ‘deforestation' have, unfortunately, become part of everyday language. Has the world of fashion remained indifferent to our planet's agony? Certainly
After a long ‘Christmas break,' it is a pleasure to write my Style and the City column again! In these months I've had the chance to attend two important events in Italian fashion: the Pitti Filati trade fair last Janaury in Florence, which forecasted trends and textiles for
Fashion is about being beautiful, looking trendy and wearing amazing clothes. But all of this fabulousness comes with a hefty price tag that most of us just can't afford. Instead of being envious of celebs who always look straight off the pages of Vogue-think of the time
How many fashion designers can boast collaborators like writer and artist Jean Cocteau, surrealist painter Salvador Dalí and sculptor Alberto Giacometti? Clients like the Duchess of Windsor, Mae West, Marlene Dietrich and Katharine Hepburn? None, except Elsa Schiaparelli, affectionately known to all as ‘Schiap.' Between the late 1920s
Family, fame, feuding, passion, litigation and homicide. All the ingredients of a successful Hollywood soapie like are, instead, the backdrop to the story of one of Italy's best known luxury label clans: the Gucci family. The patriarch of this dynasty was Guccio Gucci. A native of Florence, Guccio was
Can a glamorous city style give you a feeling of escape? As the weather gets warmer and the Tuscan hills make us feel more free and summery, we need a style that makes us feel in close contact with nature. It may sound strange, but I recently found inspiration for
The great fashion designer Vivienne Westwood recently said in an interview that one of the causes of the world pollution is ‘garbage fashion', meaning the thousands of pieces that are thrown away every day in order to make room for the next collection in the store and the
Style and the City left Florence to attend Milan Fashion Week, showing off the best of Made in Italy for next fall. The love story of Milan and Italian fashion goes back to 1979, when the first fashion events were organized under the name of Milano Collezioni. Today, after
What could men like Al Capone, Winston Churchill, Harry Truman, Charlie Chaplin, Fred Astair, Humphrey Bogart, Ernest Hemingway, Frank Sinatra, Pope John XXIII and Robert Redford possibly have in ...
At the recent Paris shows, John Galliano presented his Dior collection with a silhouette inspired by the famous ‘New Look', first presented in 947 by fashion master Christian Dior himself. The outfit is composed of a very tight jacket similar to a bustier in its construction, paired with an
In 1992, Gianni Versace, the eclectic Italian fashion designer, purchased Casa Casuarina in South Beach, Miami, for $2.9 million. Constructed in 1930 and modelled after a residence built in Santo Domingo in 1510 by the son of Christopher Columbus, restoration of the house became Versace's obsession. Five years
A country’s culture is often ex-pressed by its language, and to fully enjoy the experience of living abroad it is important to know the specific terminology used in various sectors. ...
Over the past few weeks, while all the eyes of the fashion world were on Milan and its ready-to-wear fashion shows, I thought about how extremely rich Florence's fashion history is and the ‘holy communion' that Florence has with the most beautiful side of Made in
If fashion is just about covering ourselves, why is there so much noise around it? Can a piece of clothing really change the way we feel? According to the latest in the fashion world, just like a hot bath, a piece of good chocolate or a warm massage, wearing
Italy is recognized the world over as a producer of original, well-made, high-quality products. When we talk about ‘Made in Italy' we are usually referring to fashion, the most successful and-according to me, at least-the most delightful of the Italian industries. Lately, however, high costs
