Valentina

It Is Coming | Valentina Cirasola | Designer and Author

06 Aug 2018 2 Comments

by Valentina in Books Blog Tags: #BookRoadToTopOfTheWorld, #PugliaExperience, #PugliaFood, #PugliaHistory, #PugliaItaly, #TravelToPuglia, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor

I have stayed away from some of my activities, especially blogging, as you might have noticed my absence. For more than six months I have dealt with an ergonomic problem on my right hand caused by too much computer usage, but this downtime did not discourage me from continuing the most important things. Stubborn, disciplined, high tolerance for pain and goal-oriented, that’s what makes me.
Despite all pains and sometimes the impossibility to move my hand as I wanted, I went on anyway to write the fourth book I had planned for this year 2018.
The Road To Top Of The World is coming in September!

(Click on the photo to view it larger).

Book Reveal

I cannot call it a novel really, it is a book of short stories, a mixture of my memories of the region growing up there, my impressions of the new region of today, some history, use, customs, traditions, stories and experiences made with a group of Americans I took there with me.
So many things are locked up in my drawers of thoughts, it’s about time they all come out in some form of communication or another.

The region of Puglia exists at least since the 11th century, but now tourists of many nationalities are flocking to Puglia as if fresh water was discovered. Everyone wants to taste, feel and see the region. A couple of years ago, an Indian Maharajah got married in Puglia and brought 800+ people along from India.
For more than 10 years, Hollywood has found characteristic spots and special corners to film there many blockbuster movies.

Tourists used to land in Puglia only to take the ferry-boat to Greece and showed no interest to even spend a few days visiting, but now they land in Puglia, stay for a while and cry when they leave.

Even though I am an interior/fashion designer by trade, TV producer and author of three other books, I wanted to write outside my trade this time, for pure enjoyment and fun. Living in California didn’t make me forget who I am, what my roots are and what Puglia taught me in terms of values, traditions, and morals.

It all transpires from this book: The Road To Top Of The World.

The above picture is the draft of the book cover. It is a colorful book of 40 chapters corroborated by many colorful pictures in each chapter.
Stay tuned for the launch at the end of September 2018.

By the way, after many natural solutions and so much money later, I bent to my young doctor’s wish to shoot a bit of steroid into my right-hand tendons.
He revived my hand and made a new person out of me, reborn with more gumption. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com Copyright © 2018 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

As a writer and cultural promoter of Puglia, her native land, Valentina’s intention is to let readers feel and experience a new ”wheel of emotions”. She wants to encourage them to visit areas of Italy not beaten by massive tourism. Through stories of local customs, art, architecture, fashion, food-wines, shopping, she wants them to create their special adventures and live it up in Puglia!
Check out her books on
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0

Do You Dress For Summer Heat Or Your Body? | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

14 Jul 2018 2 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #SummerClothes, #SummerColors, #SummerFashion, #SummerTunics, #TunicsAndHats

I don’t mind Summer, it is a cheerful season and one that gives the permission to be lazy. I just don’t like the heat. How can I have one without the other? Yes, I might lay in shady areas sipping cool drinks all day, or I can be at the beach all day, but how do I fit work and writing into this pleasant scene?
If it is not vacation time yet and must face the daily life in the summer heat, then consider wearing flowing clothes that will move the air around your body, but keep in mind the shape of your body and try not to dress for the heat. It is so easy to get into skimpy clothes when the weather erupts to indecent degree. Grazing vulgarity to fight the heat is unfortunately a scene I see in the streets often.

(Click on each photo to view it larger)

A few Summers ago, I discovered the comfort of tunics. They don’t cling to the body, they are ample enough to allow air to circulate around the body, they are versatile to cover a bikini or go to work wearing a pair of skinny pants. They come with colorful prints and solid colors, easy to wear in the city even with city shorts, Bermuda and Capri pants.

Most of my tunics have fringes or tassels, I love the rhythm they create when I walk. I try to find very long tunics to which I make various knots to create high and low lengths in places I think look better for my body.

The last touch to make a tunic a Summer striking piece: accessorize it with chunky jewelry, flat shoes, or chunky heels if wearing skinny pants, a striking pair of sunglasses and a hat. I wear large handbags all the time, however even a cute cutch will work or a shoulder strap sac.

