4 Style Lessons I Learned Living in Europe

FROM THE MOMENT I STEPPED OFF THE PLANE AT MILAN’S LINATE AIRPORT, I could tell that the stories of Italian women embracing “la bella figura,” with their bold and alluring style was very much the truth. During my months travelling around Europe, I embraced the effortlessly fresh style of French women and the polished, and sometimes dare I say eccentric, looks the of the style-savvy English roses. However, Italian women never ceased to impress me with their curated mix of edgy, minimal pieces and their unfazed starlet quality.

The Italian expression “fare la bella figura” embodies the style and attitude of Italian women with their cool, calm confidence and perpetual put-togetherness. This expression was inspiration for the name of my blog “Figura Fatale” literally translating to “fatal figure” because who doesn’t want to be a femme fatale in one aspect or another.

1. Italian style is based off of “la bella figura”

In Italy, you will be hard pressed to catch a woman sporting sweatpants during the day or workout clothes outside of gym. To make a good impression, is to be polished and confident throughout every moment of the day. How one dresses in the morning is believed to set the tone for the day. The saying “dress to impress” definitely rings true.

@versace

2. Italian women are elegantly bold

Italian women are masters in quiet sex appeal. They dress in a way that allows them to be classy and sexy at the same time. You will rarely see Italian women exposing all their womanly assets at once. They instead choose to show skin in a way that exposes just enough to peak the imagination in a great balance of skin and coverage. I personally enjoy following this lesson as I believe women can be sexy in more ways than just her attire but in her smile, wit, confidence, and intelligence.

date night in Venice @mrselfportrait

🖤🤎 @ysl

3. Italian women are never overdone

Italians have the expression “una ragazza all’aqua e sapone,” which translates to a “soap and water girl.” It describes women who are not overdone in terms of their makeup as it is seen as beautiful to look naturally enhanced. This phrase can also extend to the European custom of minimalism. While in Milan, I saw students at my university bring along their Louis Vuitton, Stella McCartney, and Céline purses everyday but rarely saw them with new items. The lesson here being that European women choose to invest in key pieces like blazers and trousers that are of high quality and are timeless. Choosing key pieces and accessorizing them is more common than the North American custom of consuming endless amounts of fast fashion pieces that would likely only be worn once or twice.

Margot Ovani (below) embodies this lesson very well. I was lucky enough that I had the chance to meet her and dine at her restaurant in Milan.

L'estate nei capelli 😍 @scarpette_tatouche_boutique 😍😍😍😍😍

Oggi un po' alpina..un po' Robin Hood.. il verde è il mio colore preferito 💚 #green #verde #robinhood #margotovani #pausapranzo #lunch #milano #milan #zara

4. Italian women know the importance of curating a unique personal style

Why dress like everyone else when you can dress authentically like yourself?

Standing out from the crowd is a good thing in Italy. With so many designers, creative directors and entrepreneurs gallivanting about, it is important to stand out and look your part - whatever that may be. My cousin, Canadian fashion designer, Ria Dunn, and her brand LOST & FOUND embody her personal style with asymmetrical, layered flowing pieces and mixed textiles contrasting with one another.