Bring on the shows!

January brings trade fairs & this week was the first - Pitti Uomo in Florence.

I flew from London City Airport seeing how easy it was last time. I love the fact you just walk off the DLR & you're at check in! It doesn't even seem like an airport, some of the security staff could do with cheering up a bit though, but hey can't win 'em all! Cos so many business people travel though here there were electric sockets everywhere to keep my iPhone topped up while I passed time on Bloglovin before take off.

I arrived in beautiful Florence on Tuesday afternoon & once I'd dumped my bags I headed straight for my first taste of the fair & to get an overview of AW12/13. Don't be fooled by the blue skies & sunshine though it was freeeeeezing! I'd checked the temperature before leaving that morning & seen it was supposed to be about 12 degrees so left my thicker coat in favour of my leather jacket. Yoink!

There were so many bloggers & photographers around taking photos of the stands, the models & people visiting. It was quite interesting to look at everyone walking around in jeans - normally Florence is the smarter show & people are a bit more formal but the chinos had been swapped in favour of denim this time. It never ceases to amaze me how they manage to get so many beautiful people in one place, or how some of the women manage to walk in their heels & on cobbles!

I found the show a lot more interesting this time cos there seemed to be a bit more of a focus on the smaller & newer brands including "Tokyo Fashion Week in Italy."

The theme this year was all about the words of the future & there were various graphics stuck everywhere. Adam would have loved it!

I couldn't believe quite how many checked shirts were on the stands! Wow. The big story was knitwear though - fine or chunky it was there. I also think it was the first year there wasn't a dominant colour that stood out s long as it went with denim it was there.

I didn't get much of a chance to wander around the rest of Florence, it was mainly after I'd left the show & was on my way to dinner. It's such a shame cos the city has so much history & all I end up doing is walking past the Duomo on the way to the shops or for food! I'm hoping to pop up to Fiesole during the summer visit for lunch on one day, I've heard so much about it & it'll be nice to take a proper break before heading back to the show. The following photos are from the little bits of Firenze I did see:

This little display always makes me smile near the hotel - stuffed hogs sitting around a table at the front of the butchers shop. Love it! 

On the way to dinner one night the market had closed & the shops were about to shut when I spotted this lovely Bulldog waiting outside the shop door for his dad to come out & carry on plodding home. He looked so funny.

Nothing beats a walk across the Ponte Vecchio at night on the way to Celestino. All the jewellery shops were locked up & looked like lots of over sized treasure chests. They're beautiful.

I had to stop for a Kodak moment looking out on the river too - stunning.

I made sure before I left I paid a visit to the hog so I could be sure I'd return to Florence again one day - hopefully in June cos the hotel's booked all ready for Pitti Uomo SS13!

Ciao x