At Bottega Veneta....Summer in Black, Milan
I thought these were two really great variations on volume and Summer Black.
On a personal note, the bottom photo is Marina Larroude of Men.Style.com, we shared a car together to a lot of the shows in Milan and Paris. I was running around with her that day and she just seemed so natural and effortless in that dress. It is always inspiring to see elegance in motion and see a young lady able to get real work done while still looking so chic.
She is a little lost in thought in this photo but trust me she does have a killer smile.
ps - I think she said the dress was Miu Miu
Comments on "At Bottega Veneta....Summer in Black, Milan"
-
lewehrman said ... (9:26 AM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (9:29 AM) :
-
Alice Olive said ... (9:50 AM) :
-
theovereducatedvalet said ... (9:52 AM) :
-
Berkelycole said ... (11:13 AM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (11:20 AM) :
-
Jennifer said ... (11:21 AM) :
-
The Sartorialist said ... (11:35 AM) :
-
Jennifer said ... (11:43 AM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (12:04 PM) :
-
positively the same dame said ... (12:05 PM) :
-
The Sartorialist said ... (12:05 PM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (12:11 PM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (1:01 PM) :
-
The Spicers said ... (1:37 PM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (1:38 PM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (1:50 PM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (2:11 PM) :
-
Unknown said ... (2:22 PM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (4:42 PM) :
-
Susan B said ... (4:43 PM) :
-
dnqcnn said ... (4:54 PM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (5:40 PM) :
-
Michael said ... (6:36 PM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (6:46 PM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (8:13 PM) :
-
Victor Castro said ... (8:48 PM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (9:37 PM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (9:49 PM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (11:58 PM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (9:53 AM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (2:34 PM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (9:13 PM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (2:20 AM) :
-
Jack Daniel said ... (4:44 PM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (6:51 PM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (5:15 AM) :
-
Bel said ... (6:24 AM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (9:11 AM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (4:40 PM) :
-
Asi Mod said ... (7:56 PM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (7:48 AM) :
-
Unknown said ... (11:17 PM) :
-
hannah said ... (4:49 PM) :
-
redblues said ... (10:53 AM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (7:21 PM) :
-
Ruta said ... (6:14 AM) :
-
nidyawiguno said ... (6:20 AM) :
-
TomPetkus said ... (7:46 AM) :
post a commentThe dress on the bottom is just heavenly!
What makes this shot is that she is lost in thought and looks very beatific. Like a lovely classical painting.
Good catch!
Ayyyyy, as the Manolo would say. A black patent YSL Muse bag.
Marina's dress is beautiful. I love the implied volume and movement, yet it's not bulky at all, very delicate. Summer black is a great description. PS I love her shoes too.
The shoes in the second photo are so pretty!
Great look on Marina...
The first lady is just class
i love the contrast between the 2 women, both doing, as you said, summer black. i wonder if everyone else can pick the one that they would do as easily as i can.
ps i'm here for the fashion/style/flair. i think your colleague looks terrific and there is no need to make excuses for her expression - have you ever done that for a male subject? i especially appreciate that you asked about the label.
For Editor
I only commented on her smile because very often people leave comments saying "she (or he) would look better with a smile" which is not really fair - so I wanted to try and diffuse that on this post before it got started.
this is in no way a male or female thing and I'm a little surprised that you would kinda accuse me of that
S
i'm not accusing you of having any bad intentions. never! heck, you wouldn't post all the wonderful, diverse women that you do, if you did. but if the problem is that people whine about wanting smiles, you don't have to balance that with excuses.
In response to editor's comments, Good for you Sart.
First off it is your blog so you have the right to express yourself how ever you see fit and secondly I have found your observations and comments to be very sensitive to the situation. And, you are so right about the smile comments......why does someone have to smiling for it to be considered a nice photo?
lovely dress, lovely shoes, lovely expression.
got it!
S
I agree that the first woman looks stunning.
The second one draws me because there's something almost "Audrey Hepburn" about her posture, her reflective stance. Personally, I'm not fond of the dress, but I love the entire effect of... just her.
The 2nd woman is very inspiring --her outfit is relatively simple and yet full of interest. Who cannot admire Prada? The shoes are perfect. And her hair --very cool.
A question unrelated to this post, but raised for me by a recent one:
can a woman over 40 wear kneesocks? Is this an age-appropriate item?
Both beautiful, but the restrained volume on the 2nd one makes it my favorite. And "lost in thought" isn't a bad look. Lovely!
WOW the top woman is stunning, I wish I bumped into such elegance in real life every now and then. But at least you capture it for us. She reminds me of some Hollywood actress from the forties. What natural grace. I like how she is not really tanned and still manages not to resemble a vampire or a gloomy goth. I guess that is how summer black should be done. I wonder, was she Italian?
love both.
great contrast of #2 in comparison to this one:
http://men.style.com/fashion/blogs/sartorialist/2007/06/at-givenchy-tk.html
the whole smile thing is totally a female/male thing. not accusing you, but as a female, i get it all the time from strangers on the street, and while i know it's meant well, i find it pretty presumptuous and rather sexist. you never hear those kind of comments addressed to men.