It doesn’t take much to look good and smart, but you must know your body and know how to highlight beautiful features and hide the parts you don’t like. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion-Interior Designer and author, born in Italy in a family of artists. Style surrounded her since the beginning of her life. Her many years of experience led her to offer consultations in both specializations and now she can remodel homes as well as personal images. She is passionate about colors and encourages her clients to express their individual style in their homes and with the clothes they wear. She is also a TV producer and host at KMVT15. The goal of her shows is to entertain, inspire and inform, while she is living her passion. Find Valentina Design Universe TV, here: https://goo.gl/2tbN3N
Get a copy of her books here:
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

A Good Interview In New York | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

11 Jul 2018 2 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #AllBusinessMediaFM, #InternetRadio, #NewYorkRadioStation, #RadioInterview, #RickDelgado

The week starts with Monday and my week started with a good interview.
Star Host Rick Delgado interviewed me for a radio show in New York “The Professional’s Roundtable” at All Business Media FM.

(photo of Rick Delgado from http://www.AllBusinessMediaFM.com)

Rick Delgado interviewed some notables, just to name a few:
Steve Martin
Rhiana
Mayor Gavin Newsom (Mayor San Francisco, CA)
Adam Ferrara (Top Gear)
Barry Williams (Greg Brady/Brady Bunch)
Jim Breuer (Saturday Night Live)
Hall & Oates
Jon Stewart (The Daily Show)
Mario Cantone (Sex & the City/The View/Match Game)

And now should I consider myself one of them? Here is the link to my radio interview, if you would like to listen to:

http://allbusinessmediafm.com/archives/valentina-cirasola-07-02-18-interior-and-fashion-designer/

The interview was about my activity as a designer in both fields of home interior and fashion.
I guess, when they found me searching the internet, the duality of my business struck their attention, they might have thought it is not common to find a designer who comprises two activities under the same business. Actually, it is not that difficult.

Designing my way has only one verb in common: Build.
In designing a home, I take care of lines, shapes, forms and colors, just the same as designing a personal image with clothes. I build these elements adding harmony and balance to make an appealing result, which is easy on the eyes and favorable to each personality I worked for. Nothing to it, especially when I have done it for decades and I was exposed to style since a young age.

Interview here:
http://allbusinessmediafm.com/archives/valentina-cirasola-07-02-18-interior-and-fashion-designer/

I am very grateful All Business Media FM in New York found me and I am grateful for the honor to have been interviewed by Rick Delgado.
It was a great experience being on the air with him. Now, I just have to wait for some good results. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior and Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe. She blends fashion and interior business well in any of her design work. She loves to remodel homes and loves to create the unusual, as much as she likes to restyle people’s images. She is a story-teller and finds inspirations everywhere to write her stories. She needs your story to design your dream, whatever it might be. She is a public speaker, a mentor and author. Check out her books on
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Dwellings Of The Myth | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

08 Jul 2018 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #DwellingOfTheMythExhibition, #MateraItaly, #MateraSassi, #SculptorGirolamoCiulla, #TravelItaly

My trip in the South of Italy finished before I could visit the opening of “Dwellings Of The Myth” an historical personal contemporary art exhibition by the sculptor Girolamo Ciulla, a Sicilian artist transplanted in Tuscany. His art composed of travertine, bronze, iron, ceramic, wood and marble sculptures has been placed in the Sassi, caves of Matera, between rocks and ancient churches, in a mystical land, where earth’s vibrations are high and can be felt on the skin. This exhibition is a modern reinterpretation of classic divinities in the Mediterranean culture. He sees Demetra, a goddess of harvest with flowing hair and the Aurigae, the charioteer constellation as modern, poetic interpretation of today’s life.

I remember when going to Matera was almost an impossible task on impervious winding roads, especially in the winter with snow on the ground. People who didn’t own a car, couldn’t even find a convenient train to reach the town. Usually, in the largest cities nearby, private car owners organized themselves as taxi services, collected people at a conventional corner, that they established as their stop and took people to Matera back and forth.

(Click on each photo to view it larger)

Today, Matera is a modern town, bustling with new ideas, energized by Hollywood producers who chose this site to film many famous productions, the European commission has declared the town the European cultural centre for 2019, and despite the rolling events and happenings, Matera so far has managed to preserve the ancient look of that town I used to know.

