On the bus...

All of you know how the majority of the posts of The Sartorialist are titled: "On the street"

Well, I could make an antology of posts "On the bus". Or even better "from the bus window", meaning windows of every mean of transport.

Really, not that is the most interesting thing of the world for you to read, but I think I spend half of my life looking outside the window of the bus, train, car, plane and to the unknown people that travel with me.

That is because I travel a lot alone. 

When I was a kid we did a lot of holidays with the caravan, we traveled almost all Europe like that and my sister was too little to keep me company (and even if she was old enough we're like cat and dog, so better that we don't interact too much, especially in close little spaces ahah) and I already had that big fixation with music: trips of hours and hours, just looking outside the window and listening to music.

That's how I still remember many of the landscapes and details I saw, even if I was very little, it's the best way for me to print something in my mind forever.

Then when I was going to University I had to do four hours of trip every day from and to my town, and I kept  doing it really a lot.

Now it's also like that, from the bus ride to work to my trips to Italy to meet my family, to my holidays.

I look, I observe, I imagine and I listen to music.

I could write a book on the things I see, you could tell a whole story just about those two minutes in which your bus is waiting at the red traffic light: so many things happen outside, so many expressions you can read on the face of the people sitting in front of you.

The girl of this drawing was sitting in front of me on the tram the other day. 

She had a bit messy hair, washed out red lipstick and her eyeliner was starting to fade. It looked like she ran to catch the tram after a long day of work. And she was extremely beautiful. She was looking outside too, she seemed to think about something deeply, thing that actually permitted me to take hundreds of mental snap shots of her without her noticing (no, I'm not a stalker).

But believe me, she was much more beautiful and intense than how I managed to draw her, I still remember her.

This other girl instead was on the bus this evening. She wasn't beautiful, but I liked how she was dressed. She looked impatient, and determined and strong, that's why I draw her with strong strokes, in a fast way. It seemed like she was looking forward for a date, I really liked how she jumped off the bus.

It's nice to wonder what the people around you are doing or are about to do... 

It's strange because your world revolves around yourself, and when you stop and actually start to think that all the people around you have a life too, that comes from a moment before the one in which you're seeing them and continues also after that, and you start to imagine how these lives can be, you feel your head spinning and it's like you lose your center. 

It's like when you look at the night sky in summer, full of stars, and you really feel like you're a dot and it's too much so you have to think to something else...

OK, enough with this pseudo-philosophic crap, it's Friday night for God's sake (and my boyfriend went out but I stayed home to draw, it's quite peaceful in here eh eh eh...)

And OMG, I was about to forget an important, FUNDAMENTAL thing:

THE NEW ALBUM OF THE RADIOHEAD IS OUT!!!

If you just could imagine how much I like the Radiohead, then MAYBE you would be able to guess how happy I am.

I am listening to it now and I am almost crying for the joy (really... no it's not because I am a bit drunk, what are you saying?? It's really because I love them and I've been waiting for this moment for ages!) 

Oooohhh Thom Yorke thank you, you made my next 6 months of bus rides completely a different story!

You can buy their new album, The King of Limbs, here (mp3 version for 7 euros) and I leave you with their new video:

The music is too beautiful, the video too good, Thom Yorke is too cool... should I continue until tomorrow morning?


Look at it!


Good night!


Al

Surface to Air

I remember a day, when I was in the second year of University.

It was 8 am of a wonderful July Sunday morning, I was driving back from a party held in a country house on the hills around Florence and I was listening to Chemical Brothers. 

They just released their new album, "Push the Button", and I loved it.

I had my car window open, it was hot but still a little bit chilly because it was still early in the morning. 

The sun was shining very hard on the short, burned grass (if you ever been to Italy in summer you should know that light can be pretty overwhelming).

I was driving to work, at that time in the week-ends I was responsible for the House-museum of Giotto (a great painter of the XIII-XIV century). 

It was this house in the countryside, 5 minutes drive from my town, I just basically had to open everything and wait for visitors and tourists (not many, actually). 

I usually brought my books there to study, or alternatively I also had the company of two very sweet kid girls of the neighborhood: they were making me feel less scared of being alone in that old house and I, in return, was used to draw for them or help them with the home works.

That morning I was quite tired, I partied all night and also drank a bit (a bit...), the book of Biochemistry was waiting for me at the Giotto house because I had that terrible exam in 3 days but I had a nice feeling (incredible how many energies you have when you're 20... Sigh...)