She is beautiful!
this is a great shot of Marina. I think she looks amazing in this photo. the hair, the dress, the shoes, i love it all.
The top photo is the perfect argument for the LBD at any time of year! Simple, elegant, stunning -- of course, she is beautiful, but also a perfect example of the power of understatement.
And the thing that strikes me about the second photo, of Marina, is how nice it is to see one of those loose dresses worn knee-length instead of mid-thigh, "baby-doll" length. (It is hard to imagine anyone over 24 wearing one, to say nothing of wondering about the undergarments on a breezy day)!
Marina looks absolutely elegant here, and I think it is enhanced by the pensive expression. But if the dress was shorter, she'd be transformed into just another one of Humbert Humbert's fantasies -- he'd be in heaven this summer, wouldn't he!
And Sart, true photographer, so great when you post b&w photos -- that shot of the window with the awning is also pure elegance!
I absolutely love it that the photos of the two women are in color, but have almost all the qualities of a b&w photo -- really a sublime touch that you put all three of them together.
What is it about the lack of color that is so evocative -- does it engage our imagination more powerfully? And is that why dressing in black makes such a strong statement?
They both look lovely. I wish I could pull off that voluminous look; it looks so comfy for a warm summer day!
oh i so envy these girls who get to wear these beautiful dresses, they are just so lucky!
i specifically like the bottom one, its so girly and twirly! <3
I love that dress, so cute... But personaly I would go for a another color of shoes. And I like the fact that she's not smiling. It makes her more, just more...
Marina is very pretty!
the top lady looks very elegant... I wish I could see the back of the second dress though
hola,
beautiful as usual. i love miu miu right now. i saw their new ad with lindsay lohan (i am not a fan of hers), and i couldn't believe how awesome they made her look.
I mostly like their natural look! Smile or no smile, both make the dresses! They carry it very well!
marina and her long legs/dress combo is just GORGEOUS
In the last few weeks I have noticed a little nastiness coming out in some of the comments. I have loved your blog because you always find the best in people, and push that forward. So, I'd say, bravo on keeping people focused on seeing what is good--this is not "what not to wear" but rather a tribute to individual style.
Lovely dress on the second lady! Beautiful shoes too!
Both look wonderful! Both very tasteful.
the elastic waist on that miu miu dress is really great! and I can't tell, is it sort of a sash-y thing in the back or more like a sacque-back? either way, it looks really elegant AND comfortable for summer.
The first woman is actually Lithuanian model turned buisnesswoman (her name is Asta Valentaitė), shes bringing designers into our country, opening their boutiques
She is really good looking ;)
your photo of marina is breathtaking. really beautiful.
i agree that her expression only enhances it. a smile wouldn't have been the same.
your good judgement never fails to impress!
The lady in the top picture is STUNNING!! But the dress of the bottom is my fave...
;)
The first young lady is a classic goddess. Such excellent, subdued, classic elegance.
Having said that, it is the second young lady, Marina, who has captured my heart.
I love her simplicity, her naturalness, her "nothing is implied here" look, her wistful pensiveness. The dress is wonderful. I found a dress similar to that earlier this year in a thrift---no, not designer, but off-the-rack 80s polyester, and your photo captures the feeling of this dress, so well. She looks so "comfortable in her skin". I applaud your effort. xoxoxo, as always, lady
The second dress,leaves so much to the imagination!
I love it. Then she shows a little skin in the beautiful shoes. Brilliant.
The lady in the second photo is so chic and I absolutely love the originality of the dress. Makes her stand out from the crowd.
They both look amazing. I especially like the second woman's hair.
But if I had to choose which style I'd go for, it'd be the first. She just looks like class.
i agree that the second photo exemplifies effortless style, BUT, i think i have to disagree about the black catering to summer. it seems very fall or spring to me...
It just goes to show an elegant black dress does not have to cling to the body. I can understand why she is so comfortable in that dress. And it's so elegant.
are the shoes marc jacobs?
the first woman is absolutely beautiful. who is she?
love both dresses, and i also love the fact that neither one of these ladies are fakey tan. beautiful!
I think she's probably hiding a lovely figure under what appears to be far to much fabric for her thin frame. I do love the pose, and the pensive dreamy look. I must say, I am not a fan of the present "baby doll" voluminous, waistless dresses. The killer shoes are what keep this from looking too "beachy".
Who designed the dress in the top photo? It is the quintessential LBD!
the first woman is Asta Valentaite, she used to be a model and runs some fashion business at the moment in Vilnius, Lithuania
really nice black dress :)
first picture Asta Valentaitė from Lithuania