Sunday 1 August 2010

Women in Italy - Part 2

I gather from blogs and magazines that dresses are very stylish just now in the US, and perhaps they are here in the UK as well.  I'm not out and about when folks are commuting, so I'm not sure what they wear these days, to be honest.  

I did notice that older women in Italy tended to wear dresses and skirts, though.  Shoes are very important over there and perhaps dresses give one more opportunity to show one's shoes.  Or perhaps there are other reasons for this, like a conservative outlook or something.  Anyhow, here are some photos of older woman that I appreciated how they looked.

I liked how this lady's handbag went with her clothes and the contrast of her green suede shoes.  She looked a bit frail, but with plenty of dignity.


I liked the simplicity of this woman's linen dress, with a scarf and flat loafers.  

 

Linen was another strong theme for what women were wearing in Italy.
 
 

I liked these ladies' print dresses, but given my druthers, 

 
I'd probably go for the solid navy on the right.

I've never seen nuns dressed in other than black and white.


When I snapped this I was thinking 'native costume' but seeing her later seated with a begging bowl, and now spotting the stripey socks, I'm thinking perhaps she's a gypsy.  I think her skirt is very interesting, with vertical stripes and horizontal tucks.


This is one of very few older women I saw looking dressed up in a pant suit and she just didn't look quite right to me after all those dresses.  I can't believe she wasn't burning up in that suit, but perhaps she doesn't like her legs any better than I like mine...

2 comments:

Pauline Wiles said...

Well, having recently expanded the number of dresses in my wardrobe from 1 to a mighty 3, I can confirm that there's something much easier about getting dressed in the morning by just throwing on one item (and maybe a cardigan). Plus, people assume you've made a bit of an effort, which is a nice bonus.
The trend in the last couple of years to wear leggings under a dress has been very welcome to me, not because I dislike my legs, but because they seem to stay very pale all year round!

Shelley said...

Struggler - Yes, 'pale and interesting' is more likely my direction of travel, rather than the bronzed look. I saw a picture of Obama on some TV talk show with 4 women - all wearing dresses and heels. All those legs made me downright nervous. I still prefer pantsuits, but you are right, dresses are ... dressier.