The air was too sweet, perfumed and warm not to feel happy that morning. 

"Surface to Air", my favorite song from that Chemical Brothers album, was playing on my car CD player, I put my hand out of the car window and started to design the hills with my hand, following the curves of the air against my skin, through the speed.

Today, when I listen to this song, I still think of that day. 

It has become the symbol of youth and summer, and freedom in my memory.

But! 

Saccharine memories aside, "Surface to Air" is also the name of a Paris-based creative cooperative (they are the agency for brands like Uniqlo, they have an art studio that works for many great designers and so on...) and prêt à porter brand that I really like. This is their website, have a look!

I really like their woman SS 2011 collection, it really has that light, simple feeling that that Sunday morning reminds me:

A collection of dresses from Surface to air website

Aaaaahhh the shoes... They are sublime! You can find them on Surface to air website
or on Net-à-porter (a small selection)

My favorite sweater from the collection and the perfect black trousers, on Surface to air website

So, do you like this collection? I really do, I really smell spring and warm air when I see their clothes.

I will go now, you be good girls, listen to "Surface to Air" song and dream of summer together with me.

Goodnight!

Al

Stripes and colors

From upper left, clockwise:

iPad case - Marc by Marc Jacobs on Net-à-Porter

Striped top - Malene Birger on Net-à-Porter

Yellow skirt - See by Chloè on the Outnet

Bracelets - Asos

Blush crème in Temptation Fuchsia and Passion Red - Yves Saint Laurent

Bag - Prada

Shoes - Prada

Eyeshadows: MAC in "Chrome Yellow" and "Sushi Flower"

Apparently when my working days become a depressing hell, colors appear on my blog. I mean, more colors than  usual.

So next time you see a colorful post, start to worry for me ahah.

I think nobody is interested in what's happening to my project at work in the last months, but if you are in a mood to have a very good laugh and also have an idea of what's happening to me - Lady Gaga song aside- have a look at this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl4L4M8m4d0 it is so funny that is has gone viral! And it's my life ahah (well, there's nothing to laugh about it, actually...)

Speaking of more interesting stuff, I really love how they played with colors and stripes this year, especially Marc by Marc Jacobs, Prada and Sonya Rykiel:

Marc by Marc Jacobs SS 2011 - Images from Style.com

Prada SS 2011 - Images from Style.com

Sonia Rykiel SS 2011 - Images from Style.com

Aaaahhh they make me feel the sun and the smell of summer! And I really need it now...


And they also have a very '80 feeling I think... Like this song, that I love! (I really like the video, too)

Now I am going in the shower to cry my scientific misery under liters of hot water and lavender soap...

No but wait! These colors really made me feel better... Ok then but I really gotta have a shower anyway so I'm off! Goodnight! Kisses! Love you! ahah!

(see?? I do really feel better!)

Al

Paris is all I need

This Japanese girl was incredibly elegant. It was one of the first beautiful people of Paris I saw during this little holiday, Friday night in the Marais

The Marais, my parisian biggest love

Inside "Merci" shop

She had a classic Vanessa Bruno bag that I've always liked and these very nice fringed Oxfords

Centre Pompidou... It seems I have some kind of destiny with orange bikes

(I was listening to this song while drawing):

I don't want to speak too much today, you already had the words-flood yesterday and that's enough!

It would be great if you could breath the same atmosphere that I felt in Paris through these images, but I know it's almost impossible (I would need a better camera... and better drawings! ahah)

Sometimes I would like to be a street-style photographer to catch all the styles, the nice people, and the situations I see around me, but I am too shy to ask people to take a pic of them... I try to draw once home but inevitably the result is a bit diluted compared to the "original"... But I still hope that in this way I manage to convey at least the 0,01% of what I see...

Good night all of you!

Al 

À Paris

The style of les parisiennes is able to make me freak out even more than the Londoner's.... argh!!

Yes, as you may understand from the title of this post, I am going to Paris.

Don't misunderstand me, I am usually not lucky enough to travel this often (Italian week-ends with family aside) but this time it happens that I have to go to Paris just after I came back from London and honestly I couldn't be happier.

So friday night I'm hopping on the train and I'll be back on Sunday (for secret reasons ahahah... I'll tell you next week but no, anything that has to do with something super-cool like fashion weeks and the like... I guess it was not so difficult to imagine, ahah).

