Window Shopping

Osklen! One of my favorite stores… Great Brazilian design. In mid-April they had a theme of indigo in the window and the front of the store, with a display of the simplified process. The clothes were rich and various shades of blue. Apparently, it is difficult to achieve a concentrated deep blue. It takes many “dippings.” Osklen shoes are always amazing too.

Also, a friend and I wandered into Kilo Fascion where you shop by the kilo. You choose the item, put it on a scale, type in the code and get the price. So for instance, a Gaultier dress that was originally 715 euro, ended up being 95 euro. Only problem is you walk around with all this stuff, but don’t know how much any of it is before you put it on the scale. Surprise!

Back together again

Milan again… This time for a little longer. My first day here, I landed like an astronaut right at the beginning of Milan Design Week. Design, fashion, parties… it was a great way to start my trip. Fortunately I was still on nyc time so I was able to go out and stay up all night. I went out, met people, couldn’t understand a lick of what was being said around me… Fabulous and dreamy…

I went out during the day a few times to see the exhibits. One day I went up Via Tortona, which is in a neighborhood full of warehouses and old factories turned into photo and design studios . Thousands of people, furniture, lighting, products everywhere… Amazing exhibits.

Death in Italy

Everyone knows there are a million churches in Italy, and because there are many people buried in these churches there are lots of symbols of death. Skulls and bones are abundant.

In some churches you have to walk on stone monuments to the people buried there and some of the stones are carved to look like a skeleton asleep in bed, complete with the head on a pillow. Some of the stones are inscribed with epitaphs that describe the nature of the person (“she died a virgin at 22 years old”) or the way the person died (“he drowned to death”).

It also happened to be halloween while I was in Rome…

Intro to Florence

Florence is a really beautiful city. You hear that statement all the time, and it’s true. It’s a very laid back, romantic city. For the first few days I was there, I was struck by the number of couples making out by the river – young and old (I had never seen old people feel each other up before). There are historic structures everywhere, like the giant gate to the city down the street from my apartment. Embedded in a stone wall were two of the largest doors I’d ever seen and they were built centuries ago.

There are different stores for every type of food: cheese, pastries, meat, bread, fruit and vegetables. Artisan shops are everywhere selling jewelry, furniture, leather bags and shoes, figurines, frames, lamps, books, decorative paper, clothing from recycled material… There are a million museums and so much art and architecture it’s overwhelming.

It’s a city that is kind to older folks. I saw eighty-year-old ladies riding bicycles through the streets… One housebound lady across the street from me sends down a basket on a string every day at noon to receive her mail from the mail-woman making deliveries on her scooter. There are also lots of very precocious teenagers in town, some of who commute to school every day from long distances.

Florence is kind of a quiet town, but there is nightlife for sure. I was actually able to get my dance on a few times, which was great.

Stefano Bemer

My main reason for spending time in Florence was to find and talk to shoemakers. I was living in the Oltrarno section of Florence which is full of artisans, and on my second day I stumbled upon a beautiful little shoeroom of handmade shoes that was actually on my to-see list. The owner was Stefano Bemer (the man Daniel Day Lewis apprenticed for). I chatted with him for a little while, and he was very pleasant. He told me business was pretty slow these days but hopefully things would get better… the same story I kept hearing my whole trip, unfortunately. He had a young woman working for him, similar to many other shoemaker shops in Florence – it seems that women are into making shoes, which is great!

The Florence ‘county’ fair

I was invited to meet a friend of a friend at a park in Florence for a giant fair. There were hot air balloon rides, HUGE bulls, ponies, mushroom exhibits, food vendors, wine sellers and hundreds of screaming children. It was fun.

Ssss… sssiii…

Scissor Sisters. The first thing I saw on the TV when I got to my apartment in Florence. This one is for Matt!!!

F. R. E. S. H….

This is what I saw upon stepping into the Esselunga supermarket in Milan. Aaahhhh….

After all that baloney, what can I say?

Backtrack: more Budapest gems

Just going through my pics. Flea market stuff (including useless Hungarian bank notes); weird watermelon sculptures; Negro brand cough lozenges; more street art; some nail art and awesomely gross chewing gum.

Milan fashion, beeyoch.

Milan is expensive! So is New York, but whatever… One day I was walking around the city, marveling at all the fabulous stores and well-dressed people, especially the men… Down a small street a name caught my eye – Premiata. There was a tiny store with these fabulous boots in the window. I had seen their boots in Barney’s but never knew they had a store. Their shoes are some of my favorite – just beautiful, interesting design, great textures and use of materials. Little did I know I was standing on the famous Via Della Spiga, where boots cost upwards of $700. Oh well. At least I met my sweet friend Raffaele who works there.

Nearby there are other beautiful stores with incredibly designed products – stores like Marni, Prada, Krizia, Dolce and Gabanna… Miss Blumarine with fur coats for children. Paradise and Hell.