Le Geek C’est Chic

This Sunday my husband actually planned a "date night" with me. This is a BIG DEAL as I don't think he's ever actually planned a date with me in the 3.7 years since we had our son! We usually drag the poor kid everywhere, but on Sunday we left him with his "nonni" and enjoyed a beautiful sunny day in Modena complete with yummy street food, espresso in a caffè and a visit to MATA, the Ex-Tobacco Factory turned art gallery that I've blogged before about here : "URBAN RENEWAL & REGENERATION {MODENA IS NOT TORONTO} THE STORY OF THE MANIFATTURA TABACCHI LOFTS".

My 70s Dream

Lately I've been a little obsessed over Gucci and their new recently announced designer Alessandro Michele. He overhauled the last few collections infusing every look with the REAL Gucci feeling of 1970s retro Italian cool vibes. Contrasting fabrics like gold texture sparkle with gym approved waistbands, tied bow collars, berets and oversized beige tinted glasses.....honestly...it is enough to get my heart rate up. Some patterns and coats from the Spring 2016 collection (I've pinned a lot of the looks to this board) actually had me watering at the mouth. I'm reminded of my favorite photographs of my mom and dad from the late 70s and early 80s where their accessories, hair and style just ooozed cool.

I'm going to be jumping right into this trend over the next few weeks with my outfits and I'll be dissecting the trend for "real life" wear as well, since maybe we're not all confident enough to get away with ...well...this:

The Mannequin of History

So let's pretend you all know of my undying love for the medium sized city where I live in Italy! Aside from the weather (which is a little too humid for my liking but that I can't really complain about since it is 13°C/46°F today and sunny!) Modena is a wonderful place to live and I have found so much joy living here, I've also written extensively about things to do if you visit!

Ok so here's the deal.... there is this beautiful ex-Tabacco company that a private company turned into apartments that no one bought (I wrote about that here). So the city stepped in and rented out a huge portion and turned it into a new art gallery. Insert hoards of complaints, poo pooers, nay says, and my all time favorite WHINERS here. The first people to complain are the ones who have never tried to accomplish anything, in my humble opinion. The site is beautiful, I wish the city would step in to offer a tax cut to a cooking school, a dance school, a bar, a restaurant, a Caffè and local shops to FILL this space instead of leaving it as a beautifully awkward no man's land.

It just so happens that Massimo Bottura's wife is also a major Contemporary Art Collector and well known in the New York Art Work. In fact, the World's top chef and his wife have an incredible personal collection and were instrumental working with CuratorRichard Milazzo to put together one of the best Contemporary Art exhibits I have seen in YEARS by exhibiting pieces from in Modena.

Some of my favorite contemporary artists were on display, we're talking Cindy Sherman, Basquiat, Felix Gonzales-Torres, Jenny Holzer, Julian Schnabel, Andres Serrano, Kiki Smith, Chen Zhen, and MANY more Italian contemporaries that I had not heard of but was so happy to discover. Oh, not to mention a piece by Jake and Dinos Chapman that I have ONLY EVER SEEN in my 20th Century Art Books that is way too controversial to post here or this would no longer be rated "safe for work"!

I mean, what more do people want? In the 6 years I've been living in Modena I have NEVER seen a collection of Contemporary Art that was this important.....like ever, and I worry I never will again. And you know why people complained? Because it cost 5 euro to get in. 5 Euro. Not 15, not 25, not 50....just 5. Sometimes Italians irk me because they are so used to getting everything for free that they don't realize what the real worth of things are. Go to New York City and try to see these works for 5 euro!!

Out of my group of friends (all working and well-educated) I think only 4 went to the exhibit, and only when it was free. Some things make me angry about Modena, and this is one of those things. Anyways, if you are anywhere near Modena before the end of January GO SEE THIS EXHIBIT, you can find all the visiting info on the MATA website. I'm going back in a week because I did a bit of research into some artists I'd never heard of and I want to see a few things again, so maybe I'll see you there!

What I Wore

I don't know what goes through my head when I get ready in the morning. Let's just say it usually involves music, dancing (I'm into shuffling lately but also listening to Dustin Tebbut!) and a bit of nervousness. I mean there are things I just really want to wear, like this outfit, but then I look in the mirror and see a 50+ year old school marm and I second guess my style and think about just putting on jeans and a plain top and sneakers. I've always done my own thing with my style, even if it means that I stick out, especially in a city where a black puffy coat is the norm from late October to March

I don't wear my glasses nearly enough, but you can't go to an art gallery if you can't see, so I wore my Marc by Marc Jacobs frames, a green beret I picked up in Paris for 5 euros, a Cashmere sweater by Black Dog in Venice, Pierre Darre booties (featured in my Shoe Haul post here), a Stefanel coat (seen here , here, here, here and here!) a Vintage duck print skirt made in germany and an alligator belt of my own design. My bag is by local brand and artisan store La Vacchetta Grassa, you can read all about them here from my "Hand Made" series.

Speaking of belts...over the Christmas holiday I was hard at work designing and in this month's magazine I talk a bit about the new series on the blog dedicated to the building of a brand. It is a LOT of work. I mean, if you never want to sleep again you should decide to launch a fashion brand from scratch!

In other news I'm still working on some changes to the linkup, blog, magazine etc. So this month I've featured 5 bloggers from the last linkup in the magazine!