Though it feels like I’ve been back in the New York mentality for about six months, I was, in fact, lounging on a striped-towel-clad beach bed on a somewhat hidden and hard-to-reach cove in San Fruttuoso, Italy, just a few weeks ago. Days later, while my tan faded, I enjoyed midday Campari sodas and taralli crackers between shopping in Milan. It’s easy to forget what it felt like to experience pure, uninterrupted bliss now that I’m back in my real world. One thing I can’t seem to get out of my head, though, are the clothes I saw while I was away—not in the stores but on the people.
From the Sciura ladies in their cashmere T-shirts, vintage brooches, and structured pocketbooks that I stopped and stared at more than I ever have with a celebrity to the obvious fashion people I spotted grabbing espresso between meetings in the Illy courtyard near the Via Montenapoleone fashion district, the outfits I set my eyes on during my 10-day trip have been burned into my mental data bank to forever haunt me with their chicness and all-around effortless elegance. Everything was beautiful, from the Prada kitten-heel pumps that I saw everywhere but couldn’t find in all of Europe (literally, the entire continent was sold out, according to one Prada salesperson) to the lightweight vintage outerwear that the masses transitioned into when the sun went down.
In my experience, the best way to stop obsessing over something is to talk about it—get it off my chest. That’s how I ended up here. Below, read all about the items I saw the chicest women in Italy wear on repeat, from voluminous skirts to evening outerwear.