(Photo: Girolamo Ciulla – http://www.sassilive.it)

Sculptor Girolamo Ciulla has dedicated a stone to Matera as a symbol of distance between his native town of Caltanissetta, Sicily and Matera. In his imagination distances do not keep people apart but make them closer. Girolamo Ciulla’s exhibition will be open until October 14, 2018 and I missed it. I am wondering, other than local Italians, how many travelers will visit the Sassi just to enjoy this exhibition.

Photos Source: https://www.arte.go.it)

Girolamo Ciulla Book – Dimore del mito – Euro 23.75

In my mind, there are two kinds of people trotting the world: the tourist and the traveler.
The tourist roams aimlessly the streets of foreign countries, takes meaningless pictures and eats tourist food. The traveler wants to learn, enquires, listens to local sounds, appreciates local folklore, ventures in unusual places, tries out new things, writes notes, talks to people and eats local food.

Next year will be fun to be in Matera again, a lot will happen due to nomination of the town as cultural centre for 2019, and I want to be part of that fun. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinaexpressions.com/trips-to-puglia-2

As a writer and cultural promoter of Puglia, her native land, Valentina’s intention is to let readers feel and experience a new ”wheel of emotions”. She wants to encourage them to visit areas of Italy not beaten by massive tourism. Through stories of local customs, art, architecture, fashion, food-wines, shopping, she wants them to create their special adventures and live it up in Puglia! Check out her books on
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Oversize It | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

02 Jul 2018 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #DecoratingTips, #OversizeCoffeeTable, #OversizeFurniture, #SeatingArrangement, #SmallSpaces

I want it big, I want it large, I want it to fit even a small hole, I want it sturdy and comfortable.
I want an oversized coffee table to place books and interesting decorations, food and drinks, put up my feet up to listen to music or have a business meeting around it. What were you thinking I was referring to? Although….that thought was nice too…

In a client’s home, I have used a Gwendolyn table from Living Space, as large as the three-seat sofa leather they have. It looks great.

It is a myth that a coffee table, which sits in the middle of a conversation area must be small and not overpowering the furniture. I am glad today we have the freedom to choose how we want to decorate a room and there are almost no rules to follow. A large table covering the length of a sofa or just about will make the room appear larger, whereas a small table will make the room and the seating arrangement look a bit skimpy. I don’t like to see the small tables side by side or two small ceramic Oriental cylinder in front of the sofa, I like to see an oversize table, something that can store more seating underneath, and can serve everyone sitting around.

I also got this coffee table for a client, who often has more people the house can handle, it provides extra leather seats, which are stored under the glass tabletop when not in use.

coffee table with stools chairs

Selecting large furniture for a small room, makes the space look better and reduces the amount of odd, small little things that inevitably crowd the space. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

It’s my hope that through my writing and my stories I am enriching your aesthetic sensibility towards design, style and inspiring you to live in beauty. I have loved my profession as an interior-fashion designer since 1990.
I am here ready to offer consultations on-line if you need it. Check out my latest book on the subject of colors ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

The Art Of Mixing and Matching | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

22 Jun 2018 10 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #HowToCombineColors, #HowToMixMatchClothes, #RedFashion, #RedOutfits, TheArtOfMixingClothes

Welcome to my Friday episode of fashion.
Have you found yourself in the situation of looking at your closet full of clothes and saying you have nothing to wear? It’s a common problem most women have.
The reasons for that are attributed to price of clothes being too affordable, discounts, special offers for any kind of holiday and buying on impulse.

To control a wardrobe is easier than you think.
1. Buy only the clothes you need.
2. Buy only items that look good on you for your shape and complexion.
3. Buy mostly solid colors and only a few items with prints.
4. Buy items that are easy to mix and match with other items in your closet.

If you master this concept, it will be so much easier to get dressed in the morning even if it is dark.

(Click on each photo to view it larger)

This red and ochre combination is easy on the eye, but vibrant for any season. The 3/4 sleeves red top is light enough for Spring, Summer and Fall. The animal print bag is red on the other side and adds a rhythm to the ensemble. With that large buckle on the bag, I would go with a golden pair of shoes and golden tone accessories.

Make it a summer combination:
change the ochre color pants for a white pants, white sandals, white sunglasses and a red hat.
Take away the birds Salvatore Ferragamo’s scarf and substitute it for a knitted net shawl like this one from Free People.

