What not to wear…

Some girl friends asked me to write an article on what not to wear…but I replied that if I do that I will need to start a new Blog just for that subject, particularly because since I live here in the USA I have seen it all, truly all!

So, I will just state the obvious –which so obvious is not for so many people considering how many I see walking around in their most horrible outfits – and set some simple rules good for everyone.

Mirror: Before going out look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself if you like what you see. If you don’t, go change! Looking good will make you feel good too so it’s worth to make a little effort in selecting your clothes.

Sizes: Why do you wear a suit where the trousers are too short for your legs and the jacket is at least 1 size bigger than you? Don’t you see there is something wrong there?

Colors: It’s easy to see what goes with what, again use a mirror! You don’t even need a fashion magazine to tell you that too many different colors are like “a punch in the eye”.

Flowers: They are in fashion now? Good, but you can’t wear a flower skirt with a flower top …of different colors! Learn the word “pacchiano”: it’s an Italian word and when you hear it, it means you look like a clown basically!

Shoes: Ladies if you can’t walk with high heels, don’t buy high heels, simple as that. Looking at you as you are about to fall and break your ankles is not a good show. Wear ballerinas instead: they are great with absolutely everything!

Boots: Ugg boots, really?? Unless you live in the North Pole, there is no need to look so ugly wearing those! And let’s not even mention when you wear them in Summer time…!

Make up: Simple, natural, that’s all!

Hair: Clean and looking natural! It’s fine to wash it every day considering the pollution we have out there!

Nails: Go have a manicure and pedicure done or do it yourself, but please don’t go out with unpolished nails…at least not in Summer time! You will ruin someone else day, that’s for sure! Men…you too!!

Fabrics: Try to avoid acrylic and polyester. The first doesn’t keep you warm and the second can make you smell: they are very cheap fabrics and unfortunately they are everywhere, so look at the tags when you buy something.

Made in China: If you can- and I know very well it’s so hard these days- try to avoid the “made in china” …as you know they don’t use good fabrics and when you wash something “made in china” it will most likely shrink or the colors will fade away. I know there are around expensive clothes too “made in china”, even Burberry and Longchamps sell some items “made in china” for the same price of the “made in italy” or “made in france”! Their prices are high as usual, so when you buy a brand “made in china” you are truly not paying for the good quality of the item, but only for the brand name. As for me, I would rather spend $100 for a dress from a small unknown boutique that sells me “made in usa” or “made in italy”, rather than $1000 for an Armani dress “made in china”. And yes I did find at Nordstrom a Giorgio Armani jacket “made in china” (the tag with the “made in china” was hidden very well inside): cost $800!

I know that all my readers already know these simple rules and will probably laugh thinking how many of these “not to wear” they must have seen walking around town or at work, so maybe tell those people/friends/co-workers to read these rules: they probably just don’t know better. Being Italian set some habits in my brain that will be with me forever: “appearance is important” and “if you look good, you will also feel good”, but so many don’t understand or still don’t know these concepts or even try to pretend that they are not true…

Remember though that society does judge you from so many angles and one of those – the main one I believe – is your look. Even names are important: I used to think that if a girl name was Sarah for some reason you could expect to see a pretty girl.

Of course “appearance is not everything” and the “beauty inside of you is the main thing”…true, but "the ugly truth" is that before the society is willing to see your inner beauty, they need to be attracted in some way by the way you look!

Elegance made simple

Elegance made simple

Is to be elegant something simple to achieve? Absolutely not, trust me.

In fact Italians often say “la classe non e’ acqua”, which means “being classy is a rare quality, non common like water, which instead you can find everywhere”.

Simplicity is the key of pure elegance.

Have you noticed how the ballet dancers make their movements look so simple? What they do only looks easy and smooth, but actually – let me assure you- it’s very hard and requires years of practice! But the simplest they make their movements look to our eyes, the more perfect and harmonious their performance is.

This very same concept applies to elegance.

When a woman wears a nice simple black dress, a pair of high heels, a necklace or a pair of earrings (both together is too much), and a small purse or clutch bag, she looks so elegant already. If she also wears a chignon hair style and just a very natural make up she can be incredibly chic!

For a man is even easier (but will talk more about men style in one of my next articles): he can look so elegant with just a pair of dark pants (no jeans in my opinion) and a shirt, which he can wear inside with a leather belt or outside (depending how he looks and feels and what’s the occasion), some nice dark leather shoes, a clean hair cut and that’s it really!

But what is actually behind this “simplicity”?

For the ladies, the black dress has to perfectly fit your body, the length of the dress -depends on the occasion- but in most cases, I prefer it to be just above the knees. For the shoes right now I would go with the L.K. Bennett pump style that Kate Middleton has been wearing this past Autumn (nude or black are both just lovely). As for the purse/clutch anything small and brilliant: gold or with glitters is great for the evening, otherwise for a cocktail afternoon orange, coral or purple. For the earrings go with anything you like and since it’s the only piece of jewelry you will be wearing, I would go with something quite big and shining.

Please see my choices in the pictures attached to this article:

The dress is a Love Moschino knee sleeveless black dress.

The shoes are the nude pump style from L.K. Bennett.

The earrings are called "gold ball" by Swarovski.

The bag is a Ted Baker Glitter Clutch Bag.