Are you expected to bring your A-game everywhere you go? Yes.
At least that’s what I felt initially. No one wears flip-flops here in Milan – ever (or not outside their homes). People dress up to go grocery shopping at the super market - I’ve seen LBDs, polka dot midi skirts with adorable blouses and a fair share of heels. On the other hand, the only times I’ve caught fleeting glimpses of track pants have been when they are paired with a sports bra and sneakers.
Back in India, I made frequent visits to a popular street market where I loaded up on different colours and prints of ‘Rocksters’ (slippers) – I’ve had pink, gold, polka dots, the works. I even brought along a silver pair to Milan. Ask me how many times I’ve worn it?
In Bangalore, I wore pyjamas, a cute tee and rocksters to pick up my groceries from the shop near my gate. Now, I wear trousers, a casual tee, a pair of shoes, drape on a scarf and apply a dash of make-up to go pick up my take-away order from the near-by ‘Cinese Ristorante’ on Via Tibaldi. Definitely gives me more chances to take pretty photos :P
The Milanese’ have an unspoken mantra: ‘black makes everything more fashionable’. It’s true, I know how often I find myself filled in a bus with black coats and black boots. I look down at the streets from my window and spot black leather jackets, black dresses, black jeans, black blazers, black hoodies. There are the blues, browns and greys – but they blend into the black sea. Pops of red and pink can be spotted on rare occasion. And the two times I’ve seen yellow in the last 5 months – it hasn’t been on an Italian.
The more I scrutinised and analysed, I observed classic styles, trendy street style looks and a lot of upscale homeless/hip-hop. Did a whole lot of over-thinking and I came to the conclusion that dressing up like them wasn’t a requirement, I just had to amp-up and sophisticate my own at-home look next time I went errand-hopping.
So I wore loose black trousers with a white tie-front cropped tee and sneakers. Voila! It was still ‘a tee and pyjama comfort level’ but it worked for the fashion conscious streets.
When it comes to fashion, I’m quite moody and dress according to what I feel like at that time. I don’t fit into a particular box and I love to experiment. Usually it’s just re-inventing classic looks or a blend of something trendy with something safe and easy. Which made it pretty easy for me to adapt; and now I like that I can own my own every time I step out here in Milan – one of the world’s most formidable fashion capitals.