Tracy Radcliff Dreamcatcher Shawl at Free People Clothing Boutique

Make it a winter combination:
Leaving the red top and animal print bag, change the pants to a darker color, black, brown, grey or even red, wear shoes the same colors of the pants, it will visually elongate your legs, or ankle boots, add a waist length jacket with gold buttons and a red fedora hat, why not?
You will be ready, in a smart winter outfit, to go from work, to happy hours or to a restaurant.

Mixing and Matching is an art that will save you money and will always give you a smart glow.

You have looked at your clothes for a long time, a fresh eye will see different things than you do.
I am here ready to help. Ciao,
Valentina

https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion and Interior Designer, born in Italy in a family of artists. Style surrounded her since the beginning of her life. Her many years of experience led her to offer consultations in both specializations and now she can remodel homes as well as personal images. She is passionate about colors and encourages her clients to express their individual style in their homes and with the clothes they wear. To better help people all over the world she offers consultations online. She is the author of three books. Get your copy of Valentina’s book on colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors on
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Summer Fashion Findings | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

15 Jun 2018 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #EcoFriendlyFashionDesign, #NaturalFibers, #OrangeFashion, #SummerFashion, #SustainableFashion

Last month, I was in Europe trotting on the Côte d’Azur, soaking the fizzy air, the weather was not too hot, pleasantly ventilated and the crowd of tourists was limited. My goal was not to spend time at the beach, I have done that, only walking on cobblestones of small villages, talking to people, discovering things, curiosities and food.

In a hole in the wall, as a figure of speech, I found a small artisanal shop of sustainable fashion products. Everything in there was hand-made or ecologically made, natural dyes, natural fibers and no animal products, such as leather or furs.

These items in various shades of orange attracted my attention. I happened to have an orange pair of mirrored glasses on me, the rest was easy.

Hand embroidered and hand painted tunic, with a salmon orange hat and a papaya bag. It looks so fantastic when I wear it all together.

This barrel, multicolored bag really got my attention. I was asking myself what is it? Is it a bucket, a tube, or a beach thing? Well… I got it because it is hard to tell and I wanted to puzzle people.

Often, it doesn’t take much money to build a nice wardrobe. It’s important to understand the function of each piece, if shapes and colors look good with your complexion and if the new items can be paired with everything already existing in the closet.

Elegant people, stores and yachts fill the Rivera. I could have come away with a handsome yacht owner, instead I came away with a pair of blue velvet Karl Lagerfeld pantoufles, call them sneakers if you would, but not on the Riviera. Two huge rhinestone buckles look as if they could illuminate an entire city. In addition they were discounted 50%, a real snip, if it happens on the French Riviera!
Never use the word “cheap”.

Have you found anything special this Summer?
If you want to rethink your personal image, I am here, prompt and ready to assist you. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion and Interior Designer, born in Italy in a family of artists. Style surrounded her since the beginning of her life. Her many years of experience led her to offer consultations in both specializations and now she can remodel homes as well as personal images. She is passionate about colors and encourages her clients to express their individual style in their homes and with the clothes they wear. To better help people all over the world she offers consultations online. She is the author of three books.
Get your copy of Valentina’s book on colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors on
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

What If I Dined With Casanova? | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

04 Jun 2018 2 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #18thCenturyFurniture, #ElegantDiningTable, #RococoStyle, #VenetianStyle, #VenetianStyleDining

If I had received the letter of introduction as it was customary in the XVIII Century among noble circles of Europe, I would be invited to dine with Casanova in a chic setting only reserved for the élite.

Knowing him as a womanizer, the task of keeping women away from him would be difficult but not impossible. His weakness lays in his developed sense of opulent fashion, playful Rococo furniture, home décor and expensive objects, it would be easy to distract him from women with subjects of refined culture. Casanova, a multitalented, multilingual intellectual and a keen observer of society loved to spend time conversing about literature, history, music, fashion and food of the world. I have something in common with Casanova, we both like great minds and thinkers, we would be dining with Voltaire, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Benjamin Franklin, King George III of England, a few Popes and many more intellectuals of the XVIII Century. Our dining conversations would happen in a 1730s Venetians interior where the walls are covered with masterful, opulent and occasionally frivolous paintings.

