The one winter object I couldn’t live without?

Nothing gives me  winter shock more than going outside and having to open the car with my barehands ESPECIALLY when the themometer is blaring COLD!

So if I were forced to choose it would be gloves, gloves and more gloves

In fact, on the top 5 winter wardrobe musts – gloves would probably fill the top three slots.

Truth be told, I have already pulled out my pre-winter gloves. Call me a whimp if yo must. But even though the car is not yet on frost factor, when I slide into the drivers seat, slip in the key and grap the steering wheel I have this sensation like a little kid sticking wet hands on a metal pole in sub-zero weather.

A couple years ago my sister gifted me a beautiful set of velvet-like black gloves, I just love the way the slide all over the steering wheel . . . not that this is a good thing, especially in the already scary Italian morning rush hour traffic!  So my alternative driving gloves include Italian suede leather gloves.  This way I have a velvety look to them – but the grip of an Indy 500 driver!

Watch out Tuscany, I know it’s just a mental thing, but once I put on my driving gloves . . . I feel as if I am the queen of the road – and a pretty sexy one at that.

What’s on your must have winter list?

Sometimes a designer handbag is the proverbial cherry on the cake

When you are dressing and spending so much time agonizing over just the right color top, matching heels – picking out the perfect jacket and lipstick – its impossible to ignore the effect that just the right handbag can have on your outfit.   When our designer sits down to start matching up leather handbag bases with contrasting top handles, accents and canvas straps he takes this into consideration.  He knows that some just want a loud statement with color, texture and design and some just want a handbag that is simple elegant and timeless.

With this in mind, we are announcing the addition of  more FORTUNTA designer Tote handabags in some great colors and mix and matches..

The theme in this batch is playing on the contrast between handbag base and the leather accents, just check out the mix and match of colors.  For example the classic black bag with colorful accents such as green, tangerine, brown and cherry red. This new selection of Fortunta concentrate on mixing basic colors with splashes of contrasting colors – yet keeping the interiors of these handbags simple and clean with solid colors.

Since these designer hand bags are a limited edition and they are all part of a numbered series, therefore our designer felt he could play with some of the more trendy colors out this year like the tangerine orange color or the gold metallics.

We made a promise at the beginning of 2012 and that was to always have something new on line every week. And thus far, we have managed to keep this promise! We have been adding new leather jackets, fashion jewelry from Italian designers, 18k gold designs in filigree and that’s not all we have a restyling of the Toscanella brand coming up soon.

Weekend Line-up in Florence Italy

1) Thunderous looking clouds are pushing the sun out of the sky! Its always rather eiry when warm yellow sunlight penetrates through the heavy gray clouds. But let it rain, we won’t begrudge the water reservoir the pleasure of filling up, even if it does mean a possible weekend under the umbrella.

2) Working double time to get all the new products on line in time for our pre-Mother’s Day Sale.  Managed to wriggle out a great discount on so many of our designer leather handbags . . . I am beginning to wonder if maybe M & M didn’t have a touch of a fever when they gave the go ahead !  Buy now before they make me change all the prices.

3) Yum, dinner is breaded lamb chops and fried artichokes – gees, when you are about to eat this well who cares if its raining outside. Looking forward to a gorgeous fire, a leisurely dinner, a glass (or three) of a robust Chianti  and cuddling up on the couch with my favorite Italian Sweetie and a warm wool blanket for a romantic film, which half of us will sleep right through.

4) This month we have been flying through our stock of Italian leather jackets, looks like the 2012 collection is going to be a roaring success. I have been trying to entice my Sweetie to have a look and pick one out but I think he is waiting for me to surprise him. Won’t he be surprised when the jacket I bring home is for ME and not him.

5) FORZA VIOLA! It’s looking a bit desperate and I think we will need all the help we can get on the soccer field this Sunday. In fact, I have considered taking all the lucky charms off of our FORTUNATA BAGS and bringing them home just to tip the balance of the scales in our favor.

6) I am sitting here counting the minutes till break time so I can dig into this box of dark chocolate covered hazelnuts cookies that I saw at the supermarket this afternoon.  I can’t believe I am actually hungry after the Girls Night Out yesterday with my ex-pat colleagues and an improvised  Mexican Menu, who knew Chianti went so well with tacos and fajitas.  And Bria, that Guacamole was … well, let’s just say I am without words.

A Rainbow of Colors from Florence Italy

It’s not often I am enthusiastic about special offers from my own place of work. I mean I understand it’s not an easy choice to put handcrafted items on sale for wooshing discounted prices. It’s especially difficult when you take into consideration the manual work that goes into selecting the leather, cutting, prepping, assembling, sewing and refining each and everyone of the handbags with a Pierotucci label.  The detail seems endless and it is just natural that the producers want the price to reflect the exquisite quality of the handbag. However, it happens that M & M (the bosses) get soft hearts every once and a while . . . especially when we are talking about la Mamma (anyone who knows an Italian Male will understand that the Mother has a special place in their masculine hearts) SO -  they has relented for a pre-Mother’s Day Sale.

Since they gave me free reign on choosing the leather handbags (another surprising relent on their part)  I turned to my colleagues and we pulled out some of our favorite bags.  Why are they favorites? For me it was the simplicity of the designs.  I adore a bag that moves from morning to noon to evening without skipping a beat.  I want a bag with that’s not bulky, so that doesn’t “weigh” me down. And I love color! I always find myself gravitating towards jeans (in dark blue), heels in black and I love dark blue shirts and sweaters . . . but there is an inner me just begging to express itself in some little way – YES! that’s it, a splash of color in the form of a genuine Italian leather handbag from Florence Italy.

Is what’s cool in the UK the same for the US?

Vivienne Westwood Credit Card Wallet

It was no surprise to us at Pierotucci.com when we read the results of the Top 20 CoolBrands   2010/2011 which touted Vivienne Westwood Fashion – Designer at number 12.  By its own definition this “survey of experts and consumers” was commissioned “to produce a yearly barometer of the coolest brands, people and places in Britain.”  Two cheers for Britain as it uses CoolBrands® as “an annual initiative to identify and pay tribute to the nation’s coolest brands”.

But the question one asks now, does the UK share the same “cool” sense as the rest of the world?  We all know that the iPod, iPhone and Dom Perignon are indispensable for any busy lifestyle today – but can we say the same for the other selected brands.

For all you who live and breathe the Britian fashion sense, then you need to check out Pierotucci who has a limited selection of VW – and they are all on sale!  CLICK HERE to see  more information on their  selection and their discount  prices.