Outfits for Europe - Pt. 1

Milan and the Eternal City of Rome is coming up fast.

All of my buying and research  trips run more smoothly when I plan my outfits with care, in advance.

This will be especially true for my trip to Italy as we will be arriving in Milan in the build up to a busy summer and will then travel on to Rome and Lucca.

The weather will likely range from 25 to 35 degrees so I need to be cool and comfortable and plan ahead for surprises. Global warming is changing weather everywhere.  Here’s part 1 and a draft of some of the outfits I’ll be wearing during my two weeks away.

For once I am using white as the neutral colour, but in Pt 2 will include black as a friend has confirmed that chic in Milan = black..so when in Rome… or rather when in Milan…. 

My Mix is…

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Borrowed from the boys + throw on & go.
pattern with pattern.
A vintage Gucci handbag + neck scarf
Hotel Costes sound track
Andy Warhol + Matisse.
every James Bond movie.

Wool jacket – knitted by hand by friend Isabella in Paris. Available on request.
Waistcoat – this was a MNG but here’s a long version from Zara.Shoes – Scarosso, made in Italy

White Jean Jacket.
Trousers with ruffle – Zara
Liberatti Collection Lacquer Scarf Ring Twilly

Coach Twilly Scarf – vintage
Liberatti Horn Scarf Rings

My three golden rules for packing are

1.Plan activities in advance and apply real care in matching outfits to itineraries; Forget the pre-trip fatigue, avoid generic vs thought through solutions, and plan, plan, plan to succeed, you will be rewarded. 

2. Don’t over pack – edit, iron and roll key pieces of clothing –  you will thank yourself  when unpacking. Use zip lock bags for wires, tech and toiletries, tuck socks/ undies into shoes to save space. More tips at 15-best-ever-packing-tips.    

3. Do not forget extremes of weather, don’t forget a light rain jacket and sun hat. I recently bought an excellent reversible bucket hat in Australia  – stylish & practical. Sadly my Herschel Supply Bucket Hat is very hard to buy now but Tommy Hilfiger’s style is similar. I would advise buying these sorts of items well in advance.

I hope you enjoy your summer holidays and arrive perfectly organized, polished and poised!

Don’t forget to enter the Liberatti WIN A Liberty Scarf Competition – closes end of this month.
Have a creative week x Nicola

Screen Sirens in Sprezzatura

Sprezzatura

It was a sandstorm Saturday in Doha,  ideal then for a movie at home. We decided to dial up the iconic Annie Hall, and then followed a discussion about Sprezzatura in both film and television.

Sprezzatura refers to effortless elegance in dressing and is a phrase we apply to the ‘borrowed from the boys’ chic style adopted by many women nowadays.

We love the thrown-together floppy shirts, waistcoats and ties of Annie Hall, the droopy hat and wide leg trousers.

Dianne Keaton with Woodie Allen in the 1977 movie Annie Hall

Diane Keaton’s career is a chronicle of style, passion and human quirkiness. This Academy, BAFTA winning actor has brought life to characters in a diversity of films: The Family Stone, Reds, Something’s Gotta Give and the Godfather.
The style with which she has imbued her roles and off screen persona never fails to dazzle. 

Besides Keaton, here are some of our other favorite Sprezzatura screen stars, beautifully suited and booted and radiating girl power?” Hilary Swank for starters.

Hilary Swank in Amelia (2009)

Hilary Swank is never afraid step into challenging, and we suspect, roles that reflect her personal and Sprezzatura attitude; the awe-inspiring aviator Amelia Earhart, Kate the gifted concert pianist afflicted with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in You’re Not You, Maggie Fitzgerald in Million Dollar Baby and Brandon Tenna in Boys Don’t Cry.

Off screen Swank has launched e-commerce fashion brand Mission Statement which supports her commitment to Hilaroo the foundation that connects youth and abandoned animals.

Meryl Streep 1985 as Karen Blixen in Out of Africa

Out of Africa the movie that anointed Meryl Streep as a superstar status  inspired collections by Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, Michael Kors, Yves Saint Laurent and Thierry Mugler. In her own words Streep’s Sprezzatura to acting is, “A smattering of things I’ve learned from different teachers, but nothing I can put into a valise and open it up and say, ‘Now which one would you like’? Nothing I can count on and that makes it more dangerous. But then the danger makes it more exciting.”

Nicole Kidman as Lady Sarah Ashley in the 2008 historical action drama ‘Australia.’

 Nicole Kidman‘s film and theatre performances reveal a wide canvass of interests and passion; Eyes Wide Shut, Moulin Rouge, Photograph 51, Cold Mountain, Rabbit Hole and Batman Returns.

We loved her as Lady Ashley, courageous and at odds with the wild Australian outback. She is at her best in killer ‘borrowed from the boys’  outback wear, or sitting astride her white steed – every bit the polished Lady of the Manor.

“I call myself the wild card,” she says, “because I have no idea what it is. I’m so spontaneous—sometimes to my detriment and sometimes my benefit—but it’s how I’ve always been. My husband never knows what I’m going to choose. And then he’ll ask me to explain why and I can’t!”

 Coming soon to HBO Little Big Lies starring Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern and Zoë Kravitz.

Robin Wright as US first lady Claire Underwood in the Netflix production of House Cards.

Golden Globe Sprezzatura star Robin Wright launched her career across television and movie screens with the 80’s soap Santa Barbara, the movie Princess Bride, The Girl with Dragon Tattoo and Forest Gump. Robin joins the  Wonder Woman reboot and Blade Runner 2049. Check out her off screen passion  Raise Hope for Congo and  When Elephants Fight.   

Anne Hathaway as the intern in the Devil Wears Prada.

Screen and street credits for Anne Hathaway reads as a life being well lived. Her presence in roles on Broadway, as a voice actor and on screen in Devil Wears Prada, Brokeback Mountain, Interstellar, Le Miserable, and last year’s Barbara Streisand album ‘Movie Partners Sing Broadway.’ 2018, Hathaway joins Sandra Bullock and a host of Sprezzatura star power for Ocean’s 8. Hathaway.

Have a stylish week ahead! Don’t forget to enter our Competition this month to WIN a fabulous Liberty Scarf! 

PS:  Stanley Tucci’s window check trousers totally rock Sprezzzatura and steal the scene!!