So this tiny post just to tell you that I'll be back here just on monday or tuesday: I'll be very busy until Friday because I have to finish my presentation (a one hour-long presentation for the department meeting, the most boring thing ever but I have to...) and then I'll leave so I'll see you in a few days... I'll miss you!! ahahah

If you have any suggestions for restaurants, nice places to see and cafés please tell me!!

I leave you with some pics and songs to put you in a Parisian mood as much as I am...

La Tour Eiffel in May

Place des Vosges, my favourite square

Les Halles... I love it!!

The Air are my favourite French musicians (and I love their French accent when they speak english!):

I love the album "5:55" from Charlotte Gainsbourg (in fact, the Air wrote the music).

Bises!!

Al

Burlesque!

Yesterday I went to see a Burlesque show with my friends and Tommy.

Actually it was the final show of a Belgian Burlesque dance school "Schoon Madammen" (look at their Facebook page, there are some nice pics of their lessons), organized as a competition between the girls that were participating.

I was amazed by one thing: the sexiest women of the group were all very curvy girls.

It was really entertaining and beautiful to see these buttery, curvy, sexy bombs moving on the stage almost naked without worrying if they had some kilos extra on their butt or belly. 

I don't know if it's because I am part of the almost-plus-size category, but I was super excited in seeing how sexy and body-conscious you can be even wearing a 48 (Italian) size. 

They were rocking those corsets and silk gloves pretty hard. 

"Nikita" was maybe the most curvy, but I think she was also the sexiest. And in fact she won the contest!

My attempt in drawing the beautiful Nikita. Sorry girl, you're much more beautiful than this.

I think it taught me something.

I always push down my mood when I have those period in which I see myself 30 kilos overweight instead of 6 or 7. I can't even look in the mirror and I feel I have to wear only extra-sized clothes to cover my curves.

Well, I shouldn't. I have got some boobs, a waist line and a round butt. Why should I cover them? From now on it's Nikita mood, I promise.

And yesterday night, going out of the theater, I was quite happy to have a dress and my red lipstick on. Walking chin up I felt quite sexy too.

Speaking of sexy things, one of the girls was dancing on Goldfrapp music (it was a non orthodox burlesque: some girls had a more modern show and also their music was quite recent). I love Alison Goldfrapp, I think she's one of the sexiest women of the world

This was the song in the show (it's not my favorite, though, but super-sexy anyway)

I always listen to Goldfrapp in the gym, it's like constantly thinking "gotta have a nice butt-gotta have a nice butt- gotta have a nice butt- harder-harder-harder-noooooo don't listen to your spleeeeeeennn!!!!"


Gotta go to lunch and I send you a kiss. 
I'll maybe draw some more about this: you should have seen how many interesting people there were, also at the retro-vintage party after the show!! One girl that arrived with her bike was oh so cool, I will try to put her on the paper I think!
(I never have my camera with me when it's more needed, tsk!!)


Al

She's so glam

Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is one of my female idols in the contemporary show and music business. 

I think I love her so much because she is many of the things I would like to be, all together. The fact that these things are exactly the ones, among all, that I will NEVER reach makes her even more appealing to my eyes: she's androgynous and I am and will always be buttery curvy, she's rock'n'roll and I am hopelessly grandma, she's a cool singer and I am a nerd scientist. Oh yeah yeah yeah.

She's like an explosion of energy and coolness for me. I just need to look at one of her videos to feel better (less grandma, I would say. In fact, lots of her songs are in my Ipod's Gym playlist....)

She's so so so glam!

And she's one of my favorite "red dots" (I know, I seem crazy. Actually I think I am a bit autistic for colors but you don't mind, it's normal and you'll get used to it)

This is one of the last Yeah Yeah Yeah singles (the video is very cool and it fills me with energy), but my favorite songs are Maps and Y control

So? Do you like Karen O?


Al

Loscil - Endless Falls

I love to listen to this as a background when I'm doing something else
(look outside the window, imagine and/or think, read, write my posts, cook, clean the bathroom...)

Asobi Seksu - Thursday

This song is among my favourites since two years now already.

Doesn't it make you dream too?

My friend Stijn posted this on his facebook wall.
I really love both music & video.

(OMG how many posts today... you really see that it's Sunday and I've got nothing to do...)

Al