The background: I came across Francesca’s smart Substack, and immediately asked her to do a guest post. She’s a self-defined “quick-witted fashion veteran and an unapologetic style savant” who’s dedicated her entire career to fashion, with a degree in fashion sociology, a master’s in mass media and communication and another one in sustainability leadership. She’s worked in designer showrooms in Milan like Martine Sitbon, and Jil Sander, and is the author of The Cheat Sheet of Italian Style: Confidence and Sustainable Chic in Ten Struts (which, coincidentally, she says was inspired by I Want to be Her!) She is now teaches sustainable fashion, is a circularity advocate and an expert in apparel and luxury fashion. She’s also super funny and has impeccable taste, so read on…
Hometown: Viareggio, on the Italian Riviera (the same region where Marquis Emilio Pucci and Guccio Gucci were born).
Self-described style: A disruptive minimalist, I am a Lee Radziwill-white-tee-shirt-on-the-cover-of-T-Magazine hybrid with Debo, the Duchess of Devonshire, floor-length duchesse skirt. I borrow from the boys a lot, and by that I mean my father and maternal grandfather were very stylish, chic and always impeccably dressed and I used to raid their armoires sneakily to steal specifically a crocodile belt, any available watch, a spring suede jacket and plenty of silk pochettes.
Where I get my inspiration: First, I watch all the runway shows of my favorite brands, I wake up at 6 am if I need to for the Milan shows. Then, it’s all about knowing your history, I geek out on those Alexander McQueen shows, Dior by John Galliano, late ‘90s Prada, and Romeo Gigli. I meticulously investigate what la Signora Prada wears at the end of each runway. I avoid flower prints and body-tight clothes unapologetically, yet adore Toile de Jouy, stripes, plaid, and Vichy checks.
Style icons: The character Tess, played by Melanie Griffith in Working Girl as an ever-evolving woman, with different jobs and careers, adapting to heels in the office from sneakers for the commute, wild haircuts, glasses like satellites, and one fur coat. Chloë Sevigny for her irreverence, also because she is that level of iconic to have her own Régime des Fleurs fragrance.
Best thing about what I do: I love teaching college students, a profession I embarked on in a life phase when people usually start thinking about retiring.
Worst thing about what I do: Grading, first because the bad cop in me comes out and second because I figure out who didn’t listen to the lecture or didn’t do the reading, and that is disappointing.
One piece of clothing I will never get rid of: This is like asking a parent who their favorite child is, but I would say my mini collection of Oscar de la Renta pieces, that comes down to two full skirts and one black dress from 2004, the time I worked at the Bal Harbour boutique. I still wear them.
Three things I can’t live without: My morning espresso, my fragrance (more on this later), and and my favorite oversized navy blazer. If you’d let me add my Hunter rain boots it would make it in my hurricane preparedness list.
Motto: Luxury is a State of Mind
This summer’s fragrance is a blend of two Henry Rose fine fragrances, Last Light and Jake’s House Hear me out here: I am one fine-fragrance-for-life person, always been since age 23 when I smelled Reminiscence Patchouli on a friend. It’s iconic, intense, and sensual, yet hard to pull off in inhumanely humid Miami summers. After years of resistance, I went out of my woody and amber comfort zone intrigued by the research behind the fragrances that Michelle Pfeiffer has developed. Honestly, who wouldn’t want to smell like Scarface’s heroine Elvira or One Fine Day’s mom? I am extremely picky with perfumes, you can call me snobbish, but if someone enters the elevator with a whiff of a synthetic deodorant slash perfume I get off and take the next. Anyway, I loved playing with the idea of pairing two different fragrances and how they'd react on my skin, so I bought their sample kit and started playing with them. The best surprise is I have learned to wear a new fragrance and here you have a micro lecture on fine fragrances.
My never-ending search for the perfect white tee shirt ended with the Uniqlo Airism cotton oversized short sleeve crewneck. What’s perfect for me, is not for everyone else, but since The Bear everyone is in frantic search of the Mother of all the white shirts. I bought many and allowed myself to go up to $60 per tee which is not Prada or The Row standard, but high enough to find a good one. Although I am not ethically inclined to like Uniqlo and I am committed to the Rule of Five (only buying five items this year), I entered their Broadway store and found THE one: perfect weight, doesn’t wrinkle, not see-through or clingy on my peri-menopausal upper body, the right neckline to wear under the blazer and still see my necklaces, good enough to wear alone.
Church’s x Miu Miu Shanghai leather and linen brogues These are the ideal ones, but you can find a dual material Oxfords, single or double monks brogues by other handmade brands like The Office of Angela Scott. Keyword: handmade— go for them, they will be in your closet forever.
I swear by Farmacia Santa Maria Novella Carta D’Armenia to burn in the house instead of incense. I grew up with it. It smells like spices and resins, probably the best feature is that the strips burn with no flame or smoke and the aroma permeates the rooms. Like coffee in the morning, it's a comforting, incense-y fragrance that reminds me of home.
A voluminous white cotton full-skirt like Khaite’s Mila— or this Marni (on sale!). The cool girls say that a white balloon skirt is the item of the Summer. But also love me some eggshell white linen skirt like this one from Theory (pictured).
The French basket to carry everywhere, from the fresh market to the plane. I like them with leather double handles and Etsy is the best place to get them— they come from Morocco.
Chunky ear cuff I have this thing for gold jewelry, could it be because I grew up in the '80s? Rings, arm party, neck layers, and love me a stack of earrings. And ear cuffs are my thing, they go on and off, you may or may not have pierced ears, and cuffs are the best solution, they go on and off as fast as an elevator ride, and they are decorative enough that they can be asymmetric, you can stack two on one ear or simply use one, but then wait for people to tell you that you may have lost one earring!
Carven shorts I had been hunting for long shorts, that aren't wide but are not capri, that aren't hot pants nor Normcore/school uniform, that aren't sexy, but they are chic enough to wear with ballerinas or heels.
This Timex. I love a big watch for every day.
please, more guest hosts like Francesca! Francesca once a week?
Ok trying the Uniqlo tees, I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect ones