Liner Notes

I started learning Italian at university because of three men. The first was John the Baptist by Caravaggio:

John the Baptist by Caravaggio, 1604.

(Pic from Wiki)

After discovering this artwork I became fanatical about baroque art. All of the drama, rich colours and intense lighting pulled me in.

The other two gentlemen were Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. I remember seeing their Spring 2002 RTW collection and being absolutely blown away by it. The perfectly tailored suits, corseted dresses, flower-print chiffon, woven ribbon mini skirts, all of which I still covet today. Additionally, all of the It-girls were in the show: Gisele, Mini, Maggie, Anouck, Carmen, Stella, Jaquetta, Erin, Karen, Karolina, Alek Wek, plus more! That collection just had me. It was such an awesome spectacle! So feminine and yet structured and powerful, so carefree and beautiful, an array of clothes that would take you from your office in Milan to a weekend away on the Amalfi Coast. Hey, a girl can dream!

I had to indulge my fantasy, I couldn’t resist! So i took up the Italian language at uni and studied it for 3 years. I haven’t been back to Italy or turned to the language for a couple of years now, but it’s comforting to know that the Italian woman is still as beautiful as that initial imprint from 8 years ago. This is Dolce and Gabbana’s Spring/Summer 2010 woman:

Simply beautiful.

Italian Springs and Summers to me mean warm, rich colours (think golden tones, shades of red from Carnelian to Persimmon to Venetian red (of course!) and browns including bronze, copper, burnt sienna and sandy brown) or an overtly sexy, smokey eye. And here they are…

A golden eye at Pucci with a flick of mascara.

Chocolate-brown smudged all over the eye and up to the brow at Fendi.

And at Versace, a royal purple smokey eye. With a bit of practice this look could be quite fun to wear on a night out!

How-to’s coming soon, I promise! xxxx

(all pics from http://www.style.com/fashionshows/)