Home > A Tale of Two Closets > A Tale of Two Closets – Day Five

A Tale of Two Closets – Day Five

March 12th, 2010 Kristi Leave a comment Go to comments

Finally, one I really like. This is an outfit I wear often: the black turtleneck with the worn in jeans and high-heel boots just makes more sense to me for the black turtleneck than the other combos I’ve worn this week.
Again, I apologize, the weather forced me once again to use an old photo.

So in conclusion, I have found that I didn’t wear the scarves I intended to wear this week and should have mixed up my outfits with some long sleeve tees or other tops instead of just sweaters, because I found that look a little boring …. I think I could survive on this minimalist wardrobe, but would need to switch my black cords for some Perfect Fitting Black Pants and switch out one of the sweaters for a cardigan and had some pretty tops underneath …

Thanks again A for this dual post! You’re the best!

Categories: A Tale of Two Closets Tags:
  1. aaonce
    March 12th, 2010 at 08:41 | #1
    Reply | Quote

    I love the process of how style evolves!

  2. Stephanie
    March 12th, 2010 at 16:43 | #2
    Reply | Quote

    My favorite outfit of the week!

  3. annecychic
    March 12th, 2010 at 18:26 | #3
    Reply | Quote

    K, it’s been an expectedly busy week for me and I feel badly that I’ve not left a single comment on any of your posts. But I want to say this: you are so much better at these posts than I am! Your photos and your easy conversational tone are inviting to the reader. Not only that, you are SO incredibly photogenic; whether or not you like what your wearing, you always look beautiful–your hair, your eyes, your smile.

    Thanks for another fun collaboration!

  4. Kristi
    March 12th, 2010 at 18:29 | #4
    Reply | Quote

    A, thanks and thank YOU. I just was in a funk this week and didn’t feel I looked my best so thanks for the kind thoughts. And YOu are the true writer.
    K

  1. No trackbacks yet.










What is it about those Italian women? You know the ones I’m talking about: beautiful, sexy, dressed to the nines just to take the kids to the park. They have a certain something that is indefinable. It is in the way they dress, the way they prepare their meals, the way they spend their leisure time.

It is because they know the importance of la bella figura. Roughly translated from Italian, it means putting you best foot forward in everything you do. It means cutting a beautiful figura. The opposite of la bella figura is la brutta figura, which is what someone might say about the falling down drunken guy at the party or the super tackily dressed woman at church. It means ugly figure.

La bella figura is much more than your appearance. It goes much deeper than that. It is about how you act. It is about how you treat others. It is about how you care for yourself, your home and your family. Living a life in line with la bella figura doesn’t take money. In fact, it is more about how to have class without a lot of money.

Someone who exudes la bella figura will have clean, pressed clothes and be well groomed. They will not be rude or sloppy. Their fingernails will be impeccably groomed. Their hair shiny and clean and their shoes will be polished. They will not have stray threads hanging from their suit hems. They will not be driving a car in need of the car wash.

La bella figura means driving that 15 year old car and meticulously cleaning it and caring for it. It means keeping your belongings in good repair. It means taking time to clean your house and not cluttering it up with meaningless objects.

When you focus all your spare energy, time and money on the things that bring you the most amount of pleasure, then you are truly living a life in line with la bella figura. The best part about it is that you don’t have to be Italian to do so. You just have to think like an Italian.

Italian children are raised to present la bella figura in whatever they do. From the time they are small and are groomed perfectly to attend church or school, they know that appearances count. They count because it is the first thing people judge about you. That first impression does matter. Appearances are also important because when you take the time to look nice, you are showing that you care about yourself. When you care enough to look good, it shows you have good healthy self esteem. Nothing is more attractive than self confidence.

In addition, dressing nice also shows respect for others. If you invite people over for dinner and greet them in flip flops, baggy sweats and a stained shirt, it is really disrespectful to them. The same if you dress sloppy to go to church or even to the market. By dressing nicely and being well groomed, you show respect for everyone in your world.

Having la bella figura means presenting yourself in the best light possible in all your interactions.