CAPE CRUSADES
When in Rome, or the case for a bit of cloak-and-dagger...
I don’t know what came over me.
Well, actually I do. I have a baby and a two-year-old at home, so the idea of a glamorous break in the form of a “fancy bachelorette” in Rome pretty much made my brains explode with excitement. My party brain and my fashion brain.
Today’s post will be a shorter one, as my aforementioned brains may think they’re immortal but my thirty-something anatomy is now clearly too old for such antics and I am utterly pooped. Suffice to say a rollicking good time was had by all, mercifully including the bride who, being a no-bs fashion tech CEO, rightly worships at the altar of meticulous organisation. She was therefore reluctant to let her motley crew of well-meaning but somewhat hectic pals plan the trip in secrecy. The not knowing what to pack and surprise logistics nearly made her brain explode with anxiety.
In the week leading up to the trip, I responded to her frantic phone calls about what to pack with elusive limericks like the one below, naturally.
With all this anticipation in the air, when I got around to packing my suitcase I felt a burning desire to pack *glamorously*, eschewing my normal weekend away capsule which definitely veers more towards essentials. While this proved impractical once it began raining I will say that my black La Collection silk-dress and cape set felt gloriously appropriate (if a bit literal) on our first balmy evening, when we dined al-fresco in the magnificent Piazza del Popolo, at Dal Bolognese.
I do know some people who regularly get “into character” when they dress up, and while I do understand the thrill — it being one we indulge in regularly whilst entertaining our imaginary dinner guests on Fanfare podcast— in real life situations I don’t always have the energy to channel some far-flung reference and temporarily embody it. Yet something in the eternal city’s warm air compelled me to go part mysterious prima donna, or maybe mafia wife? —part ironic(?) ecclesial-chic; (for as I realise now, my look was not dissimilar to a Cardinal’s cassock.)
This, to dine in the ancient square with its imposing Porta del Poplo, ancient gateway to the North. The gateway was reworked to give its current appearance by Bernini for Pope Alexander VII in 1655 to welcome Queen Christina of Sweden to Rome following her conversion to Roman Catholicism and her abdication.
I myself have not been converted to Catholicism by the way. Nor is my coronation this weekend. But as any Roman tourist worth her salt knows, many of the greatest aesthetic wonders of Rome are related to that which is Holy.
Cues thus taken, I meandered through the piazza as elegantly as my new sandals would allow, feeling maybe a little eccentric but not out of place, having ordained myself with, I felt, the appropriate amount of mystique, and was to inhale the world’s best Tortellini Bolognese.
Capes, it seems, are making a comeback. I first realised this midway through presenting a spring/summer occasion wear trends video for Mango last month (stay tuned for the next instalment in a few weeks). Viewers had questions about how to cover up at weddings etc when colder temperatures and/or more pious or traditional environments demanded, without looking blah. And my co-host and I… Well, it seemed we had capes! Definitely an enigmatic woman’s alternative to the pashmina right? No offence to pashminas.
Plus, imagine whipping off one’s cape, or better yet, throwing it over one’s shoulders when things heat up on the dancefloor. Imagine also, arriving at a party in dark sunglasses, one's cape billowing in behind one in the breeze. DIO MIO!
Heroic summer capes for your special-event styling conundrums…
And for the cloak and dagger vibe come autumn….
Weekly Recs…
READ: Anna: The Biography by Amy Odell
If, like me, your curiosity about the great, maybe not-so nuclear Wintour was re-sparked by this week’s Met Gala photos (please let her really be dating Bill Nighy, please…) Odell’s biography leaves no stone about her upbringing and career path unturned.
NEED: Aude Herouard sunglasses
Natural acetate eyewear Made in France —I just got a pair and they’re so comfortable I’ve been wearing them indoors, at night, what have you. Like most people with toddlers, I had sworn off nice sunnies but these I couldn’t resist. Now must remember my mother’s all-important eyewear mantra: “on the face or in the case.”
LISTEN: ‘Off Air’ With Jane and Fi podcast
I’ve been listening to these two witty Brits’ hilariously eccentric ramblings for years and can’t wait to hear their take on all the Coronation’s peaks and troughs.
I enjoyed this post and all of Mon Review very much! Love a cape. Anyway, what did you think of Anna? I started (and haven’t finished) it by Audio book. I don’t know if it’s the tone of the narrator’s voice, but to mean it has so far come across like a mean-girl take-down (kind of petty).