CURIOUSER NEW YORK

The KIKO nail polish is back!  A few years ago I went to Milan, where I've discovered the "Sephora sister" - KIKO beauty store. KIKO for the Italians is like Sephora for the Americans, only on a smaller scale and only it favors the local brands more than the international, which works pretty fine with me as I always prefer to buy a local brand, when traveling, to bring back home as a reminder of the fashion style of the country I've visited... So, what nail polish Italian Fashionistas favor this season? I found out...

Coming back from a great trip to the South of Italy back to the reality of always busy and crazy New York City is never easy, especially with the jet-leg that keeps on 'waking me up' before East Coast sunrise...But I shouldn't be complaining after a three week long trip to Europe, which allowed me to once again fall in love with the Italian culture. Of course, Milan is the heart of the fashion in Italy, but other parts of the country also offer some very specific takes on the local street fashion. Take for example, Positano...

I think I was the last one to learn - regretfully and sadly - about the death of this iconic woman.

Yesterday I met the creative force behind one of the greatest versions of the Vogue magazines in the world - Vogue Italia . I've met Franca Sozzani , the Editor-in-Chief, who has been with Vogue Italia since 1988 and who came to the Museum at FIT to share her wisdom - [ you should have seen the line of people, some of which really looked like serious fashionistas, to the auditorium to meet with Sozzani! Good thing I've booked it way in advance! ] To say that this woman is brilliant is an understatement, she is beyond the visionary. She is also hilarious and is not afraid to push the envelope. Her bold statements in regards to how the fashion industry works and what goes into the production of one of the most prestigious fashion magazines in the world once again proved, why she's been considered one of the most controversial editors in the history of Vogue. She shared with us the things that most of the fashion industry players are afraid to say out-loud....

Tell me, do they or do they not?

DC coolest - A retro classic Vespa, a rare sighting in Washington, DC. It's official - at least to some of the people who haven't known me long enough - I'm obsessed with the bikes. I ride bikes. I love when others do. And I take pictures of them - bikes, Vespas, motorocycles. Oh, wait, I need to make it clear - I love bikes, but only the 'petite' ones, not the monstrous Harley Davidson motorcycles. It's kind of an addiction now. The bikes, it is...

There are rare ads that catch our attention these days, but there are a few people who are doing it just about right...Not to mention the fact that with all the nail shades out there, you'd like to know what's gonna be the "IT" color of the season... This is why, when I shop for a nail color/shade, depending on a country where I shop, I either do my petite research investigation to see what's happening and/or I ask a store consultant. In Milan last August, at the Kiki beauty shop I was suggested to get the shades of bright blue and green, and I did -and they are making me very happy when I wear those 'very Milano' shades - [as I was told] - and that match the latest runaway's colors of the likes of Armani, Gucci and Versace... So, when I saw this ad by Chanel, I thought I'd share...

This past summer I've seen quite a few couples in all-whites. Here are a few shots I did in Italy (August, 2011). What do you think - a Do or a Don't? An all-white couple in Bologna, Italy

I finally decided to say goodbye to my long-term faithful friend, who supported me all through the years, starting with the photography class in 1998...So many beautiful moments I shared with him. So many moments I captured with him... And now it's time to say goodbye and face the realities of the new technology - the digital technology of a camera...And that's really, really sad... That's HIM - my 13-year old camera...

On my road trip in Italy a week ago, I couldn't resist shopping in Milano [because if I hadn't, I'd fallen out of grace with many of my fashionable friends....They'd have just never understood, why I hadn't have done it...] It is the fashionable center of the world, aside from Paris, New York and London. Unspoken-ly many still consider Milan as the "trend setter" city, to which there is a truth as many Italian designers do reside in Milan - the likes of Versace, Armani, Cavalli... Barely spending two days in Milan is never enough, but it's enough to see the main sites of the city and browse through the window displays and even do some [budget] shopping.

Just a week ago I was walking the red streets of Bologna, Italy. What a beautiful city! Its reddish hues of the buildings made the city appear even warmer than I'd expected. What appeared to be a sleepy town when all Italians had left for their one-month long vacation, looked rather lovely with the ones who stayed home. I absolutely loved how the older Bologna residents dressed - so comfortably stylish, just going about their business. I've also met very good-lookng young families; you just can't deny the Italians having a "mother-natural" very good eye on how to dress their kids. I've also noted more men on the streets with kids, than women. A few stood out...