Shiny Happy Italian People

I came to Italy with the most ragamuffin clothes I owned; clothes I now plan to throw away once I get back home because they are so gross. And I expected to be blown away and shamed by the fashionable women wearing their Versace and Dolce and Gabanna and all the other amazing Italian brands we are told to respect... but I haven't been.

Don't get me wrong, I have been trekking around this country for a month now without a stitch of makeup on wearing the same clothes for days and my Adidas runners with everything, so any normal woman looks heaps better than I do. But there is an ugly side to the fashion in Italy that I didn't expect. No, ugly is the wrong word. Gaudy is much more appropriate.

We've been to a lot of cities during our exploration of this country, but we have been to just as many small villages a fair distance from anything metropolitan. It's in these villages I first noticed that every woman was dressed the same, but in different colors or with different accessories. In Sferracavallo I was walking around the market and it hit me that it was the only place to shop in the town. There was no Bata to buy your shoes at, there was no H&M to buy your child labour priced trends from. The market was it. And everything there, I mean everything, had been bedazzled or was already shiny and accessorized.

You can't buy a pair of jeans, boots, or a belt without it glitzing and shining in the Italian sun. Everything is tight. Everything is meant to be sexy, I think. It doesn't necessarily look bad, it just looks cheap to the average North American. Maybe it's the opposite for Italians? Anyways, this market was not for tourists, as many of them aren't. They mainly provide the new clothes, toiletries, and household products that the stores in the community don't have. The market is the trend setter for the people who can't get to the big city.

In the cities there are of course women who look amazing. I find that usually these women are older, at least in their 50's, and they seem to ooze class and money. But the average Italian girl In the cities still clings to her bling. Maybe she grew up in a small town and moved to the city, bringing her market fashion sense with her. Maybe the glimmer of the fake jewels all over lure the Italian men like fish. Whatever it is, it's real, and present everywhere we have been. It is more predominant than the high end brands by miles, and even in Milan there are shops solely selling this style of clothing.

So it turns out I do stand out in Italy because of my poor fashion, as predicted. But instead of it being because I'm not dressed head to toe in designer gear, it's because I'm not nearly shiny enough.

Your fashion victim,
Gen

The Glamorous London Night Out

London requires a totally different procedure when getting ready for a night out than the average city.

Thursdays and Fridays are big pub nights here, but with most people working a fair distance from where they live or are heading to, and the Tube stopping at midnight, there is no time to go home to shower and change.

For the average receptionist I wouldn't imagine this poses a huge problem. She probably dresses nice for work, and doesn't sweat her face off during the day. But for people in the service industry like myself, (or any other dirty, hot, sweat busting job), it's not such an easy situation.

Dirty Work Shoes

I've become pretty adept at getting ready for an evening out after work now that I've been here for almost a year. Granted, on my best day with hours of prep I wouldn't be able to compare to the drop dead gorgeous Eastern European women who casually stroll down the sidewalks in droves, but I've learned to work with what I've got.

Number one: You NEED aerosol deodorant. I still use my trusty Canadian pit stick (to use the classy term) every morning, but aerosol is a must for when the job is finished. It not only masks the smell of a ten hour shift, but it leaves you feeling oddly cool and refreshed.

Number two: Don't wear makeup to work. Now this might be difficult if you aren't used to seeing yourself au natural, but this prevents the after work re-do which usually just looks like you've caked on makeup over sweat... because you have. Besides, who really cares what customers think of you? It's the cool people you are trying to impress! Bring the makeup essentials to work, wash your face after your shift, and then apply a fresh look. Ideally you should just carry a second set of makeup with you so you're not constantly transferring things from your home makeup bag to your purse. But that would require a bigger income than I have.

Last is the clothes. Different shoes are an absolute must. God forbid you wear your coffee stained runners for an evening out. Bring a whole new outfit to change into and leave your old work clothes in a bag at the shop. You wouldn't want to be carrying a plastic Sainsburys bag with you when you meet up with your potential new friends. That would just look stupid.
If your clothes aren't dry, because no one in this country has a dryer, you better pray you work somewhere you can discreetly hang your favourite pair of jeans so they dry by the time your shift is over. I did this on Tuesday, and it was awesome.

If you follow all these tips you're almost guaranteed to look at least acceptable in London social situations. No one has to know that mere moments before you were scooping old food out of a drain, or were on your knees cleaning shelves for an hour. Hopefully people will look at you and think "she looks clean and lovely, she must be a receptionist and I want to be her friend!" or something similar. Actually, all I hope for is that I can disguise how much of a disaster I feel like. Lately I think I have been quite successful at doing just that.

Gen