We were very lucky to stumble upon a day of free entry to the Pinacoteca di Brera when we were in Milano. Although I have to admit that many times it is uncomfortable to deal with so many people attracted by free access in a limited space (limited but not reduced, since if there is something wonderful about most Italian art museums is that they are ginormous), as a lover of divulgation in the fields of architecture, art and culture I like that there are such initiatives bringing closer so many years of history to society. Speaking of, I take the opportunity to also name the initiative that I have started on behalf of my final degree project, in which I try to approach the history and architectural culture of my city, Valencia, through a blog. It's written in Spanish, but maybe you like it because it contains a lot of antique pictures worth taking a look at. I encourage you to visit the first steps of Anastilosi, my blog about Valencian architectonic heritage!

Going back to the main topic. The truth is that we could see great works and learn a lot about Baroque and Renaissance art among others, while we were in the Pinacoteca di Brera. In addition, I found myself fascinated by the museology and the organization of the different exhibition spaces of the place. Just like when we talk about fashion it is important not only to take into account what you see at first sight (such as colors, shapes, textures) but also the seams and their reinforcements, the interfacing system, the finish of the bottom seam of a skirt... When we go to a museum of any kind, it's the same! Not only what is exposed there is important, but also how it is exposed: the temperature of the light and its position, the paths you make within a space, the materials, and colors of the finishes... Everything is important. That's why I encourage you to recall me next time you see any art exposition or fashion catwalk and look beyond what you see with your eyes. It's a great exercise to change the usual point of view!

I can't believe that almost the whole month of April has already passed by! I had a pretty crazy Easter holidays around Italy, as my family came to visit and we spent several days traveling all over the north of the country discovering different places. It was great, but I ended up exhausted and felt that I needed some rest days to digest everything I saw and all the pictures that I took to show you some outfit ideas to travel and be literally on-the-go for several days. Anything in particular that you want to know about Milan, Venezia, Verona or Bologna?

I can't believe as well that the countdown of my year abroad in Italy has already started, and that I am already packing my life back in boxes to send them back to Spain very soon. Sincerely, I really want to go home because, I feel that I have not adapted here and that Italy is not my ideal place, due to many aspects of daily life that destroy my nerves and put my normal levels of anxiety up to into the clouds. Maybe I'll tell you more things in future posts about it if you're interested (for the moment, you can read my post about "10 things I miss from Spain" or "how to find a home abroad with a little help").

As per usual in Firenze, we have had crazy weather that has made these last days around the city be literally a climatic roller coaster. The day I visited the church of Santa Croce and its square with my family (besides going to eat a delicious gelato) we had an absolutely gorgeous summer-like day, with almost 25ºC degrees of maximum temperature. I decided to wear this black COS jumpsuit that I bought while in Milano since it is long sleeved but at the same time, it is light enough to be perfect for the period between seasons. I like it because it has such a neutral and fluid design that I can combine it both with sneakers or more formal moccasin shoes and different handbags, which makes it also great to travel (and you can put it with thick socks underneath if it's very cold!).

A post shared by Amanda Ramón (@amandasomethingfashion) on Apr 12, 2018 at 12:43am PDT

I must confess that I had this post and pictures under kidnapping since a while ago. We took them at the end of January, but I had the craziest February related to University, a similar beginning of March in which it snowed in Firenze and in which I went home to Valencia for a week to see family, friends and fallas in addition of having some pending posts and publications from sponsors which couldn't wait any longer, and which I had to prioritise over this and other looks which I'll be showing you very soon.

However, it's still a bit cold (at least in Northern Italy) so I think I'm still in time to show you this outfit with a 70's vintage green wool mini-dress, which I bought in my visit to "Vintage Selection" fair which took place in Stazione Leopolda at the end of January, and which I personally thought was AH-MAZING. Imagine two whole industrial warehouses with high ceilings covered with iron trusses filled with hundreds of stands, cupboards and racks with a selection of jackets, trousers, accessories, and all vintage and antique clothing pieces you can imagine from statement brands as Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Dior and some other international and national Italian brands with marvelous designs. I think I approximately spent there half a day and went back home very happy with my old-new acquisitions, among which there was this fun and bright dress! I thought it was a nice idea to add to my closet.

It really caught my attention since I saw it in the distance because, besides being in a very good vintage condition (it had some little white glue stains on one side, but nothing that a visit to the dry cleaner's couldn't fix) it looked like that average clothing piece that you can wear in a thousand different ways, both in Winter or when it starts being a bit warmer, and it was also suitable for both the months I'll remain here in Italy and for my Spanish comeback. I wore it with this DIY Gucci inspiration brooch, which is super easy to make just using a piece of wide satin ribbon in your favorite color and any old brooch around home (maybe tutorial about it coming very soon!).

Of course, I'm also wearing my rain ankle booties, which have already turned my go-to shoes and an indispensable piece in my day to day wear in Brunelleschi's city, the one with the huge and beautiful cupola, the breathtaking marble churches' façades and 360 days a year of rain (sometimes I doubt London is known as one of the rainiest cities in Europe. Don't be fooled: it's Firenze. Trust me).

I discovered about Apritimoda Firenze 2018 purely by chance, one morning when I was walking through the Santa María Novella station to get some train tickets. I saw it posted on a screen, and when I got home that afternoon I looked it up on Google.

Apritimoda is an event that has already taken place the past year in Milano where, as you might know, the fashion industry has a great impact on everyday life. The event is a kind of weekend-ish Openhouse, where important fashion houses and local ateliers open their doors for free (sometimes even with guided tours) to publicize the philosophy of the brand and their way of approach design and creativity. In my case, my friend and I decided to make the most of that weekend and visit as many places as possible. In this post, I will tell you a little about what we did on the first day of Apritimoda Firenze 2018, which was to visit the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum and the headquarters of the Aquazzura shoe brand in the Palazzo Corsini, on the banks of the Arno river and very close to the Galleria degli Uffizi.

To start the day, my biggest surprise was to learn a little more about the life of Salvatore Ferragamo at his dedicated Museum at the basement of their headquarters in Piazza di Santa Trinita: how he made the jump from a small, very poor Italian village to the United States to forge a strong footwear company for the Hollywood stars of that time (we're talking here of 20's era). I was delighted to know that, to make his designs and adapt them to the needs of his clients, Mr. Ferragamo studied biology, mechanics, and engineering, to obtain the necessary tools for the proper functioning of the foot every time we walk with heels (or any type of shoe, actually). I liked knowing how he based his designs on proportions, the quality of the materials and the though, thoughtful design. It was exciting!

In the afternoon, we visited the Aquazzura headquarters. It is in a beautiful Palazzo next to the Arno river, called Palazzo Corsini. It's the typical place you imagine when they say "Italian style": never-ending high ceilings with vaults and wonderful paintings of a lot of colors, where they usually organize Christmas markets and charity events. But I was totally unaware that this shoe brand had its offices and showrooms on the top floor! It was a fantastic surprise to be able to experience first hand this space where creativity (and baroque-ish style) was around everywhere: colorful walls to match the furniture, mirror tables (I need those tables in my house), walls full of supports to place drawings and sketches and above all, many magazines and books on fashion, design, and architecture.