One last city in my fashion capitals world tour: MILAN! From silk scarves to pasta & wine for every meal, Milan was the perfect way to cap off my study abroad adventures!
For our first day in Milan I wore our black Tonya top with a black and powder blue zebra midi length skirt we got at Nordstrom several years ago and paired it with my white On-Clouds for some comfy shoes since we would be walking a lot! We started our day with a walking tour of the area around the Duomo and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II which has all of the high end designer store including the original Prada store! Then we went to this motorcycle shop that also has a restaurant and clothing store attached to it and I had the most delicious gnocchi! We spent the rest of the day shopping and ended our night with some gelato!
My outfit for day 2 in Milan was definitely one of my favorites, I paired our tan Luna skirt with this super cute flower top I got from Madewell and wore my brown leather Free People sandals. We went to this really cool photography exhibit about Helmut Newton who is a famous fashion photographer and then the rest of the day we had free time. So me and some of the girls went to Terrazza Aperol for lunch and drinks and they of course had the classic Aperol Spritz but they also had a bunch of other fun drinks that all featured aperol in them, and we had the most gorgeous view of the Duomo while we ate! And then we got some gelato and went into this really cool little book store!!
Day trip to Lake Como! This day I wore a Billabong one-piece swimsuit as a bodysuit and paired it with our Harlow linen pants and my Free People sandals! I had been looking forward to our day in Como the whole trip and it did not disappoint!!!! Como is known for their silk so we went to this silk museum and learned all about the history and process of making silk and I got a couple silk scarves. We took a boat tour of the lake and some of the smaller towns near Como, the water was so blue and the towns looked like they came straight out of a dream! We spent the rest of the day relaxing on the boat and exploring and of course took LOTS of photos!!!
My weekend OOTD consisted of a pink sweater tank from this store called Mango and I paired it with my denim shorts from Madewell and one of the scarves I had gotten from Como the day before. This day we celebrated our friend Caroline’s 21st bday so we slept in that morning and then started our day with brunch at this adorable restaurant called EL&N! The whole restaurant was pink and flowery and fun!! I got some french toast covered in nutella and their Lucky Latte which is just a latte with lucky charms on top! After we got back to our hotel we changed into some dresses and got ready for dinner and a fun night out! At Bama we always have sign nights for 21st birthdays, so some of the girls on the trip made Caroline a 21st birthday sign to wear out in Italy. We went to a rooftop restaurant that had a great view of the city and then spent the rest of the night at a club called Duomo 21!
For our day trip to Florence I wore our Joy top with our Rosella skirt and my white Vejas. Our first stop of the day was the Gucci Gardens, they had a whole room of purses that was definitely my favorite part of the exhibit! There was another room that had several gucci pieces that had been worn by celebrities like Lana Del Ray! After that we went to Ferragamo museum, another Italian designer. The exhibit there was all about his wife Wanda Ferragamo and other notable women from the 50s/60s and their lives. Then we had the rest of the day to explore the city, so we walked over to the leather markets since Florence is known for their leather products and I got a couple purses. Some of the girls and I also found one of the iconic wine windows and each got a glass! After dinner we headed back to Milan.
Our schedule wasn't super packed this day so I went for a more comfy outfit with our Joey romper and added a little scarf for a pop of color. This day was all about the denim industry in Milan! We went into this super cool vintage denim store pretty close to our hostel and met a guy who consults with designers in the industry when they want to include denim in their collections. Then we went to Candiani denim where they create sustainable custom jeans for clients, so we learned about the jean making process and got a tour of their facility which was super cool!
For our day trip to Bologna I wore this white linen vest and white linen shorts both from the Gap and decided to put my hair in some cute little pig tail braids. We started our morning going to a HUGE vintage fashion archive that had over 60,000 pieces ranging from high end couture to vintage tees from America! One of the main things Bologna is known for is their food so we went to a highly recommended restaurant for lunch, Osteria Dell’orsa, where I got a traditional meal of Tortellini in brodo (which is just tortellini in broth). After that me and some of the girls got our nails done and spent the rest of the day exploring the city!
For our last day in Milan we started our morning with a seminar all about what it means to be Made In Italy and after that we got lunch at this delicious sandwich shop! I wore this fun printed midi length dress that I got from Zara and wore my white Vejas again. Our last activity for the day was the Armani museum that started with a photography exhibit on the first floor and then 3 floors of his designs from over the years! After this we headed back to the hostel to work on getting all of our stuff packed up and ended our day with a group dinner at Farinella!
I am so grateful for this wonderful experience to study abroad in the Fashion Capitals and learn so much more about the fashion industry! Thanks for following along on my European adventures and stay tuned for another fun year down in T-Town!
