Wardrobe classics for a bargain price - Designer outlets in Italy

Worth visiting if you are in the Florence area in Italy are the designer outlets just a short ride south of the city. One of my favourites is the Dolce and Gabbana outlet, located approximately 20 minutes south of Florence. Look for classic cocktail dresses, shirts, pencil skirts, suits, belts, jackets and shoes. The prices are very resonable, for example you can find a Dolce and Gabbana winter coat for approximately €400, compared to a retail price of more than €1000.

The biggest outlet located in the same area is The Mall, containing brands like Burberry, Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani, Gucci, Tod's, Stella McCartney, Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, La Perla, and Fendi. It started out with just one small outlet for Gucci, but has now expanded to an outdoor shopping center (you can also have a very nice lunch at the restaurant). At the Mall you can find high quality knitwear at Stella McCartney and Balenciaga, nice clothes at Emporio Armani, and very nice shoes and bags at YSL, Tod's and Bottega Veneta. It is also worth visiting Fendi for the shoes and bags. Burberry often has a very good assortment of classical scarves, duffel jackets and trench coats, but prices tend to still be quite high, especially compared to the UK.

Another outlet worth visiting while you are in the area is Prada, or SPACE as the outlet is called. The Prada outlet is located in Montevarchi, around 20 minutes south of The Mall, and has a great assortment from Prada, Miu Miu and Car Shoe. Look for Prada's knitwear, Miu Miu dresses and jackets, down jackets from Prada sport, and shoes from Prada. The prices at the Prada outlet are very reasonable but be aware that it might be a queue if you decide to go during the weekend (do not forget to take a queue number outside).

If you bring your boyfriend or houseband, be sure not to miss Ermenegildo Zenga and Giorgio Armani at The Mall, and the male department at Prada and Prada Sport. Just remember, as for all outlets, the assortment varies between occasions but a good rule of thumb is to avoid sales season.

Casual autumn jackets

Whether we like it or not, autumn is about to come. From a fashion point of view, autumn is my favourite time of year. I have always been a fan of British "countryside fashion", and two classical pieces that are worth investing in, since they never go out of fashion, are a classic tweed jacket and a waxed cotton jacket. Both jackets are great with jeans for that chic casual weekend look.

(Tweed jacket from Smythe and waxed cotton jacket from Belstaff, both at Net-a-Porter)

You can always change style by adding a scarf in a bright colour. For the tweed jacket, this scarf is one of my favourites for this season




















Scarf from Tara Matthews at Net-a-Porter

After sail "chic"

This weekend I am off to the archipelgo, yacht racing for the second time of my life. The race is no where near the Americas Cup or Fastnet, but rather a "just-for-fun-race" with good friends. The skipper (or at least the skipper's wife) seems to appreciate talents like "he is a good dancer" among the crew members so I think I fit in fairly well.

As the vain fashionista I tend to be, the current problem is what to wear for the after sail party? When sailing, I always have this vision of mooring, cruising around the harbour looking like someone out of a Sebago commercial. Unfortunately, this has never been the case so far. Instead I tend to feel like someone who sailed over the Atlantics without having a shower for a couple of weeks. But I still have that hope...

The three Rs

Today I attended a seminar about fashion trends for Autum/Winter 2010/11, held by Bibi Ronchi from Chiron designstudio in Como, Italy. One of the key messages was:

Reduse
Reuse
Recycle

I think we all heard that before, and the question is - will it happen this time? I sure hope so. Personally, I do not think it is realistic any time in the near future that we will all walk around in pants made by recycled PET bottles. But I do think we have come a long way if we manage to fulfill the first R: Reduce.

Today, many of us spend too much money on clothes, or accessories, we do not use very often (sometimes not even at all). We buy a dress in panic for a special occassion during a 40 minute lunch break. Or, we are about to go on vacation and we just NEED something new to wear. We also focus too much on what is the trend for the season, rather than asking ourselves which models fits me well, which colours suits me (or do I even like), or which clothes in my wardrobe are my favourites? Reducing may not always be the money you spend on clothes at this moment. But buying the right things now will reduce your spending over time. Or, at least you will have a wardrobe containing clothes you actually use over and over again, which in the end is a sustainable way of living.

Maybe not too rich but too thin

Wallis, Duchess of Windsor once said that a woman "can't be too rich or too thin". Last year, France adopted a law banning web pages, magazines and advertisers to use models that are too skinny and hence, could promote anorexia. At the Louis Vuitton A/W 09 fashion show, this model walked the catwalk. Seriously, if her legs are not too thin, then what is?

The Mistress

Inspiring book about the Mistress herself - Coco Chanel.