Last Thursday evening I went downtown to attend Vestopazzo's new collection presentation and main store opening here in Valencia. I didn't know about this Italian jewelry & fashion brand before attending the event, but after seeing first hand their products, meeting their sales team and knowing more about the eco-philosophy behind their designs, they've certainly won a new customer!

Vestopazzo was born in Rome in 1994, and they've spread the brand across Italy first, and now Spain, since then. They mainly produce aluminium jewelry working ethically with communities under development in Madagascar. They recycled more than 10,000 kilograms of this metal in the course of this past year. Their aluminium pieces are known not only for being unique and environmentally friendly, but also, really singular and extremely lightweight! Vestopazzo also markets some other kind of accessories (as bags made out of recycled tent fabrics, which are super cool!) and they're little by little adding clothes to their regular collections.

Valencia's store is placed on an beautiful historical building nearby the Town Square, where there used to be one of the most iconic places to buy gifts and small furnishing items for family gatherings and events happening on any corner of the city. So, last Thursday it was pretty shocking to find that the location had been finally refurbished and that it contained so many dainty and shiny items! I attended with two colleagues and we enjoyed the evening very much, learning about the brand's path so far, having a snack and taking pictures while trying some of their pieces. As a fashion-lover living in Valencia, I can finally say that I've found my go-to place to find that special gift for a birthday or a family member, or for those moments when you have to find a very specific piece of jewelry.

I must confess that I had this post and pictures under kidnapping since a while ago. We took them at the end of January, but I had the craziest February related to University, a similar beginning of March in which it snowed in Firenze and in which I went home to Valencia for a week to see family, friends and fallas in addition of having some pending posts and publications from sponsors which couldn't wait any longer, and which I had to prioritise over this and other looks which I'll be showing you very soon.

However, it's still a bit cold (at least in Northern Italy) so I think I'm still in time to show you this outfit with a 70's vintage green wool mini-dress, which I bought in my visit to "Vintage Selection" fair which took place in Stazione Leopolda at the end of January, and which I personally thought was AH-MAZING. Imagine two whole industrial warehouses with high ceilings covered with iron trusses filled with hundreds of stands, cupboards and racks with a selection of jackets, trousers, accessories, and all vintage and antique clothing pieces you can imagine from statement brands as Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Dior and some other international and national Italian brands with marvelous designs. I think I approximately spent there half a day and went back home very happy with my old-new acquisitions, among which there was this fun and bright dress! I thought it was a nice idea to add to my closet.

It really caught my attention since I saw it in the distance because, besides being in a very good vintage condition (it had some little white glue stains on one side, but nothing that a visit to the dry cleaner's couldn't fix) it looked like that average clothing piece that you can wear in a thousand different ways, both in Winter or when it starts being a bit warmer, and it was also suitable for both the months I'll remain here in Italy and for my Spanish comeback. I wore it with this DIY Gucci inspiration brooch, which is super easy to make just using a piece of wide satin ribbon in your favorite color and any old brooch around home (maybe tutorial about it coming very soon!).

Of course, I'm also wearing my rain ankle booties, which have already turned my go-to shoes and an indispensable piece in my day to day wear in Brunelleschi's city, the one with the huge and beautiful cupola, the breathtaking marble churches' façades and 360 days a year of rain (sometimes I doubt London is known as one of the rainiest cities in Europe. Don't be fooled: it's Firenze. Trust me).

Final days of February and firsts of March were terribly cold. There was a day in which thermometers dropped to almost -8ºC, and we wore our coats and even gloves around the classroom. Suddenly, the display windows of the shops surrounding the university which were days before filled with the remains of Winter accessories (such as wool scarves and velvet turbans) were emptied by customers like me, who looked for fur diadems as they were an extremely rare jewel.

Even though it was pretty damn cold, I decided it was the right time to try if my layering-theory was correct and I could wear almost any piece in my wardrobe (even if it was a Spring little black dress) for Winter. And I think I succeeded! I chose this Shein little black dress with ruffled sleeves as the base to which add things to keep warm. I used it as a sort of overall piece, putting a white basic structured shirt underneath to add a long sleeve and covered neck, in which I laced the ribbon which came with the dress. As this little black dress is a little under the knee length, I decided to wear high boots with thermal tights and a pair of woolen socks underneath. This way, I could be warm while keeping everything stylish and comfortable!

The touch of color to the outfit was added with this faux-fur brown diadem and the coat, which doesn't appear in the pictures but was light grey. I must admit that of course, this isn't your regular attire when it's -15ºC average outside, but in fact, this day was pretty cold and with just a couple of layers well put together and some thermal pieces of clothing I managed to survive. As I always say, the key is to look for the little details and adjust those things depending on your personal preferences, or the place where you live (if I had to wear this outfit in Valencia, I would just skip the thermal tights and go for a regular pair). My rule of thumb is that fashion does have to adjust to our necessities as well to our personal tastes and that if it makes you feel uncomfortable, or cold, or too tight, it isn't fashion but a lie we try to fit in!