On the streets we spotted blokes in cropped pants, brights, elbow patches, “Hogans” and L.A. trainers, chunky ‘brogued’ boots and [...]]]> Later in October, we headed south to Italy and enjoyed three weeks eating and shopping our way through Rome, Florence and the Amalfi. I particularly loved the posers’ parade, strolling up and down the corsos.

On the streets we spotted blokes in cropped pants, brights, elbow patches, “Hogans” and L.A. trainers, chunky ‘brogued’ boots and coloured dessert boots. A standout was a beige single-breasted suit, white shirt and bright red loafers.

Man bags were also prevalent including a red brief case, which grabbed my attention on the Corso in Rome. In the stores bow ties are massive – there’s a new designer making them set in “pasta” (not edible but ingenious all the same ), in porcelain and also silk clip-ons. The craziest trend spotted is the very short tie, just 15 cm long. Not sure how that will take off!

Dropped crotch pants were also still around with “carrot styles” prevailing. Coloured belts were slimmed down featured interesting treatments like rubber from used bicycle tyres. Some standout menswear retailers included David Mayer Naman  and Super, Paolo Pecora and Flow Store (located via dei vecchietti, 22r in Florence).

For the ladies, wedges were the footwear of choice, much like Paris. There is a lot of short masculine haircuts on girls in Italy, that I guess would be marginalised over here in Australia. The guys tend to wear their hair longer, and even in the business context, long hair and groomed beards are acceptable.

We also enjoyed incredible vintage shopping, better than anything we see here in Australia. I picked up two pre-loved D&G jackets (velvet and cord) and a cool manbag for an absolutely steal – so word of advice, make sure vintage is on your list when shopping the capitals of Europe!

Colours on the streets and in-store included: forest green, beige and raspberry, chocolate brown, grey and navy.