Observations of Italian Fashion

After living in this country for a year and a half (wow), I think I may have forgotten how interesting and sometimes strange the fashion trends can be. Most of you know that my personal style is usually a little "eccentric" anyways, but there are things here that even I wouldn't wear. I know, shocker.

Word to the wise: Europe, and Italy especially, are always a few steps ahead of the rest of us. So you never know what may show up in Target within the year. Consider this your preview.


Hats. Very big in winter.
Here Mel and I model the two most popular styles. Poofy beret and girly army.
Old man style. Conductor's hat. Plaid jacket. Scarf. Colored pants (not black or khaki). And a cane, of course.
Pointy shoes. Nobody does high heels like Italians. My roomies and I really get into this one.
Purple=Me
Black=Kelly
Tiger Lily= Emily
Notice the skinny jeans.
Short skirts with tights and boots. Sorry the picture is blurry, but both Shandra and I are rockin this look. And yes, I have patterned tights on. These are very cool over here.
White pants on guys. Don't ask me why.
Oh and I can't forget to mention the Dolce and Gabbana belt. What are white pants without the huge DG?
Cool, colorful frames. Glasses are cool. Lisa Loeb proved that, but Italians take it up a notch with color.
My roommates pull off several looks here fabulously.
Kel's trench coat. So chic.
Emily's skinny jeans tucked into pointy boots. (This is what we like to call the "uniform.")
Work it girls.

This picture just so classic Italy to me for many reasons.
On woman: puffy coat all the way down to the ankles. Leopard print scarf. Gloves. (sidenote: it was only about 60 degrees outside).
On him: Pinstripe blazer with jeans. Monochromatic scarf. Man bag tucked under the arm. Shades--always.
Our fabulous president of the board, Donald Malcolm himself, sporting a rainbow of Italian trends. Pay attention to the orange/salmon colored pants. Those are key.
Dreads. They are everywhere.
These strange fluorescent backpacks. This one I do not understand. And they are shaped funny.
Fur lined coats. Oh yes, on guys too.
I have a minor insecurity when I go on campus because I do not own a furry coat.
And last but not least, aviators. You are not cool without them. These boys are just chillin' by the Duomo and although you can't really tell, they are wearing skinny jeans too. But, unfortunately, I think the trend of guys wearing girls jeans has already hit the US. Gag.

There you have it folks. The Spring 2008 fashion show direct from Italy. Where more is more and excess is a virtue.

(I would like to thank Katie Bearden, an embracer of tights and boots, for suggesting this post idea.)

A Valentine's Day Game

This was a recent occurrence in the Agape office.

For those of you People magazine readers:

Who Wore it Best?

A Spanish Fling

I like to stay pretty loyal to Italy when debates about places to travel come up.
I boast in the food, the history, the art, the people...you name it, I think Italy beats the socks off of most other countries.
But, I've had a lapse in the past week. My loyalty has lagged.

I now have to admit, that I heart Spain.
ALOT.

From Barthelona* down to the Costa del Sol--I was pretty enamored.
Maybe it was just the vacation vibes that had me hooked, but I'm pretty sure there were legitimate "perfect moments" sprinkled throughout my time in the land of tapas.

We went for our mid-year conference in Nerja, but we managed to tack on a weekend girls trip to Barcelona.
Both were so fun and just what we needed after a blah winter.

We hit up Barcelona as any good tourist should: with absolutely no plan.
Not even a hint of a plan really.
So we wandered and pointed out old things to each other and then read the Rick Steve's book that our lovely hotel provided at the end of our days.
We basked in the Spanish sun in Gaudi's parks, saw Picasso's museum, and hit the tapas bars for dinner at 9pm.
But, as all good girl trips go, its not the things you are supposed to do that are fun, its the unexpected that ends up being hilarious.

Our hotel room of ALL pink (beds, walls, fans, pipes, dressers) was a big hit.

Serious emo pictures taken all over the city, of course.

Watching old people burst into organized dances--hilarious and adorable.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books


And those moments of genuine Barthelona love. (usually accompanied with song.)


Then it was off to the conference.
We had all of the Stinters and some ICS from Western Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
It was so fun to have everyone back together--I always love a party!

And I mean, time with the Lord is pretty wonderful when you are looking out on this:

Such a refreshing week with great teaching and great people and great scenery.
Unfortunately, I didn't take a ton of pictures cuz I was just so busy laughing and hanging out with people I love.
We did go to Granada (Katie, I finally made it to your city!) on a day off and I went to the Alambra.
I had never even heard of it before (apparently its really important or well known or something) and let me just say that I have a new obsession with tile and reflecting pools.
Look at this:


I love it. And some day I'm gonna copy it.
The mosaics, not the swanky water thing.

So, yeah, I like Spain.
Italy isn't offended though. She knows her place in my heart.
Plus, I've had enough huevos in one week to say that Italy still wins hands down in the food category.

*as the true Spanish speakers that we are, we adopted the lisp.