the sockrates

miu miu

2013-07-03T13:42:00.000-07:00

Miu Miu dress, Pura Lopez pumps

Emiliano and I celebrated a very special day/evening together about a month ago, which meant I got to bring out a special dress for the first time since purchasing it in Italy about the same amount of time ago. We took these photos in my mother's peony garden, which is significant not only because they're my favourite flower, but also for the sentiment of this day.

Photos taken by Emiliano Sune

the square skirt

2013-06-05T12:39:00.001-07:00

Max Mara silk blouse, Louis Vuitton skirt, Emilio Pucci heels,

Maihagen necklace, resin bow bracelet from Milan

I finally managed to debut this Louis Vuitton skirt (vintage from Milan) that I purchased in 2009. Somehow it fits now - both literally, as I've shrunk a size or two, and stylistically with the new square prints that have been popping up in current Vuitton pieces. It's no secret that fashion is cyclical, yet I always feel the same high level of surprise when something from the past is suddenly so relevant. There is satisfaction in rediscovery.

back in BC

2013-06-01T12:29:00.000-07:00

Byblos denim onesie, Emilio Pucci shoes

Surprise! I'm back in Victoria. The city has undergone many changes in the nearly 2 years spent away: mall complexes have been built, favourite restaurants have expanded, favourite shops have renovated and revamped their interiors. It's a strange sensation to come back to your home city and suddenly feel "foreign", but it is exciting to rediscover the area and to try to remember to speak English to everyone when out and about. Yesterday evening I had to fight the now-reflex of ordering our sushi dinner in Italian. Baby steps.

I wanted to channel a kind of Lana del Rey (outfit - not hair or makeup) vibe and this Byblos onesie (vintage from Italy) with it's Harley Davidson-esq motifs and "live free, ride free, etc" written all over it seemed fitting with a pair of girly pumps. All I need now is a palm tree and a grungy motel pinball machine.

Photos taken by Emiliano Sune

jil minimal

2013-04-09T08:50:00.000-07:00

Jil Sander

Looking forward to warm enough weather for these lovely sandals. I love the way they softly curve and their raised-but-narrow silhouette.

dior and minimalism

2013-03-05T11:20:00.004-08:00

vintage Dior coat, Jil Sander belt, J Brand jeans,

Carlo Pazolini shoes, Moschino bag

Back from being sick two times this month... how I managed that I do not know. My body is clearly fed up with defending itself against Euro viruses and just decided to stop I guess. The top portion of this outfit is in recognition of Raf's new post at Dior with a touch of his former Jil Sander. I'm liking this new belt.

Photos by Emiliano Sune

scandinavia girl

2013-02-13T05:57:00.002-08:00

Pollini leather jacket, Vince cashmere cardigan, By Malene Birger blouse,
Stefanel tights, Bruno Magli boots, Marni bag

This outfit makes me think of my time living in Oslo Norway four years ago. The Norwegian girls were wearing pearl earrings and leather jackets, leather tall boots and some variation of a cotton blouse like this one, which I purchased there at the time. Being 100% of Norwegian descent myself, I have a fondness for Scandinavian minimalism - both in home design elements and in clothing items. Think of this look as a snapshot of four years ago Oslo... though I think it's still currently acceptable.

Photos by Emiliano Sune

chocolate mint

2013-02-10T09:34:00.000-08:00

Calvin Klein Collection leather blazer, Stefanel cardigan, unknown silk top,

Pure cashmere scarf, Max Mara belt, new J Brand jeans,

Giuseppe Zanotti booties, Marni bag

I must be craving a Nanaimo bar or something decadently chocolate with mint... these are definitely dessert hues. The colour of these new jeans is aptly called "gingerbread" which is ironic in the sense that my fitting into them is dependent on sensibly keeping real gingerbread to a reasonable minimum... anyone else suddenly jonesing for a cookie?

Photos by Emiliano Sune

28 - thursday's child

2013-02-08T10:53:00.002-08:00

Tequila Solo bow top, Comme des Garcons x H&M cardigan, Max Mara belt,

J Brand jeans, silver and marquite key necklace, sheep slippers

This is what I wore for my birthday dinner yesterday eve, but swapped the slippers for Bruno Magli over the knee boots. Had planned on dressing up more elegantly, but it was freezing out and we were planning to walk the kilometer to the restaurant, so keeping it youthful and casual it is.

Photo by Emiliano Sune using an old point and shoot Canon

lemon meringue

2013-02-06T08:56:00.001-08:00

Lacoste top, vintage fur collar, Maison Martin Margiela pants,

Marni bag, Giuseppe Zanotti booties

This is kind of a part II to the previous post. The lemony-frothiness of the top situation makes me think of spring desserts.

