Via Montenapoleone, Piazza della Scala; Duomo di Milano and of course, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II – we saw all these fabulous locations on our day of arrival thanks to our centrally located hotel.
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Having checked out these iconic spots, the following two mornings, Kent and I set our alarm clock for before dawn; we repeated our route all the way to Piazza del Duomo. Saw the golden sunrise, an almost crowd-free square that belonged mainly to pigeons and early bird photo crews, and that spectacular white marbled monument, the Milan Cathedral… Yes we were inspired and ready to create our own take on this symbolic landmark.
If you have followed me since vivalaViv, you will know that I style myself for every single shoot. Why the blonde? Well besides being curious about turning into a blonde Asian, and why not give it a go while coloured hair is still trendy! There’s more to it than that; there is actually an Italian story behind this blonde look too!
Years ago my Italian friend, we will call him Pierluigi. Correction, my Milanese friend Pierluigi, who has been an advocate of ‘superior’ Northern Italians for his whole life. Pierluigi often pointed out what I took to be exotic looking Italians and make this comment: ‘We Italians don’t look like this in Milan; we are blonde and blue-eyed.’ ‘In fact, we look more like Germans.’ Although back then I had only visited Rome twice; I had not yet seen Milan and so had no way of proving if this was true or not.
Knowing Pierluigi’s comments were rather extreme and indeed, rather questionable; I chose to be a listener and buried my doubts.
Now I have finally seen Milan with my own eyes, blonde and blue-eyed Milanese? Sure there are quite a few blondes (natural?) and maybe some blue eyes.., yes a few but not the majority from what I have seen. While not interested in proving Pierluigi right or wrong; I came to realise how much he had influenced my thinking about Milanese.
Packing for Milan, I had thought of Pierluigi. His blonde Milanese comments were echoing in my head so much, that I decided to purchase a blonde wig and take it with me. So my blonde bob self is part of my self-styled fashion performance – only in Milan (or maybe not) – my way of paying tribute to this old friend’s blonde Milanese fantasy…
Photography / Kent Johnson
Styling / Vivienne Shui
Outfit Of The Day
Céline sunglasses
JZLE top
Calvin Klein skirt
Citizen watch
Céline handbag
Furla bandeau
Robert Robert heels
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Beautiful!
Thank you! X
Hello Viv,
Variety surely is the Spice of Life! Reinventing yourself must be thrilling and exciting! Your total look exudes beauty and sophistication, and more importantly, it transcends colour <3
Waiting for your next post, with great cheers!
xx
Your wonderful compliments are deeply appreciated dearest Margie! Much love. X
這是假髮? 看來好自然啊!
謝謝!
I’m amused by this article (the reason behind your blonde wig had me laughing).. Vivienne you are a great storyteller with a sense of humor!
Thank you Kimberly! You should be my PR!! BTW I ‘stay in character’ throughout my entire stay in Milano. Stay tuned for more to come. X
I am inspired. Vivienne, here’s my question, how do you keep your outfits in top condition when traveling long distance? Any tip you could share?
Hello Ann, thank you for asking. Personally I like using garment bags even for short flights. Choosing the fabric which is wrinkle resistant does also help. Then again, very often I found myself ironing in my hotel room. And if all else fails, we can simply get it dry cleaned!