It was a blessing in disguise that Milan was booked out for the furniture fair, Salone Mobile, two weeks ago. It meant I stayed an hour outside Milan in Bergamo. I love observing the way Italian women in smaller towns translate fashion items into their own style language. After a delightful first coffee with a view of Citta Alta, the old city on the hill, I strolled down via Borgo Palazzo….

I saw so many wonderful prints and colors in Florence. And loved the Gucci Gardens exhibition with the extra-ordinary vivid beauty of the setting. But am saving that for another story. Something else stands out in my mind as write in my warm Berlin flat looking out at a sunny day with minus temperatures.  It is a glorious tone-in tone-black outfit I saw on an elegant……

Sprezzatura is an Italian word originating from Baldassare Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier, where it is defined by the author as "a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it". Studied carelessness, actually means that dressing is a skill.