Photos by Emiliano Sune

sunshine neutrals

2013-02-05T03:34:00.000-08:00

Pollini leather jacket, vintage fur collar, Maison Martin Margiela pants,

Marni bag, Giuseppe Zanotti booties

Enjoying the sun in some neutral tones... that blue sky <3

Photos by Emiliano Sune

snake charmer

2013-01-31T04:18:00.000-08:00

Stefanel cardigan, cashmere sweater, unknown vintage snake belt, McQ skirt,

Emilio Cavallini tights, Cole Haan pumps, Marni bag

Wearing python print tights is taking a snake print pretty literally: i.e. freaking my man out just a little bit (he hates snakes), but I think they're actually really flattering in a leg-slimming way. Paired with a vintage snake belt and a harem-hem skirt and we're ready to go. Even the sunshine cooperated to warm up the feel of the look.

Photos by Emiliano Sune

emerald rodarte

2013-01-28T11:38:00.005-08:00

Rodarte knit, Comme des Garcons for H&M blouse, Maison Martin Margiela pants,

Bruno Magli boots, Marni bag, Marni glasses

Last week brought the best deal I've ever found at an outlet: this incredible Rodarte sweater. It is completely hand knit using many subtle colours and tiny sequins in the emerald and light blue colours.

Photos by Emiliano Sune

rain dance

2013-01-23T02:54:00.000-08:00

Braccialino umbrella, Alberta Ferretti coat, Club Monaco gloves,

Stefanel tights, Moschino rain boots

We've had a bit of this type of weather lately... not ideal for photographing as Milan seems cast in a dreary grey filter. This was taken on our way back from brunch at a tex-mex restaurant near our place.

Photos by Emiliano Sune

paint it black

2013-01-20T11:00:00.000-08:00

photographer: Alan Worsfold.
hair, makeup, styling: Kristina Haugen

This is a photo story/shoot I styled back in Canada just before moving to Milan. Alan Worsfold and I have collaborated before and wanted to do a quick shoot inspired by Lara Stone (my fav model) and Luisa Bianchin (fav ginger model), specifically this editorial from L'Officiel Brazil "Black Fire". We took it pretty literally for some of the images, I was lucky enough to randomly have clothing pieces that were very similar, and other images are an extension of where the story naturally wanted to go. We shot these looks in a record 2-3 hours which is pretty amazing considering it's a team of two doing what usually takes a team of multiples to accomplish. The focus in this series is clearly the hair against the shades and textures of black.

The hair: it got even longer than this before I chopped it off in a long bob nearly 9 months ago, to save the extension for future donation. I'm now growing it out again but it's a process. To keep hair healthy, it's best to avoid heat styling. I'm low maintenance (read lazy) with day-to-day hair anyway so that's convenient. I also invest in Fekkai Glossing conditioner (and shampoo when funds allow). Another completely worthwhile investment is a Mason Pearson (boar B1 or combination BN1) hairbrush. I found mine on ebay for less than half the retail cost and they are reported to last for at least 20 years, so cost-per-use comes out pretty justifiably. This hairbrush is really a magic wand for instant shine and lasting hair health.

20's flapper knits

2013-01-18T08:15:00.001-08:00

Love Moschino dress, brushed silver calla-lily necklace handmade by an artist
in Milan, Moschino hat, Alberta Ferretti coat, Pure cashmere scarf,
Blumarine gloves, Calzedonia over-knee socks, Geox boots, Serapian bag

Interpreting the 20's flapper trend with daytime knits offers a more subtle result; one that is decidedly less "costume-y" than a beautiful drop-waist beaded/fringe evening dress usually associated with the era.

Photos by Emiliano Sune

weekend neutral

2013-01-16T05:19:00.001-08:00

vintage Versace coat, Missoni knit, Calvin Klein Collection top,

Pure cashmere scarf, Joe's jeans, Cole Haan pumps,

Blumarine gloves, Serapian bag

I'm kind of at a loss for what to write about this outfit as it's pretty simple. The jeans are one of my preferred denim labels and seem to fit my shape better than J Brand. As for dressing denim up, I find that adding a pussy-bow top - regardless of textile composition - takes things into more elegant territory.

Photos by Emiliano Sune

3 M's to live by

2013-01-14T03:23:00.000-08:00

Malo cashmere sweater coat, Moschino bow belt,

Marni bag and tights, Cole Haan pumps

Like the old days of Sesame Street would dictate, this outfit is brought to you by the letter 'M' (and the colour aqua!). That and the three starring brands that begin with the letter also happen to be Italian... but of course. The moment I saw these tights it was colour-love even though they are admittedly wild, and the fact that they pick up the same colour in the knit coat is just plain lucky.

