April 21, 2011

the purple

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purple paisley scarf - vintage, thrifted / tote - forever 21 / trench - H&M / brass whistle necklace - vintage via etsy / watch - La Mer / white tee - forever 21 / wide leg jeans - Banana Republic / shoes - Toms

While the cliche that Italian women only wear black certainly seems to hold true as much as any stereotype, it is (in my experience) surprisingly and emphatically untrue of Italian men. I saw tons of men in Italy sporting bold colors, both as accent pieces and in full-on color-blocked ensembles - my favorite was the man in Venice wearing a coral polo shirt, salmon sweater, and mustard corduroys - but by far the most popular color worn by these Italian gents was the purple. Not just any purple, the purple was a very specific true purple shade, closer to lilac than eggplant, and in fact, identical to the wisteria blossoms hanging luxuriously from walls and terraces everywhere.

I've never really worn a lot of purple (much less the purple), but after days of admiring the bold style of Italian men, I thought this purple print scarf might be an appropriate way to spice up an otherwise basic jeans-and-tee-shirt outfit. And appropos of nothing, I accessorized with gelato.

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Mmmm, mango and strawberry.
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28 comments:

amanda said...

LOVE THIS. the photos are gorgeous and your styling is perfect here. if you weren't so darn cute i'd be super jealous. ok. i am super jealous. :)

Amelia said...

wow wow those flowers! and that gelato, sooooo jealous. you have no idea

academiaemily said...

Gelato is the perfect accessory for any outfit. Good choice.

Emily said...

That scarf is wonderful!

Archives said...

IWANTTHATGELATORIGHTNOW

Santina said...

We're even. I made you want a tamale, and now I want some gelato.

I love jeans and a white tee; you can't go wrong starting there. The trench and scarf totally make this look!

emily said...

Ha! Well, thank you. To be honest I always feel a little funny blogging my more jeans-and-a-t-shirt looks, I'm never sure they're really 'blog worthy,' you know? Fortunately I get to rely on ridiculously pretty places to carry me through (for now!).

emily said...

Both were everywhere in Italy, and both smelled absolutely fantastic. I promise I didn't eat the flowers though. :)

emily said...

Agreed! And I even color-blocked my flavor choices to stay on-trend!

emily said...

Thanks! It's had so many lives at this point - I hung it over my bunk bed back in high school when I was a camp counselor, then draped it in front of my (non-functional) fireplace in college. It's actually never really started wearing it until the last couple of years!

emily said...

I will put some in an envelope for you ASAP. That should make it to Chicago ok, right?

emily said...

Oh man, but now that I'm thinking about it, I totally want a tamale AND some gelato! Where do I need to go to make that happen??

I love it too, the older I get the more I am drawn to really classic basics. (How grown-up, ew!)

Smilesyria said...

hi :)

i recently found your blog through, i think, "i go by katie" and "miss moss". i love it! i was wondering if i could share it on my blog? if so, could i post some of your pictures as well? (you could "ok" the specific ones before i post anything, if you'd like.)

thanks,
smiling in syria
www.smile93.wordpress.com

sartoriography said...

Oh, the purple! THE PURPLE! Love your little splash of it, especially against the gelato. And I'm still fighting the giant force of petty envy that has taken over my heart. Every time I see these Italy photos...AGH! Jealous!! :)

Alli (One Pearl Button) said...

THE PURPLE has been in for over two years now! Good thing it's such a nice shade. I love your take on it; lovely.

prettylittlemountains said...

So pretty! Love it. Congrats on winning the earrings. Send me your info where you would like to have the earrings sent. Will be sending them out tomorrow. carie.m@gmail.com

thesemanyyears said...

super cute outfit!! love it!

-laura
http://thesemanyyears.blogspot.com

treena nicole said...

Honestly, girl, where do you thrift? It seems you have a million thrifted/vintage items! I feel like I'm looking in the wrong places. Help?!

HandmadeJewelrybyLucid said...

love the spring styling!
www.ThisIsAYes.com

emily said...

Hi there! I'm so glad you like the other emily, and you are certainly welcome to share it on your blog along with a few photos - please just be sure to include clear attribution to me and a link back to my blog! You can also always feel free to email me if you have questions about reblogging images or attribution: the_other_emily (at) yahoo (dot) com

And be sure to send me a link to your post, I'd love to see it!

emily said...

I especially loved seeing it worn as a tone-on-tone statement - lots of suit-wearing gents sporting lavender shirts with royal scarves. Faaaabulous.

emily said...

Ha, to tell the truth, what I kept thinking every time I saw someone wearing it was, That's so Chuck Bass. And then my boyfriend made fun of me for being such a Gossip Girl dork. I do think that mustard yellow is starting to come in for Italian men as well - it's not nearly as popular as the purple yet, but I saw a number of stylish gentlemen rocking the mustard on the streets of Venice.

emily said...

Thanks Jessica!

emily said...

Thanks Carie! And I'm so excited about those beautiful earrings - I'm already picturing them with floaty dresses for this summer. I can't wait to see your upcoming etsy shop too, I'd love to see more of your designs!

emily said...

Thank you Laura!

emily said...

Haha, thanks! My collection has definitely been growing over the years - but the key word there is years. These last few years, I've mostly been going to the Goodwill and Red White & Blue Thrift in Trenton, NJ (the latter is always overpriced, but they have a constant rotation of tag sales). My favorite is the Salvation Army in Worcester, MA (when visiting the boyfriend's family up north).

I think the key is to be patient, take stores one section at a time (I tend to start with dresses), and look at everything on the rack. I used to scan racks for colors or fabrics that jumped out at me (and still do if I'm in a hurry), but I find more unexpected gems when I take the time to look at every individual piece. I also make sure to dig through the accessories (SO many overlooked belts, purses, jewelry, and scarves!), and even to check out the men's, plus-sized, and boys sections - there are often great things hiding outside of your usual size-range that can be altered to fit or worn as-is. And on that last point, try to look at things less in terms of what they are (a frumpy housedress) and more in terms of their potential (take off the sleeves, hem the skirt, and you've got a cute sundress!). Sometimes just belting something or trying it on backwards can totally change the shape into something incredible.

emily said...

Thanks! I am definitely loving this fresh weather. :)

Smilesyria said...

Alright, I'll be sure to do that. Thank you very much! :)
-smiling in syria

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