Time for our AGELESS STYLE POST…………
I would like to INTRODUCE LUISA RAGNI from SOUTHERN ITALY.
She buys baskets and makes them into pieces of ART!
I EVEN OWN A COUPLE!!!!!!!! I TOOK A CHANCE………ORDERED from HER …….and just upon doing this POST found out she wears CAFTANS!
I WAS DANCING UP AND DOWN WHEN I GOT THESE PHOTOS!
YOU SEE I HAD NO IDEA WHAT SHE LOOKED LIKE!
I JUST KNEW I LIKED WHAT SHE MADE AND THAT SHE HAD GOOD TASTE FROM INSTAGRAM…………..
TO FIND LUISA ON INSTAGRAM GO TO:
HUSH_HUSH_HANDMADE.
FOLLOW HER!
She would appreciate it!
I ADORE SHARING PEOPLE LIKE HER!
YOUR CONTESSA CARRYING A HUSH_HUSH_ HANDBAG.
IN FRONT OF HER DISNEY YELLOW DOOR!
Time for OUR AGELESS STYLE POST with CINDY HATTERSLEY TODAY.DO pop over to see who she is featuring this month!We took JUNE OFF due to busy schedules and LIFE getting in the way which is a GOOD THING!I had a family wedding and Cindy has become a GRANDMAMA…………….so as you can understand that takes precedence!
THIS IS LUISA’s STORY……….
I live with my husband in Galatina in the Salento region of Puglia in Southern Italy. This is the heel of Italy and we are near the bottom about 30 miles from the tip and roughly in the middle 10 miles south of Lecce.
Galatina is a small town (Pop: 27,000) with a lot of churches and a lovely old part (Centro Storico) where we live in an 18th century apartment.
I met my husband who was a TV commercials director in London in 1987 but we drifted apart when I moved back to Italy in 1989. Then we met again for a weekend in Venice in 2004 and he moved to Milan so we could be together. I always wanted to live in Tunisia so we spent 5 years there which is where I was inspired to start thinking about making bags. After a long search in Puglia we found our apartment and settled here in 2010.
We got married in England on 29/6/2018.
I think the year is WRONG LUISA!!!!!!!!!!!!
( In Italy they do the birthdate this way!)JUNE 29,2018
Hope this fills in the blanks, our relationship history is quite romantic as we returned to Venice to buy an engagement ring on 12/9/07, we still have the celebration lunch menu from Harrys bar in the kitchen. The way we got back in touch after so many years is even more like a novel with lost digits from telephone numbers and help from distant friends of friends to finally reconnect.
(CONTESSA HERE SO YOU ARE NEWLYWEDS!!!!!!AUGURI!!!!!!!!!!FANTASTICO!!!!!!!!!!!)
The PIAZZA getting ADORNED for FESTIVITIES!
We are very close to the sea in both east and west directions so in the Summer many tourists visit Galatina to see the famous frescos and eat pasticciotto (crumbly pastry filled with egg custard).
I would normally say that the weather is very hot in Summer and a bit chilly in the Winter but as I type this in the middle of June I can hear the rumble of thunder and the patter of rain on the windows!
People in Salento are very proud of their towns and each thinks they live in the best place, so it should come as no surprise that we think the same even though I come from near Venice and my husband is English. Life here is very “tranquilla”, there are even more bars than churches. After living in both Milan, London and Tunisia for many years it suits us perfectly.
I would encourage anyone visiting Italy to come to Salento to see for themselves.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE?
Eclectic and raffinato.
WHAT INSPIRES YOUR SIGNATURE STYLE?
Arabesque.
WHAT ACCESSORY CAN YOU NOT DO WITHOUT?
Handbag, not only Hush Hush and a scarf.
FAVORITE COLOR?
Black, fuchsia and aubergine.
DO YOU HAVE A SIGNATURE PIECE THAT DEFINES YOUR STYLE?
I have my own Kaftans made from wonderful fabrics bought at a local drapers.
WHAT ARE YOUR STYLE STRENGTHS?
Good quality fabrics and mixing expensive and cheaper pieces.
DO YOU HAVE A STYLE ICON?
Veruschka and Iris Apfel.
WHAT ARE YOUR BEAUTY ESSENTIALS YOU COULD NOT DO WITHOUT?
Lipstick (Bobbi Brown/Chanel) and mascara (Nars).
DO YOU HAVE REPEAT OFFENDERS IN YOUR CLOSET IF SO WHAT ARE THEY?
Too many black trousers/ dresses and tops!
WHAT ADVISE DO YOU HAVE FOR WOMEN OVER 50 over 40?
Follow your instinct, fashion should suit you not the other way round and wear interesting perfume like Jo Malone or Robert Piguet.
DO YOU HAVE ANY STYLE RULES THAT YOU LIVE BY?
Interesting shoes and vintage costume jewellery.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE ONLINE GO TO SOURCES?
Instagram and Pinterest.
DO YOU HAVE A PARTICULAR DESIGNER THAT YOU ARE DRAWN TO?
Dries Van Noten, Etro and the more fun Fendi.
You can see my bags on instagram: hush_hush_handmade
The PIAZZA AT NIGHT SET for a FESTIVAL with ALL THE LIGHTS!
Note the small Boys with shorts to their knees!
“This has been the style since my BOYS were young!”….. SAYS CONTESSA
THE BANDSTAND!
I ADORE THIS!
NOW ,LETS GO SHOPPING!
EYE CANDY GALORE……………..and don’t forget to HOP over to CINDY’s BLOG to see who she is FEATURING!
For CINDY’S PICK.
How many of YOU would LOVE a BASKET BAG from LUISA?
To contact her send a DM…. DIRECT MESSAGE to her on her INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT!
HUSH _ HUSH _ Handmade
The quality is SUPERB!
The wrap JOB is a STUNNER!!!!!!
I am IN LOVE with MINE and AM STOPPED frequently when I carry it!
I have seen NOTHING LIKE these bags here in CALIFORNIA with the BASKET BAGS being SO POPULAR!
I hope you have ENJOYED LUISA and will feel FREE to ask HER any questions about LIFE in ITALY or TUNISIA!
HAPPY SUMMER EVERYONE!
I HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED THIS POST!
PS. The ITALIANS take LONG VACATIONS and LUISA will be doing JUST THAT until AUGUST 21 !!!
So, if you do not hear back promptly don’t despair!
She is most likely at the BEACH under an UMBRELLA with NO INTERNET!!!!!!!
Getting ideas for her next LINE OF BEAUTIFUL BASKETS!
Remember these are ONE OF A KIND!
A PIECE OF ART!
TOODLES and THANKS FOR READING!
XX
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