While in Le Cinque Terre I met this pretty mom who is a journalist that lives in Milan with her husband and super cute daughter. We started chatting about what its like to work from home and I just had to share her style with you.
I loved chatting with her throughout our first dinner at La Francesca Resort about her personal beauty blog Beauty Milk (in Italian) and all of the projects she has underway. Tall and naturally thin, she looked so lovely in her short tunic with an obi tied leather belt. If there is one thing I appreciate, it’s a women who takes the time to dress up for a dinner in a restaurant, and I’ve written here about why you should dress up on vacation, it is the perfect occasion to “up” your style.
As nice as she looked on the first night, it was her simple but put together look on our second night in the resort that really caught my eye. She worn a short skirt, leopard print top and a simple Tiffany heart chain, that was a gift from her husband.
No one wants a FAKE!
I’ve never been one to really care about owning any signature jewelry pieces, big label items or “must have” bags. I buy what I like, what I can afford and once a season one really well-made item, that is almost always hand made it Italy, and never a big designer brand.
I’ve written here all about Italy’s Vintage and Antique Markets and how to find them. They are held intermittently throughout all of Italy, and this post will help you with the keywords to find the next Antique and Vintage market in the city where you are living or visiting.
Browsing the Antiques Market at the Lago Trasimeno in Italy.
In Modena, the big Antique Market is held once per month from the Spring to the Fall in the Piazza Grande in front of the Duomo of Modena. You can find information about the 2015 markets, including the “rare books” market here. All of the sellers are certified in order to be able to sell, and you’ll find a wide assortment of antique furniture, vintage clothing, silver, purses, jewelry, antique lamps, brass items and of course many pieces from various eras including memorabilia and collectors items.
It takes ALL OF MY WILL POWER to walk through the market and not buy something. Usually, I go with 20 or 30 euro in my pocket so I’m limited to only spend that much, IF I buy anything. My all time favorite things have been bought at the antiques market including these sunglasses, this LV bag and about a hundred other items!
Being married to an exotic leather artisan has really opened my eyes to the kind of GOOD stuff you can find at these vintage markets. Marco, my husband, along with his parents, have found designer REAL ALLIGATOR bags at 50 euro because the owner of the booth didn’t know they were authentic! Real Louis Vuitton wallets and bags (remember Italy is right beside France!) and vintage jewelry items in gold, silver and other precious metals in perfect condition. So this weekend we stopped in on this little booth and my husband noticed a perfect HERMES vintage wallet for 50 euros. I would never be able to tell if it was real, but he is a HERMES aficionado! With his fine eye he’s able to scrutinize the craftsmanship, the quality of the leather and metal accessories, the lining of the wallet and all of the particular details to evaluate its authenticity.
On the table, was a Tiffany necklace and bracelet for sale. Vintage items from the 70s but in perfect condition. I have NO IDEA how to tell the real deal apart from a fake so I told the vendor I would think about it. Luckily, I keep the internet in my pocket (my smart phone) and read a few different articles, including this one which is VERY COMPREHENSIVE about how to spot a fake Tiffany. Although not mentioned in the article, another way to confirm if you’ve bought the real deal is to WEIGH the necklace or bracelet. According to my research, the Tiffany heart toggle bracelet should weigh approximately 32 grams and the toggle heart necklace should weigh approximately 72, mine both checked out! In general, fakes would be much lighter! So I went to the bank, took out some cash and bought myself a vintage Tiffany necklace, bracelet and a vintage HERMES Dogon wallet! No shopping until July for me!
What I Wore
Things are really starting to get busy at work in preparation for our new brand launching (stay tuned!). Yesterday I went into the office for a meeting and I totally had fun dressing for the part. I wore my crystal glasses, a thrifted black wool dress, military boots (here’s a post dedicated to them!), and of course all of my *new* vintage items.
The silver bracelet and necklace were a little lack luster and in need of a good cleaning so I easily renewed them with some home chemistry!
How to Easily and Gently Clean Silver 925
- Start with a large piece of aluminum foil (approximately 10 cm x 10 cm) and place the jewelry on it.
- Sprinkle with backing soda so you cover the jewelry
- Loosely wrap in the aluminum foil, so as much of the aluminum foil touches the jewelry as possible
- Boil a pot of water and place your aluminum foil packets into the boiling hot water.
- Wait between 10 seconds and a minute and stir with a plastic or wooden spoon to agitate the water
- Fish out your aluminum packets and open
- Run the jewelry under cold water, being sure to plug the drain so you don’t lose small pieces!
- Wipe down with a cotton cloth to clean off any residue
- Repeat if the silver is very tarnished
And voilà – GOOD AS NEW!
Now onto YOUR style…
#REASONSTODRESS Real Mom Street Style Linkup
Thank you to everyone who linked up last week! Don’t forget to join me next week with my co-host Marta from Sweaters, Stripes and Sweets! If you would like to co-host the #reasonstodress linkup I would love to have you, please feel free to email me at [email protected] !
Fab Five from Last Week’s Linkup
Elegance and Mommyhood
A Labour of Life
Lil Miss JB Style
Kishina’s Kurvy Korner
The Resourceful Mama
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