(Click on each photo to view it larger)

The Ridotto of Palazzo Dandolo by Francesco Guardi

Ecritoire – French – ébéniste Pierre Macrette- circa 1750

Rococo Arm Chair – Venice, Italy – circa 1750

Telescoping Spyglasses and Time Piece

Casanova came from a humble background. His mother left him at a young age to pursue the career of an actress, but as soon he understood what kind of luxury life was hidden in those Venetians palazzi, he made sure to win the sympathy and trust of the aristocrats of all circles.

He developed a taste for luxurious objects, among which he enumerated women. Dining was a pastime, as it is today and one of my favorite pastimes as well. I would have loved to see how high society embraced the service à la Françaises, meaning each dish was placed on the dining table and passed around among the guests. Casanova and I are both into high-class dining. On our dining table I envision display of beautiful silver serving vessels and ceramic terrines in the shape of exotic animals. Discovering new distant lands brought exotic food and spices in European courts and dining tables of nobles. However, a terrine in the shape of an elephant or a turkey didn’t mean inside there was the meat of an elephant or turkey. The table fashion was highly stylish, extravagant and exquisite, exactly the way I envisioned it if I was dining with Casanova.

If I dined with Casanova I would have the servants prepare the food he loved served in refined dishes: “macaroni prepared by a good Neapolitan cook, a well-creamed cod, perfectly hung game, and buttery cheeses”, so he wrote.

Various Serving Terrines

After dinner, we would have a card game with the famous people invited to dine with us.

Card Game

Casanova often talked about his audacious adventures with women of all ages and social status. He got involved in just as audacious business opportunities, some of them illegal. His adventures produced twelve volumes of “The Story of My Life”. His life was everything but a generic life, he lived recklessly and didn’t fit in any standard canons. “Libertine” was a new word coined for men like him, who rejected constriction of marriage, favored adultery and sexual conquests. I guess he had a lot to talk in his books and probably twelve volumes barely covered only a short period of his life. The first complete version of his writing without redaction of all scandalous details was published in 1960.

I wondered how many times Casanova visited a lady’s boudoir during her morning ablutions and flirted with the maid as well.

Getting Dressed

(All photos taken by Valentina Cirasola at the Legion of Honor Museum, San Francisco)

Well, it was amusing to fantasize about Casanova inviting me to dinner while I was going through the exhibition. In my previous lives I must have lived in Venice, somehow, he is very familiar to me. There is a thread that unites us, I don’t know what it is, maybe I was a libertine too and maybe I liked to weave intrigues in those opulent rooms of Venetians palazzi. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior and Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe. She loves to remodel homes and loves to create the unusual, as much as she likes to restyle people’s images. She is a story teller and finds inspirations everywhere to write her stories. She needs your story to design your dream. She is a public speaker, a mentor and author. Check out her books on

Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Backyard Paradise | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

01 Jun 2018 2 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #BackyardDesigns, #BackyardRenovation, #GardenViews, #GardenWallsBeautification, #PrintedGardenViews

It’s time to invite in beautiful garden views and say goodbye to any fence, walls or dividers that are plain unattractive. Would you like to sit in your garden without seeing the fence or the retaining wall between your home and your neighbor? Look at this photograph carefully. The fire pit, the seating and the steps are all real, all the greenery and the flowers are not. That is an image printed on a stone wall between two homes.
(Click on each images to view it larger).

Do you have a favorite vacation image you want to look at all the time?
Do you have a picture of the place you got married?
Do you have your favorite zoo images?
Would you like to reproduce in your entry an image from the Versailles Palace?

You can. Anything is possible with this printing technique. What are the advantages and why is it better than murals or trompe-l’oeil? You might ask.

1. If you have a garden view with flowers and vegetation, it helps conserving water, because there are no flower and plants to water. If you have a water scene, you don’t have to change the water to keep it clean.
2. The images are printed on panels easy to roll away with a change of season and mood. If you are handy, it’s a super easy to do it even by yourself.
3. The product is fire-retardant, anti-mold, washable with water, weather resistant and hard to destroy.

In the Before and After photo of the pool area, you can see an empty wall turned to a water view. Once the real water filled the pool, the vignette looks cohesive, as if that pool is looking over a lake. Pretty impressive!

In this next photo the cacti, the lawn and the chairs are real, but the view of the Canyon is not.

(Photo courtesy of Wall Sensations. Permission granted)

I took many pictures of flamingos at San Diego zoo. I want this image on my garden fence, so I can enjoy every day the memories of these colorful and elegant creatures, they impressed me so much.

