viva versace!

i love fashion.

i love interesting outfits, crazy shoes, out of the box style.

while my favorite outfit may be yoga pants and a hoodie, i do enjoy seeing what's new in one of the fashion capitals of the world.

during this fall's spring/summer '17 women's fashion week i headed across town to hang around the versace fashion show.

i took my dslr and the lens with the biggest zoom i own, a tamron 18-200 mm, and joined the crowd of paparazzi and fashion groupies.

there were some fairly big names walking in the show and in town to watch...think supermodel legends like naomi campbell and adriana lima and tennis superstar serena williams. none of these ladies set foot out the front entrance with the rest of the crowd, but there was still plenty of eye catching outfits to capture.

here are some of my favorite shots.

this outfit, those glasses

loved the poufy sleeve, dark lip and graffiti behind her

Brazilian style blogger Helena Bordon

Chiara Ferragni, famous Italian fashion blogger and style icon

she didn't seem to have a ticket for the show, but she sure looked ready

Fashion stylist and blogger @faye_tsui

this girl...loved to pose.

models Impy and Kylie Vonnahme
Don't you love to see a model eat? 

Belgian model Hanne Gaby Odiele
modest much?

I think this is model Ondria Hardin, but it was so long ago I'm no longer sure!

American model Vanessa Moody
She stood around for quite awhile, waiting for a ride, so I had several chances to
get a good shot of her. She's got a strong Jennifer Garner thing going on.

Stalking an event is a bit weird, but truly it is so much fun trying to catch a good shot here or there! Looking forward to the next round of shows in February!

A Walk Around Milan

Around Milan there's plenty of graffiti to be seen and a lot of it is a mess, which distracts from the beauty of the city. But, every now and again, you find some street art gems that add a bit of polish to the diamond in the rough that is Milan.

Here are some recent finds...

One of my favorites...

And this is just so random that I love it.

Many shops paint their metal 'tapparelle'.
I think this helps minimize the random graffitti that shows up.

A shout out to Rosie the Riveter...

Many of these are found in and around the Porta Ticinese area.

And, different from the spray painted scenes above, this Wall of Dolls appeared during Men's Fashion Week in June. The wall is designed to highlight awareness of violence against women and many designers submitted dolls to be placed on the wall.

I had seen the display while driving past in a taxi and had to walk back one day to see what it was. 

Odds and Ends...

In Italy, there seems to be no shortage of 'off the beaten path' little gems.

For three years I've been hearing about this little shop full of leather bags, made right in the shop. And for three years I've been begging for someone to take me.

Finally, just before our Christmas holidays, Peggy agreed to that we would finally make a trip to the shop. We borrowed Maureen's GPS system and plugged in her saved directions for "Geppetto." Without those directions, finding this shop would have been impossible.

We wound around roundabouts, down several streets, and parked in a parking lot. Then we walked behind one building to another to an unmarked door. I have absolutely NO idea how to get back there again.

Pushing open the door, you find several metal shelving units covered in bags and several tables where the two men have been working on various bags and leather goods.

sheets of leather hang everywhere

Peggy said that the supply was a little lackluster this time around. It was, after all, just before the holidays.

bags on display

I, however, scored the deal of the night.

I bought a smooth and soft black leather bag. The interior label reads Epoca Uomo, which is a Japanese label. My friends asked if he had more bags like mine, and he told us only in Japan.

just a simple, black tote bag

From our conversations, it appears that this little shop constructs bags for several different designer lines around the world. When they work on orders, they sell a bag or two in their own shops.

one of the men making bags

I couldn't find the exact bag on the label's website, but a similar one was retailing for about 300 euro, and I most definitely did not pay that!

More recently in January, Men's Fashion Week rolled around. This was evidenced by a few extra well-chiseled jaw lines hopping on and off the tram.

I've always been interested in fashion and style, even though my favorite outfit is leggings and a hoodie. So, on a cold Sunday night, I wandered over to a nearby street to see what the scene was like around a big name show. The Prada show was set to take place at 6 pm, and in true Italian style, it started a bit later. But, it was fun to see various people hoping to gain entrance to the show and those that arrived who were quickly let in, often stopped by the paparazzi for a few quick photos.

the scene from the street

I recognized no one, but still enjoyed the whole scene. The show was streamed live on a website so I was able to see what was happening inside while standing on the street.

a screen shot from my phone- I found it interesting
that they steered away from a traditional straight runway.

When the show ended, everyone quickly hustled down the street looking for their appointed driver to pick them up. It was a mess of cars and taxis, in the truest Italian sense.

It was fun to observe all the action from the outside. Perhaps one day someone will get me on the inside.

But, what would I wear?