#VintageFashionAccessories | Valentina Expressions

Vintage Love | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

If you go through your mom’s closet and drawers and you find stuff that belongs to another era, what do you do? Do you throw it all away if she has left this world, do you keep all or some, or are you in ecstasy seeing past fashion, trying on jewelry, imagining how it was, or maybe the events your mom went with those items?

Fashion of the past eras have exquisite details, some of the pieces are designed with extravagant fantasy, workmanship on some clothes is unrepeatable, delicate embroidery and intricate stitches are a work of many hours skilled hands dedicated to fashion. Take a look at these ‘window or perforated’ gloves to understand how small details like these were so important a few years ago.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

(Photo found on: http://www.modaa.net/25-bayan-eldiven-modelleri-2014-2015)

My love for vintage would not allow me to ruthlessly discard anything without thinking of the way I can use it in my modern life. A pair of sabot like the salmon ones in the photos are perfect to wear with a 1950’s ankle pants with a side split. Vintage accessories add a touch of originality to the look.

I have collected my small pins in the photo below through the years, bought them at various antique shops or second hands stores and now I attach them on collars, fabric purses, at the edge of pants and around pockets of jackets or jeans. A bland sweater that has no particular interest, suddenly takes a new character.

I think a woman wardrobe becomes interesting when it comprises a good mix of modern accessories and accessories of a different era, trendy modern clothes and artsy pieces. Colors are important as breathing, one must have basic colors to go with some bold, vibrant colors. A good wardrobe is built to reflect the owner’s personality and not a replica of a department stores.

I hope you have something from the past that reminds you of someone, an event, a special moment that you keep enjoying in your life. 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

It Is Not The Hawaiian Leis | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

Welcome to my Friday Fashion episode.
In Chinatown I feel like a kid in a town fair. Colors, especially the color red and gold burst from pillar to post, pungent food smell comes out of every restaurant, some food do not appeal to my nose, but that’s OK, I don’t have to eat everything I see. Chinese people are very laborious, I can feel the hustle and bustle of Chinatown. Shops are full of tchotchke, trinkets and ornaments for tourists the same everywhere competing with one another. It is common to find food, fashion items and home cleaning utensils sharing the space in the same store. Once every ten shops, one might find a special shop with upscale merchandise, original fashion and attractive one of a kind items.

In a jewelry shop, I found this coral necklace. It is double the length you see in the photo. I bought it out of impulse, the light of the store was so vivid that made every piece of jewelry bright and shiny, but when I brought it home I realized the colors did not suit my face and it looked too much like a Hawaiian flower leis, the kind of garland tourists receive as a sign of welcome or farewell. I had the idea to combine it with something else in a treasure chest. Vintage brooches and flowers pins fixed the look of this necklace to my liking. Now, I wear it wrapped around the neck twice and I attach the brooches or the flower as a pendant depending on the time of the day and the season.

Buying on impulse often is a waste of money if nothing else can be done to alter the piece to your liking and most certainly that piece will end up in the landfill, or in the closet contributing to the expansion of clutter. Knowing our body shape and the colors that complement our skin tone will reduce or totally stop the temptation of buying on impulse. In my case, since I collect many fashion items of interest, I can mix and match easily and I am able to turn things around to make them into something else. I keep my seamstress at work and happy.

Now, go to your wardrobe and pull out some items, clothes or jewelry you don’t like much. Can you change the look by pairing it with something else, or detract something from it? If you are in doubt and before discarding any piece call the expert stylist. I am always available for consultation in person and online. 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. To better help people in 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
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w