I invited the company Wall Sensations to my TV show, two handsome lads came to explain to the audience their innovative idea and product. if you want to watch the show, click here – https://youtu.be/uUM10Rw6p0s
Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

As an Italian designer and true to my origins, I am well-known to bring originality to people’s homes, but that’s not where I stop. Being a curious person, any situation is a perfect opportunity to design something out of the ordinary.
I draw my inspiration from anywhere. Check out my three books on
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Marrying In May Like A Royal | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

18 May 2018 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #FormalWeddings, #MayWeddings, #NaturalFeelWedding, #WeddingDesign, #WeddingFlowers

My seamstress shop this month is filled from wall to wall with brides of all shapes and colors trying their bridal gowns on. Some of the dresses I saw while I was waiting, I would have not worn to a dog fight, others were the wrong style for the bride’s shape and, maybe only one, I would have approved. It was funny to see how some brides don’t think much of themselves, they put on anything as long as resembles a wedding gown. Getting married is one of the most important days in a woman’s life, especially if it is the first time, the bridal gown should be spectacular and enhance the best feature of a bride.

May is the preferred month to get married. May is fresh, the air is fizzy, flowers are in all in bloom, colors of nature are sharp, and everything smells good, the choice of flowers is perfect this month.
A British historic wedding is just about ready to happen. What if you want to get married like a royal, what would you do?

Let’s start from the invitations. If your wedding is more than a bunch of friends in jeans meeting at the beach, the invitations should describe the proper attire required for the ocasion.
Morning Coat, Lounge Suit or Black Tie for men and Day Dress with Hat for women. A night-time wedding does not require a hat.

There are rules to learn for wearing a hat. Your guests should choose a hat that does not block everybody’s view. Large brims and convoluted designs yes, are fine, as long as the hat is made with a see-through fabric and must not resemble too much like the mother of the bride’s hat. Usually a hat matches the color of the garment, a strong color outfit requires a strong color hat. This is not a set rule, often it is done this way. Wear the hat tilted to the right of the face, that’s is the proper way. I didn’t learn this anywhere, just felt right to wear my hats tilted on the right. Never take the hat off, not even at the dining table, unless the wedding reception is over.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

A pair of gloves is one thing a bride should never be without. Truly, I would love to see women wearing gloves again and not only for formal affairs. Wearing gloves changes the character and the posture of a woman. With gloves, there are no sneakers, ripped jeans, messy hair, or mismatched colors.
I think gloves adds a touch of class and femininity, although, I am not so sure young women these days want to be feminine anymore. There is, however, in the crowd of middle age women, a new growing sensitivity towards dressing up in style.

As for the flower creations, keep it natural, don’t use flowers with strong scents, some people have allergy to flowers, keep a relaxed feel, be in tune with the gentle nature of May flowers. Some peonies are not fragrant, just look very beautiful and plump, mix them with silver birch stems with foliage and royal fern. I learned that’s what the British will do for a coming wedding.

(Below: Royal fern https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmundaceae)

I also learned that a yellow gold is the preferred metal for wedding band to attract the positive energy of the sun on you. Welsh mines produce the most valuable yellow gold, for your information. You don’t have to go that far to get the best wedding ring, any yellow gold will do the job and if it has some yellow diamond in it, more power to you.

In a royal wedding, when trumpets play, you know something is happening, either the Queen/King has arrived, or the bride is at the church’s steps. In your wedding, plan to have some musical instruments playing your grand entry. The sweet music of many violins played a classical music announcing the arrival of one of my clients at her wedding ceremony and it was magical.

I have played with the idea of having a royal wedding, why not? It is not forbidden to dream. We know what happens to people who dream big, they end up living in a castle with a prince consort.
Your wedding can be as royal as you make it with pompous and circumstances. You can tone it down or make it as visible as you like. The important thing is to organize your wedding to reflect who both of you are as a couple starting a new life, how you want your guests to feel in your special day and that you the bride look radiant. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion and Interior Designer, born in Italy in a family of artists. Style surrounded her since the beginning of her life. Her many years of experience led her to offer consultations in both specializations and now she can remodel homes as well as personal images. She is passionate about colors and encourages her clients to express their individual style in their homes and with the clothes they wear.To better help people all over the world she offers consultations online. She is the author of three books. Get your copy of Valentina’s book on colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors on
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w