{"id":4328,"date":"2015-04-07T14:11:48","date_gmt":"2015-04-07T12:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=4328"},"modified":"2022-06-08T18:57:44","modified_gmt":"2022-06-08T16:57:44","slug":"italian-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/italian-style\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian Style Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"fefetrain\"<\/p>\n

\u201cTo dress badly, you don\u2019t <\/em>need<\/span> to follow fashion\u2014but it helps<\/em>.\u201d – Ottavio Missoni.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Today I\u2019m engaging in a bit of an experiment. After threatening to do so for almost a year, I\u2019m just about ready to launch an audio podcast for my blog, which will be a sort of \u201cQ & A\u201d addressing various topics of travel and culture in Italy. I\u2019ll be soliciting some \u201cQs\u201d soon, and then I hope to recruit some of my fellow Italy experts to help me come up with the \u201cAs.\u201d Should be fun, so stay tuned.<\/p>\n

As a warm-up to this, I\u2019ve created an audio version of my silly little guide for Italian style, \u201cDress Like an Italian,\u201d to help me get familiar with some of the tools required to create and upload audio content.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019d care to check it out, just fill in the\u00a0form below, and the link will be sent to you automatically. You can download it as an MP3 file, or listen to it on the SoundCloud platform. I\u2019ll also send you an email when the podcast goes live, in case you\u2019re interested.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s free, of course, but I\u2019d be very happy to receive some feedback on this little test project. Specifically, I\u2019d appreciate any comments on the technical aspects<\/em> rather than the content itself. (Yes, I\u2019ve already discovered a few verbal stumbles upon review.) But any input regarding the quality of the sound, the ease of downloading, or the usability of the audio file in various types of players would be very helpful.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a little transcript to give you an idea of what you\u2019re in for. You\u2019ve been warned.<\/p>\n

Three Basic Rules of Italian Style<\/h2>\n

As I\u2019ve already implied, the delicate nuances of Italian fashion will take some time to figure out. But if you start with three basic criteria, you\u2019ll be well on your way to dressing with all the relaxed style and elegance of our Italian friends.<\/p>\n

Rule 1: Keep it simple.<\/strong> This applies to both men and women. This means that you might have all the most exclusive Italian labels in your wardrobe, but if you throw it all together without taste and criteria, people might actually wonder if you casually rolled yourself in the closet with the lights off, and then reemerged with whatever remained attached to you.<\/p>\n

This is, unfortunately, a common mistake.\u00a0 Remember, you want to look like a Michelangelo painting; not a Jackson Pollack.<\/p>\n

\"Michelangelo\"\"pollock\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The general rule is as follows: if you have a stunning outfit with a colorful pattern or a prized blouse with a peculiar cut, or any other piece of clothing that attracts attention, please do not add heavy jewelry, big watches, fluorescent ties, or shiny, eccentric shoes.<\/p>\n

Finding a balance between clothing and accessories is fundamental.<\/p>\n

Vice versa, you can experiment as much as you like with accessories, jewelry, make-up, and shoes if the dress or suit is elegant and plain; unicolor and with a classic cut.\u00a0 In this case, the appropriately matched accessories will only add further value to your outfit and will show your personality. Don\u2019t exaggerate, but have some fun with it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the same with colors, and we\u2019ll go more into that topic later. But as it relates to our rule of simplicity, just remember that we should only incorporate a maximum of three colors into any outfit.<\/p>\n

This general philosophy permeates many areas of Italian culture, including food and cooking, for example.\u00a0 Notice that most Italian recipes contain only three or four ingredients, and they are all easily distinguished, both visually and taste-wise.\u00a0 And so it goes with clothes\u2014too many \u201cingredients\u201d spoil the overall flavor.<\/p>\n

From this philosophy, several secondary rules emerge. For example, men should always match their belts with their shoes. You might be able to bend this rule on rare occasions when your outfit is plain and simple, and therefore some bold shoes or a funky belt might be the appropriate dash of personality in an otherwise \u201cbland\u201d outfit.<\/p>\n

Similarly, for the ladies, you should always match your handbag and shoes.\u00a0 But again, this rule can be broken under specific circumstances that call for a certain degree of fashion risk.<\/p>\n

However, for the non-Italian neophyte, it would be best to stick to the strictest interpretations of the rules for quite some time before venturing into these advanced techniques.\u00a0 To do so before you\u2019re properly indoctrinated is fraught with peril. You jeopardize becoming a victim of fashion instead of its master. At that point you\u2019re no longer wearing the clothes\u2014the clothes are now wearing you.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just<\/em> the clothes. Well, it\u2019s mostly the clothes\u2026<\/h2>\n

Of course, Italians are recognized world-wide for their iconic Italian style<\/a>, and they tend to dress well whether going to the opera, or just to the grocery store.\u00a0 They have a reputation for creating an aura of style that not only compliments the body, but also expresses the true inner self.\u00a0 But never in a loud, ostentatious way\u2014always with taste and discretion.<\/p>\n

Yes, appearances matter in Italy. It\u2019s wonderful if you have a good heart and a sharp intellect. But Italians would further expect you to have a nice haircut, a stylish scarf, and a really beautiful pair of leather shoes besides.<\/p>\n

Dressing well is a way to show other people that you are someone. Americans do this through their homes or cars, but not generally through their clothes. You could oversimplify it by saying that Italians place emphasis on appearances, while Americans value the conspicuous spoils of achievement. I\u2019m not sure if that\u2019s entirely accurate, but it\u2019s a starting point for a discussion.<\/p>\n

Lastly, it\u2019s all how you carry yourself.\u00a0 YOU are making your outfit bella <\/em>by the way you wear it\u2014the outfit won\u2019t make you beautiful if you don\u2019t have a good \u201cportamento<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

And for goodness\u2019 sake, don\u2019t rush about. Italians are never in a hurry, unless they\u2019re driving on the autostrada<\/em>. Walk slowly as if you\u2019re getting paid by the hour, and you know that people are admiring you and your sense of style.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cTo dress badly, you don\u2019t need to follow fashion\u2014but it helps.\u201d – Ottavio Missoni. Today I\u2019m engaging in a bit of an experiment. After threatening to do so for almost a year, I\u2019m just about ready to launch an audio podcast for my blog, which will be a sort of \u201cQ & A\u201d addressing various […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[157,46],"tags":[342,343,159,170,341],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4328"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4328"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12083,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4328\/revisions\/12083"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}