On my recent vacay, a cruise along the Mediterranean, much of our time was spent visiting small sea-side villages nestled in the mountains….all breathtaking in their own way, however we did have a day of Euro-fashion at its finest visiting Cannes, the home of one of the most fashionable events of the year, the Cannes Film Festival.(Festival de Cannes) The finest names and shops lined up along the beautiful Blvd La Croisette, facing the sea and such amazing shopping streets Rue d’Antibes that cater to the world’s luxury shoppers and lovers of fine fashion.
Europen Street Trends
As many of you know, my hubby and I took a much anticipated for-fun-and-chill-only vacation a few weeks ago to Europe where we spent an awesome three days in Rome, which was a personal milestone for me because luckily Pope Francis was in town and accompanied by Alan and Pietro, my Italian son, was able to see and be blessed by this very special man….something I will cherish always.
From there we boarded a fabulous luxe cruise ship and headed out for a week in the Mediterranean visiting many wonderful sea-side towns, a couple (Amalfi Coast) I had visited before but all the others along the Spanish and French Rivieras were first times for us. It must be said that before boarding the ship, I had to take a solemn oath to my hubby that this was a placation and not to be confused with a work-cation, absorbed in shopping and photoeing of all the fashion sites along the way. This was actually facilitated for me by the fact that our cruise ship and Europe in general was overflowing with Americans everywhere I looked so there was less of a compulsion on my part to take in all that I could learn from what I usually see and learn from the chic European women. Also, the big difference was that I was not in Paris, London or Florence, where I usually have visited but small vacation towns where most of the people were as casual as they could be.
HOWEVER, you can take my pen and pad away and my camera for that purpose but my eyes are still trained to look for style and trends and there were definitely a few stand-outs that remained with me, even after I left those quaint, chic little getaway towns that were fabulous and pleasant to the eye.
A Few Euro-Trends, As They Were Seen on the Streets, That Ruled and Prove Just How Small the Fashion World Can Be
Black and White, Contrasting Together or Tonally Were Dominant
The photo above was my closet on board ship….I’m not saying that I was/am a fashion-savvy clairvoyant but more just about how I dress on a pretty regular basis, but I will say that what you are looking at was right on target for what I found the chicest European women to be wearing. Whether worn as a b/w combo or most commonly seen as one or the other worn tonally…..this wardrobe with lots of pops of color in accessories such as footwear, small cross-body bags, wraps or jewelry is all that you need to feel chic on a Euro-vacay! Such a simple way to pack, in fact, I could have even brought less, as wear-overs are so easy if planned this way!
White, Head-to-Toe Ruled
There was so much White in Europe, worn by both the Europeans and the Americans. Heat, although much more pleasant than what is happening there now….just beat the Euro-heatwave, was certainly a driving force as nothing is cooler than to wear White in the sun and I saw lots and lots of it. Worn usually alone or chicest when paired with a neutral such a khaki, beige or an occasional soft blush or pale yellow.
Straw Hats Make for the Perfect Topping
Of course, as more and more women become conscious of the consequences of sun damage to their skin, primarily on their faces, Hat wardrobes become a large part of their packing staples. I would say that the most notable newness was in the re-birth of the larger floppy straw hats, that ranged from the very large to a smaller sized and found on the heads of the chicest ladies from the beaches to the picturesque alfresco dining spots. Yes, they were perched on heads wearing swimsuits and/or dresses and I would say were the number accessory of choice. Second to the floppy was the Fedora, more the look of choice for the younger set and for those of us that still like the security by the pool of easy shade and less likely to blow-away by a cruise ship pool, there were still baseball caps, but certainly diminished in popularity. Straw ruled the rays! (One of the biggest problems of wearing brimmed hats on a trip is the packing of it. I must put in a plug here for a new straw hat that Betty Newton at a bientot turned me on to……you roll it up into this small tube-like shape, pack it and it opens up to be worn as floppy straw brim hat. I loved mine and wore it many times, so easy!
Flat for the Feet is the Only Way to Do it
I know that it comes as no shocker that walking the cobblestone streets of Europe and climbing through the seaside villages that are all built into the mountain-scapes of the terrain make for some difficult walking. Flat shoes ruled with the two dominant fashion looks being the flat sandal, a big trend here as well. Everything from the barest sandal to the gladiator was seen everywhere. There were occasional ballet flats and a very low espadrille as well but the second most stylish look was fashion athletic, either sneaker, birkenstock-like styles or as in my case I found the perfect shoe that I wore daily and it came from the Prada Sport line, that I found at Neiman Marcus. I wore them every day, they are sporty sandals with lots of support and very well-worth the investment. (P.S. NM’s Last Call began yesterday, I bet they can be found at a great price as we speak, as they were on sale before I left….I bought two pair and they basically made my trip from the ankle down!)
Active Wear Has Become Casual Wear, especially for Travelling
There is certainly a very popular term in America, called “Dressy Casual”, well what I saw so much of in my travels in cities, on ship and within the sea-side-villages was I would classify as “Dressy Activewear”. Not your wear to work out at the gymn clothes, necessarily but more of a nicer version. Both my hubby and I have always liked to travel on those long hours in the air, in nice, activewear hook-ups and just as in America, Europeans and the many Americans that we saw took that active-as-casual look all over the continent.
Those Italians Love Their Red Glasses
Not that I am sensitive to this subject or would necessarily notice this more than others, but I never realized that these glasses that I wear must be in my DNA. The Italians, in particular, seemed to have found red eye glasses and latched on to the idea….they were everywhere! At first, in Rome, in the chicest areas around the Spanish Steps we noticed them, then while shopping there, at al fresco dinners and then again along the Amalfi Coast in both Positano and Amalfi. Just saying’…….we Italians like three things RED….our wine, our pasta and our glasses and it really showed this trip!
Not to bore you with home movies, so to speak, but I am including just one shot of a coastline on the Mediterranean that we saw that made this trip so special and certainly one of those bucket list items that we will always cherish. If you have thought about it and haven’t done it….Do It! So worth it and so chillin’ and good cleansing for the soul!
THE END!
Images borrowed from: Modern Legacy, Shop Daily Chic, r1ma.blogspot.com, Breakfast with Audrey, Fashion Fix, Style Bistro
Loved this post! Thank you for sharing your pictures too!
Your trip sounds fabulous, Roz! Love head to toe white!