Made in Italy

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy (hard to believe it's only 150 years, right?), Colin McDowell has brought together Italy's most influential designers for a fantastically stylish exhibition at Somerset House. Masters of Style showcases a mouth watering, personally chosen collection of the designers' iconic campaign images, through the years. So can you guess who they are? Well, there is, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Ferragamo, Gucci, Missoni and Prada, of course! So it goes without saying that you can expect pioneering campaigns, delicious clothes and beautiful photography, dripping with style.

So, what does Italian style mean to you? On my regular The Sartoralist binges, it's always the Italians that get my fashion rocks off! They look so 'put together', so stylish. Not effortlessly stylish mind. These people know what works, what makes them look fabulous and they unashamedly flaunt it. But that's ok because they can pull it off. The VT in the exhibition made me chuckle, talking about how the Italians invented the 'street catwalk' aka La Passeggiata. This is where everyone in town (and i mean everyone, young and old), put on their finery and simply walk up and down the main streets, just to see and more importantly be seen. Having been born into this crazy ritual, i can tell you for somebody who is half British (therefore has that self deprecating, please don't look at me thing going on) this can be extremely cringe worthy. Me and my little sister would constantly rebel, trying to look as scruffy as possible! Oh how I get it now...give me a Florentine street on a balmy evening, a beautiful dress, amazing shoes... Watch me work it!

Dolce & Gabbana S/S'11. Photographer Stephen Klein

Prada A/W '88-'89. Photgrapher Albert Watson

Missoni S/S'03. Photographer Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott

Georgio Armani S/S'90. Photographer Aldo Fallai. Gucci S/S'91. Photographer Lance Stadler

Catch the exhibition before August 14th

It's always the weather for ice cream...

So, the weather is not as sunny, but it is still really hot, therefore I decided to delay the sweaty tube journey home with a trip to Gelupo a new gelateria on Archer street, Soho – all in the name of research of course! This is from the people behind Bocca di Lupo, an Italian restaurant with a great reputation, just across the road (Note to self - I must get round to sampling their food soon).

Fresh, delicious flavours including a daily special made for a very hard decision and many a sample tested! I settled on the daily special ‘Bonet’, which was a mixture of rum, ameretti, coffee and chocolate with a second scoop of peach sorbet…to die for! I had to control my yummy noises! There is a seating area so you can eat in but if the weather is nice, a scoop (or three) is the perfect accompaniment to people watching on the streets of Soho.

Pick me up dinner @ Polpo

The man has just returned from a draining trip to Aberdeen, so to cheer him up after an 8-hour train ride, I decided to treat him to a meal at Polpo in Soho. This is a gorgeous Venetian style bacaro on Beak Street and is definitely one of my favourite Italians in London. I also love the fact that Canaletto used to live in the building.
The menu is fantastic, with a delicious selection of mezze style dishes, which means you can order loads without feeling too greedy! My favourites today were the broad bean, ricotta and mint bruschettas and scallops with pancetta and peas...yum! The atmosphere is great, no matter what time of day and the staff are really friendly without being too in your face. Be prepared to wait for a table most evenings (especially over the weekend) as the place is very popular. But is this really a hardship when you can wait in anticipation by the bar with a glass of red wine...or two?!