On a side note, I'm selling a smaller size (Italian 40) in the Malo coat on ebay if anyone is looking to wrap up in a cashmere dream.

Photos by Emiliano Sune

Bergamo

2013-01-11T11:26:00.000-08:00

unknown vintage faux fur coat from Italy, Diesel dress, cashmere cardigan,

Stefanel tights, Bruno Magli boots,

Club Monaco cashmere fingerless gloves, Regina bag

We took a little day trip to visit Bergamo city for the first time this past weekend. Even though it's just over an hour away from Milan, we had never visited this darling Medieval hilltop city. It really is a charming place and, just like all Italian towns and cities, has a very specific identity and feeling. The old part of the city is only accessible by funicular and/or bus so it's a notably peaceful walking-town once you're there.

Photos by Emiliano Sune

the narciso fit

2013-01-09T06:15:00.000-08:00

Narciso Rodriguez dress, Breil necklace, Pollini leather jacket,

Geox boots, Marni bag

It's an unusual feeling when in January it is warm enough to take off your jacket for a few minutes in order to photograph the amazing achievement of fit and construction that is this dress. There are seams and intricate paneling in places I would have never thought of and then suddenly on the body it all makes sense. I have a few Narciso Rodriguez items in my closet and each is as dynamite in this regard as this dress. The fabric is a heavy silk that feels like a wool, and is warm like a wool.

Photos by Emiliano Sune

sunberry

2013-01-07T05:30:00.000-08:00

Pollini leather jacket, Breil necklace, cashmere scarf,

Alberta Ferretti dress, Bruno Magli boots,

Blumarine gloves, Marni bag

The weather the past few days has certainly been something to enjoy. I'm glad to be able to comfortably wear this berry-hued drop-waist wool dress without tights as my favourite tights to pair with this dress are left behind in Canada... where they are probably more consistently necessary.

Photos by Emiliano Sune

serapian serendipity

2013-01-05T04:58:00.001-08:00

Calvin Klein Collection leather blazer, Breil necklace, Zara top,

Neiman Marcus cashmere maxi skirt, Geox boots,

Blumarine gloves, Serapian bag

This outfit is centered around some great finds from my favourite vintage store in Milano. The blazer and bag I found about a year ago, both in like-new condition and for about 1/25th of what they would retail for new. The bag is from a Milano heritage label called Serapian which, though I hadn't heard of the brand at the time of purchase, holds some meaning for me now as few months ago at an industry fair I happened to briefly meet Mr. Serapian and his son at their kiosk.

Photos by Emiliano Sune

new year, new boots

2013-01-02T11:38:00.000-08:00

Gianni Versace vintage coat, Zara top, Breil necklace,

Maison Martin Margiela pants,

Bruno Magli boots, Blumarine gloves, Marni bag

I don't really make New Years resolutions but the time of year certainly is a reminder to think about goal setting and planning, all positives. I want this to be a year of focus and calculation and tangible, measurable successes. I think, on a superficial level, that this will also be reflected in the refining of wardrobe choices (which I am excited to document in this blog). Cheers to a non-superficially, as well as superficially, successful 2013.

Wearing my new Bruno Magli boots that were a Christmas present to myself. They're super comfortable and the leather is just buttery and the fact that they were 1/4 of the retail price makes them that much sweeter.

Photos by Emiliano Sune

dinner for two

2013-01-01T05:48:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve menu: strawberry and spumante risotto,

cured nordic salmon with tomatoes,

chocolate pannetone with spumante

Ringing in 2013 with a quiet dinner at home and a two-hour-strong street fireworks spectacle from all directions. Italian enthusiasm. Today will be the traditional Italian New Year's dish of lentils and pork meat; meant to symbolize a hand taking money/bringing fortune.

Photo by me

YSL NYE

2012-12-31T05:53:00.000-08:00

Borsalino for Max & Co. hat, vintage YSL silk blouse, Breil necklace,

Pollini leather jacket, Comme des Garcons for H&M cardigan,

Red Valentino trousers, Cole Haan pumps,

Marni handbag, Blumarine gloves

I wanted to close the year with a dramatic look inspired by the new Saint Laurant collection and using some old Yves Saint Laurant. Wishing everyone a wonderful and exciting start to 2013.

Photos by Emiliano Sune

super cherry

2012-12-21T09:14:00.001-08:00

Sonia Rykiel cashmere sweater, Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti coat, cashmere scarf, Club Monaco cashmere long gloves, D&G drawstring pants, Love Moschino wellies

Opting for a more casual and comfortable snow look that's a bit 'cashmere super hero' with this cheeky little cherry sweater I found in a Victoria vintage shop. Ready to win at a snow ball fight...

Photos by Emiliano Sune