Should I apply for citizenship now or later?

My second week in Milan has been even better than the first. I love how Milan is slowly feeling like home. I love knowing my way to the grocery store, how to maneuver the metro, and where the best gelato is located. This past week has been full of exploring, getting lost, finding the best places to eat in, stumbling across major fashion houses offices, eating gelato and learning.

This past weekend, we ventured into the Brera district to see the Brera museum. The building the museum was located in was almost as impressive as the artwork inside of it. Before stepping inside the museum entrance, the first entrance takes you inside of a beautiful courtyard with a statue of Napoleon. We got to the museum early on Saturday morning. We navigated the museum and took notes on different articles of clothing from different time periods in paintings. In the future, I will be doing an assignment based on the art work inside of the Brera museum. Below is a photo of my roommate and I modeling our new Leghila bags at the Brera museum.

The following day, Sunday, was my first day off in Milan. This was certainly my most memorable day of the week. I went with two of my friends to go to an open market in Milan. We did our research in advance to figure out what line for the metro to take, what stop to get off and where to walk once we got off of the metro. As prepared as we were to find the market, we never did. We got our exercise in and walked in circles for over an hour before giving up. We did ask someone how to get to the “open market” and the man told us to follow him because he was headed in that direction. We did end up at an open market, but not the kind we were searching for. The man took us to a supermarket. In his defense, it was an open market.  It wasn’t a waste of a trip because we stumbled across one of LVMH’s offices, found an IKEA, and took the metro to Montenapoleone to explore.

A trend I am finding in Milan is getting lost. The next day in Milan we headed towards the Wall Street of Milan to visit Veneto Banca to work on our final project. In route to Veneto Banca we got slightly lost, but we managed to get there early. At Veneto Banca, we were able to ask the group questions relating to their interest in investing in either independent retail or luxury. My group is recommending to invest in independent retail and the meeting with them gave us some useful information for our project. Below is a photo of our visit.

 

Later in the day, I managed to get lost again. After being in Italy for over a week, my friends and I decided to venture to Chinatown to eat something different. Again, we checked the metro and mapped out our stops, but we got of the metro in an area that looked nothing like Chinatown. We did have a map with us, but we tried to avoid using the map at risk of looking like a tourist. Instead, we probably looked even more like tourists because we kept walking in squares. Eventually, we did make it to Chinatown and we had a fun time trying to translate all of the different restaurants menus because they were all in Chinese and Italian. We had a great meal in Chinatown and we headed back to our metro stop to go home. Once arriving at the metro, my friend Alexis realized she did not have her metro card with her. We will never get lost in Chinatown again because we left the metro and walked all around Chinatown to see if we could find it.

On Wednesday morning we went to the fashion library. We also got slightly lost headed there as well, but we again managed to make it there on time. The fashion library is a gem located in Milan. I could live in the fashion library for the rest of my life and be very, very happy. Do not be surprised if I come home in July looking for book donations so I can start the first fashion library in Rhode Island. The library was wall-to-wall-to-wall fashion books and magazines dating back to the 1850s . The library had Vogue magazines from every country that Vogue publishes in. This library is utilized by industry professionals to see the history of fashion and to predict future trends. Being in the library was such a great experience because it truly shows how important the history of fashion is and how different cultures can influence each other. It also shows the evolution of fashion from the first magazine and first trend book to today. Below is a photo of inside the fashion library.

Later in the evening, I surprisingly did not get lost. We headed to the Glamour Italia magazine party. I can barely tell you what happened at the event because I was too busy looking at what everyone was wearing. Seeing everyone’s outfits makes me want to be Bill Cunningham and take pictures of everyone’s outfit. Not only was it their outfits that stood out, but it was the way they carried themselves. Walking towards the party, my roommate Alyssa and I were able to pick out people that we should probably follow because it looked like they were headed to a magazine party. We were right and most of the people we were following were VIP’s for the event. Glamour that evening had various fashion shows and a Solange Knowles concert. Below is a photo of my friends and I headed to the Glamour party.

I am so fortunate for all of the amazing experiences I have had so far in Milan. On Thursday, I went to my favorite site visit so far. We went to the Sangalli showroom. This site visit was different than others because we were able to touch and try on haute couture. I tried on a beaded jacket that took two months to create by hand. The jacket probably weighed 15 pounds and was so heavy I could barely move my arms. It was great to have the opportunity to experience haute couture like this. We even met some of the seamstresses who produced the garments, as well as the designer. Later in the day we met Vladimiro Gioia who is a fur designer. He has had collaborations in the past with Burberry, Versace, Dior, and Valentino. His furs are so unique and detailed. He mixes furs with luxury leathers, such as python from Indonesia and crocodile from Mississippi. As someone who wants to be a future buyer, these site visits are so important because we are able to speak one on one with the designers and see where they gain their inspiration from. We are also able to learn about how the garments are made. The photo below is of the beaded jacket in the showroom.

This has been a great second week in Italy and I am so excited to see what next week has in store. Tomorrow I will be going to Switzerland with my friend Micah and on Monday I am headed to Florence. This upcoming week I am looking forward to Swiss chocolate, leather from Florence, the Angela Caputi showroom, museums and a Missoni fashion show. Yes, that is right! Missoni!