Ciao! Did you miss me?!
We had a *fabulous* time in Rome - despite rain forecasts, it only rained twice - in the evenings - and actually was welcome relief from the delicious heat. When it rained, I took it as a sign for us to drink prosecco.
I'll split my photos over two posts - shopping and a capsule recap, and then I'll post up some pictures of Rome, which I snapped as I found. So, BIG post alert....
So, the capsule (see last post
here), the verdict was - all good. I went with with shoes not boots (good decision) and went sock-free all the way through, due to the heat. So pleased I discovered Camper shoes, I can walk for miles in them with no rubbing. I went into the Camper store in Rome and said ciao to my shoes. They were the same price in Rome as in London, so I won't need to stock up until next year*
*More on prices later
Having a variety of scarves was such a win - I wore a light one during the day lightly around my neck to shield me from the sun -
... and wore a looped jersey one with a tshirt in the evenings as a wrap.
I packed 3 jersey tshirts, a tunic dress, two light cardis and a thicker jumper and this was just about the right amount for rotating and feeling I had enough fresh clothes for the evening too, over 5 days. I couldn't have done this with a carry on case!
I din't wear the
light quilted jacket, but had it rained in the days, it may well have come out & as it packed small, there were no issues.
I added a second pair of full-length legging for my friend Justin Case, but didn't wear them - these shorty ones were fine -
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| just walking past, thanks |
Anyway, SHOPPING!
On my 'list' was a leather jacket, or possibly a leather skirt if the jacket was too tricky, leggings & socks. I find leather jackets tricky as I really don't like the motocross look, it isn't me - but understandably that is the main way they are styled, with buckles and all such. Blazers are an ok shape on me but I wanted a leather coat I can close. Too much gold bucklage etc is also a no no. Oh, I am picky. But it needed to be right. I have coveted
Sheila's short white leather jacket and red coat as these are the styles I prefer but have found hard to find. Also coloured leather is fun.
Ok I will shut up now - ta dah!
You like? I like!! There was quite a lot of looking & trying on, on Sunday afternoon and part of Monday - but it wasn't til Tuesday that I ventured back to a leather shop I had seen on Sunday morning (closed as we were up early) where I hit the jackpot. The assistant was so helpful & explained we just needed to try lots on. However, if I hadn't looked already at high brow shops (la Rinascente - a department store like a UK Harvey Nichols / House of Fraser - waaay too pricey. Michael Kors jacket, I am looking at you), lower brow shops (hmm, leather was a bit suspect) and in vintage shops (some lovely things, and at reasonable prices, but just not in my size or too much on the motocross tip) - then I may not have got it.
Here is a paparazzi shot of the back -
I got it from this shop -
I tried to get a good picture of the shop as it had a great window display, but kept being photobombed by random people standing in front of the window on the phone etc.
We took my jacket out for pizza -
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| dairy free was surprisingly easy in Rome |
The magic leather jacket formula for me is:
Colour + short (longer looked bad) + texture on the shoulders + curved seaming at the back + silver fastenings + cute floral lining + patient shopping partner.
I really mean the last part of the equation - Mr SS gave me very clear and helpful and feedback on the proportions as I was trying on - sometimes not good to hear, but absolutely necessary, as it was a big purchase.
OK, more on the shops. As mentioned before, I lived in Milan for a year after university - about 9 years ago now I think. So I had some shops to make a beeline for. Rome has two branches of la Rinascente, but we only went into one - it wasn't as good as I remembered - partly because the one in Milan is very big, but also I think at the time, as the pound was so strong back then, you could get really high quality stuff for a much better rate. Now, some European brands like Camper are the same price there, as they are in London, so it isn't an 'investment' purchase any more! I also liked a shop called Stefanel, but it has moved from being like Cos to being more like LK Bennett, so less my kinda thing. However, lots of my other favourites were still going strong - Max & Co, Sisley & Intimissimi. The other thing to bear in mind is that I lived on the outskirts of Milan so had access to lots of factory outlets or local consignment-type shops - there aren't so many of those in Central Rome!
The vintage shops were mainly clustered on this street -
This one was particularly good -
On Sunday we visited a market that only opens Sunday 11-3 on the other side of the huge Borghese gardens -
I love the chap on the left - I expect he had just been to church, but then again, he may just look that spiffy every day.
There were lots of great vintage handbags and jewellery, as well as old & new
most likely stolen clothes. The more magpie-y types would have loved it. I didn't find anything, but it was great just walking around & browsing.
Leggings-buying was a fail - I think I want the 'moon on a stick' (e.g. a pattern but not an overly loud one, not too much stretch compared to cotton etc) but I did get a good couple of pairs of shorty-thinny-socks. Italy does those well :-)
Oh, and a scarf! Mr SS and I actually bought matching ones but we will NEVER wear them at the same time. I will wear mine in the next few days. They are very very soft. Here is Mr SS in his -
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| urban grit scene specially picked |
He is a little shy. The knot was taught to us by the shop owner - he was very forthright on the Correct Way to wear the scarf.
Phew, well done if you made it to the end. I'll post up some views of Rome in the next post.
Looking forward to catching up with everyone's blogs!
