Bellissima 1945-1968: The roots of Italy’s post-war fashion revolution

Curated by Maria Luisa Frisa, Anna Mattirolo, and Stefano Tonchi of W magazine, “Bellissima” presents a selection of 80 outfits by Italian greats such as Salvatore Ferragamo, Emilio Pucci, Mila Schön, and Valentino that capture the spirit of the country’s fashion output during two decades of enormous cultural change. On display alongside the clothing is a selection of accessories, including jewelry, as well as shoes, hats, and handbags that highlight Italy’s enduring tradition of fine craftsmanship.

Rome, Italy, 2 December 2014 – 3 May 2015

Read more here, here and here

Imagine:Dolce & Gabbana - Mosaico Collection

Imagine

all the work and craftsmanship that goes into everyday objects.

Imagine

 the imagination that goes into one piece of beautiful article of everyday use.

Like these glasses from Dolce & Gabbana 

made with mosaic

in the finest Italian tradition.

Beautiful!

Something for the Weekend

Happiness? 

The color of it must be spring green, impossible to describe until I see a just-hatched lizard sunning on a stone. That color, the glowing green lizard skin, repeats in every new leaf. 

"The force that through the green fuse drives the flower..." Dylan Thomas wrote. 

"Fuse" and "force" are excellent word choices-the regenerative power of nature explodes in every weed, stalk, branch. Working in the mild sun, I feel the green fuse of my body, too. Surges of energy, kaleidoscopic sunlight through the leaves, the soft breeze that makes me want to say the word "zephyr"-this mindless simplicity can be called happiness. 

 Frances Mayes, Bella Tuscany: The Sweet Life in Italy 

 Every year, when Spring approaches, I take Bella Tuscany from my shelves and immerse myself in Spring.

 I love Italy.I love Frances Mayes' books.

 

Bottega Veneta Living

I know Bottega Veneta from the lovely signature pattern of its chicissimi leather goods.

I find it interesting that its devotion to perfection is reflected in the creation of residential areas, 

like this one in Rome.

I love the mushroom backdrop, perfectly relaxing and very chic, 

accentuated by the lovely mustard and red, reflecting the colours of the eternal city.

It is the same attitude towards colour that appears in the firm's Early Autumn collection

Proof that good taste and solid craftsmanship will last and last bringing comfort and pleasure.

Live a tasteful life,

Darling Frances Mayes

I have this ritual. Ever since I first read Bella Tuscany,Frances Mayes' first book on the sweet life in Tuscany, I make a point of going through it every year. It is absolutely my favorite book to ring in Spring.

In it, Ms. Mayes describes how she fell in love with and lovingly restored an old farm,  Bramasole, in the village of Cortona, Italy.

All this, sprinkled with lovely accounts of life in rural Tuscany.

I just found out that a new book by Frances Mayes, Every Day in Tuscany: Seasons of an Italian Life. 

In it, her most recent Tuscan memoire, Mayes conducts readers through the gentle and sometimes violent and disruptive undulations of the seasons from winter to summer in her Tuscan home of Bramasole. Mayes and her husband, Ed, situated themselves even more firmly in Tuscany a few years ago when they discovered a falling-down stone cottage on a rugged slope and restored it as a second home. We follow Mayes as she forages for the prized amarini, cherries the size of five-caret rubies, which are bottled with alcohol and brought out in winter to spoon over polenta cake, pears, blackberries, asparagus, fennel flowers, and figs. We continue on our journey with her as she leads us in search of the great Renaissance artist Luca Signorelli from Cortona, where her new house lies. Mayes's affectionate and warm memoir vividly celebrates the lush abundance and charm of daily life in the Italian countryside.  

Ms. Mayes' narrative embraces the season. This is something I find particularly appealing. It makes the book easy to navigate and digest, while it stimulates your energetic appetite for every season's delights. A must read.

{Photo credits: "thyme goes by..." , Borgo di Vagli}

Pink Rome

 From our Spring trip to Rome. Rome is such an elegant lady!