This October my sister and I went to Italy for a couple of weeks. She had the excuse of a work conference in Verona (for three of those days). I took the opportunity to tag along and have a girls trip. This is the first time I have travelled without my six year-old daughter that didn’t involve work and it turns out two weeks was too long for both of us. It was, however, nice to have a girls trip.
We flew in and out of Milan and I must say I am in love with Milan! It was so unexpected too and I can’t wait to go back. Unfortunately, we only spent the day we flew in and the day before we flew out there. Next time I will definitely build in more time for Milan.
The Most Stylish City
Milan is the most stylish city I have ever been to. I mean this city has Paris beat. Frankly, after going to Milan I don’t know why Paris gets all the hype (I still love you Paris!). Compared to Milan, Paris looks like it rolled out of bed. Parisians have the no effort chic look but the Milanese look impeccably put together without over doing it.
I have always heard about Milan as a fashion hub. But I always envisioned flashy Gucci and Versace designs everywhere. Yes, there was Gucci, yes there was Versace and Armani and Prada, but it was all worn very tastefully. But nothing felt overdone and everyone looked incredibly elegant. If there was a flashy piece here and there it was done as an accompaniment and very elegantly. The fashion and elegance didn’t stop at the women either. The men were impeccably dressed as well and for once I saw just as many men’s clothing stores as I saw women’s (potentially more).
Walking around Quadrilatero della Moda (the Fashion District), Brera and Centro Storico I felt like the Milanese had all called each other and coordinated a day out on the town. The impeccable sense of style and fashion was not limited to the younger generations either. Women that would be considered Grandma’s in the US were wearing short skirts, tall boots and stylish accessories and looked amazing. No one was looking at these women thinking they should dress their age, they looked stunning. It was great to see women of all ages dressing stylish and elegant and looking confident.
Everyone in this city looked so amazing it made me want to go home and throw away everything I own because clearly I have been approaching dressing incorrectly my entire life. Unfortunately, I have no pictures to share of the great style of the Milanese. I feel weird taking pictures of strangers. I don’t want someone doing it to me so I refrain from doing it to others.
Fashion in Milan
There are a gazillion designer and non designer stores throughout Milan and a lot of really cute smaller artisanal shops in the Brera which I highly recommend. I wish I was able to spend more time exploring. I heard great things about the artisan shops in Cinque Vie but we didn’t make it there. There is another neighborhood called Navigli that is supposed to have some cool vintage markets as well. Hopefully I can check out these neighborhoods out next time.
As my time was so limited and I was trying to explore as much of Milan as I could, I only popped into a couple of stores. I had to stop at the original Prada because it is the OG and, after learning of the EU’s plans to stop stamping passports this year, I jumped on the Louis Vuitton passport cover hot stamping craze because I want to be able to document my travels in a consolidated area. I prefer my actual passport but this will have to do going forward.
Prada
The original Prada is in the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele II by the Doumo. It is a cool shopping plaza pretty mosaics on the floor and gorgeous buildings. I was expecting the Prada to be grand but it was actually pretty small. There were two (mens and womens) because they couldn’t fit everything in to the same store. I thought there would be a unique design element, special collection pieces or something that denoted it as the first, but it looked like every other Prada I have been in. I always like going into the original so worth going but I wish there was a little something something.
Louis Vuitton
Shockingly, the Louis Vuitton in Quadrilatero della Moda (there is also one in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II where the original Prada is located but it is not as large) was large, gorgeous and over the top. It was surprising to me that the Parisian brand’s Milan store out did the Milan based Prada. This Louis Vuitton has a cafe, Da Vittorio Cafe Louis Vuitton, and a full restaurant, DaV by Vittorio. Being the coffee lover that I am, naturally I checked out the cafe.
Da Vittorio Cafe: The Louis Vuitton Cafe
While the hot stamp press was heating up we decided to check out the Cafe (because how could we not). I of course had to order a cappuccino (which was delicious) my sister got the aperol spritz (I am more of a Hugo spritz girl myself, not so bitter). Neither of us were hungry as we just stepped off the plane a few hours earlier, however, we saw a lobster roll walk by to another table and we decided we had to try it. It was as delicious as it looked. Generally, I am not a lobster person but this roll was scrumptious. The food and the drinks were surprisingly good and well priced. They were not as pricey as I expected (although the restaurant is probably a different story, but we didn’t eat there so cannot say either way).
The cafe was full of extra touches. For, instance my cappuccino came with the Louis Vuitton logo burnt into the foam. The lobster roll had lakes of something in the shape of the Louis Vuitton flowers. The ambiance was well thought out and felt like a relaxing garden/patio escape. It was a great way to pass time while my passport cover was being stamped. Another elevated touch included little bon bons in different flavors in the shape of their vivienne flower. I was able to try this when we went back the day before flying home (I was a bad influence on my sister and she ended up buying a passport cover in Florence and we needed to return to the Louis Vuitton in Milan to get it stamped for her).
Places to See
Sforza Castle
I was really excited to see this because I love history and I gave my sister a lecture about the history of the Sforza (particularly Caterina the Countess of Forli, the daughter of the Duke of Milan). I think the Sforza have some of the coolest coat of arms I have seen. And you walk over a working drawbridge with functioning drop down gate. How cool is that?!
The Duomo
The Duomo in Milan has the highest ceilings I have seen in a church. Makes the Notre Dame in Paris look short. The columns are gorgeous and tall with carvings at the top. My favorite stone carving is one of David holding Goliath’s head. This also happens to be my favorite painting in the Louvre.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
Even if you are not in to luxury/designer shopping or shopping at all, I highly recommend coming here. The building is gorgeous. It is actually a series of buildings with a glass roof over the arcade. It is absolutely stunning with beautiful mosaics on the floor. There are mosaics representing the three capitals of the kingdom of Italy, Firenze (Florence), Turin (Torino) and Roma (Rome).
When we were walking by these mosaics we saw a line of people standing by the Torino bull. We saw people twirling around the bull and taking pictures on it but not the other mosaics. So we asked the sales associates in Prada what was going on outside and it turns out there is a tradition of turning on the Torino bull. Legend has it if you turn three times with your heel on the male bits of the bull, it will bring good luck. I didn’t participate in this tradition as there were a lot of people waiting so the jury is out on whether this works or not. If you have tried it, please let me know you experiences.
I would also suggest getting a cocktail and nibbles at Camparino in Galleria. The ambiance at the top was great, the cocktails went down a little too smoothly and the view of the gorgeous buildings was amazing. Additionally, the small bites we ordered were surprisingly delicious, definitely recommend the Riso al Salto.
