Shopping in Como, Italy

We wanted to write about vintage shopping in Como, but since there are just couple of shops even remotely vintage, we are going to share what we think are the must see spots in this beautiful northern Italian city.

The reason why we travel to same city every year at the same time is Swing Crash Festival, one of Europe's biggest swing dance events during summer. We usually shop during the day and dance the night away... In between we enjoy Italian cuisine with nice wines. Here are some of our top picks from our latest trip:

Vintage shops

For clothes there's a shop called Mercatino Michela on Via Francisco Benzi 13. They mostly had modern fashion but there were some vintage pieces as well. The prices are quite high from our point of view.

We've only managed to find one shop that sells vintage stuff that's not really "old antique". It's located behind the main bus station and it's called Mercatino Usato. They have loads of stuff from past decades and prices are fairly cheap.

There's a department store called COIN in the center of Como (Via Boldoni 3), you can find people selling random vintage items next to the store in a small alley on most days. Handbags, jewelry and watches would be items to look for from those tables.

Vintage reptile embossed leather purse found last summer. 

Shoe shops

Our two favourite shoe shops are Square and Black One. Square has all the shoes categorized by size and they all cost the same, this year 30 eur, but we've seen 15 eur days too. And they got Italian leather shoes!

A shop called Black One has a great selection of Italian shoes, and the prices are very competitive, you can find chic leather shoes for 40 euros or even cheaper. Blackone is located on Piazza S. Fedele. We've never left Blackone without a new pair of shoes!

Square on Via Giuseppe Rovelli

Take a break

While us girls spend an hour in each shoe shop trying everything in our size, our male companions sit down for a cold beer in Café Tropical. They have nice seating outside and very friendly and welcoming staff. Sometimes they bring a complimentary snack. Their bathroom in the back yard is also something to see. Somewhat an exotic experience, go and find out!

Cafe Tropical is located opposite to Square shoe shop on Via Giuseppe Rovelli

Rosé wine for cooling down between shoe shops

Wine & dine

There are plenty of good restaurants in Como. Our all time favorites are the Il Pomodorino on Via Cinque Giornate and La Darsena by the lake. Pomodorino has outside seating in a small courtyart, very good place for a romantic dinner. La Darsena is the place to go if you want to watch the sunset while you eat. Both places serve pizza, price approx. 8-12 euros, bottle of local wine 20-25 euros.

Dessert

Gelato is the obvious choice for dessert, snack, breakfast and for cooling down on a hot summer day. If you want something else, we recommend frozen yoghurt from the Yogurt & Co. It's delicious! 

Other stuff

If you are staying in Como for longer there are plenty of cool things to see and do. If the weather's nice (it usually is) there's a beach near the fountain. Just walk on the right hand side of the lake  (looking from the Piazza Cavour) untill you see a big fountain in the lake. There's a pizza restaurant and they've got a little private beach on their back yard. They charge for everything, but for 15 euros you'll get an entrance, towel and a sun bed.

Be a tourist

There are boats going to every little village along the banks of lago di Como. A great day trip is to visit Bellagio. It's quite touristic, but there's a chance to bump into George Clooney...

If you've already traveled along the lake, so next step is to try a bit of hiking up the hill. For beginners (like us) we recommend riding the Funicolare up to Brunate and walking the trail up to the Volta Lighthouse. the altitude is 900 meters above sea level, so remember to keep hydrated and take it easy if the weather is hot.

When you're walking up the hill and you see this sign, you're not even close. So take a break and have a cold drink, the view is great!

Wiev from Dolce Basilico

More shopping?

If you are up for some vintage shopping, hop on the train and ride to Milano. If you've rented a car and are into more modern look, there's a massive outlet mall in Switzerland side of the border, it's called FoxTown.

There's a market each Saturday next to the wall that surrounds Como from south. You'll find loads of cheap Chinese clothes from there, but also some Italian clothing and shoes. Watch your purse, it can get crowded in there!

Ice cream sticks and banana splits

I've been eating a lot of ice cream this summer and the sticks started piling up. So I got crafty and made these simple chalk board inspired labels for my herb garden on the balcony.

 

I used ordinary craft paint and white marker. Any mistakes on white marker can be fixed with a black narrow marker.

Suomeksi: Jäätelötikuista voi tehdä liitutaulu-henkisiä minikylttejä yrttiruukkuihin. Tavallista askartelumaalia kerros, pari ja teksti vedenkestävällä valkoisella tussilla. Jos tekstistä tulee sotkuinen, sitä voi korjailla päälle mustalla kapealla tussilla.

Dance proof pin curls

I like trying out different vintage inspired hairstyles on my medium length bob. Since my hair is now too short for most up do's I make curls if I want to have a vintage look for a night out dancing. The problem with curls and dancing is that usually curls won't last the whole night in humid air at the dance venues but I have come up with a solution that works really well for my hair.

I'm a big fan of LisaFreemontStreet's hair tutorials on YouTube. I'm not going to make my own video of pin curling since Ashley's video is very well made, see it here , I just add here some pointers I have found useful through trial and error of trying to make my curls last the whole night.

Pins in random pattern, top hair is more loosely curled than other parts

frizzy hair before brushing 

I try to be extra careful getting the ends to curl neatly inside the curl. To make sure all the curls are going to turn out beautifully I make a little test; I blow dry the hair when I've done all the pinning to accelerate the curling process and also to spot any ends poking out. If such appears I pin that part again.

I also randomly open one or two curls after one or two hour to see how damp the hair is and how's the curl turning out. If somethings wrong (hair's too wet, the curl's already too curly) I can still make adjustments.

If I have time I don't sleep with the pin curls but make them couple of hours before going out. My hair is so short in the neck that the pins fall out during the night even if I wear a scarf. If the short hair in the neck doesn't curl well, then I use curling iron to that part.

The most important part after pinning is brushing. The curls will last the whole night if you brush them well and add hairspray when you're finished. This way the curls will be one big section and not individual curls. Somehow it makes the curls last longer and you won't have individual straight parts if the curls start to fade. I sometimes back comb the neck hair for extra volume.

I like to use non-alcoholic hair products when ever possible. Usually they are not as effective as the regular ones but they're more gentle to the hair. I found one hold spray that works really well for hairdos like this, it's L'anza Healing Style spray gel. This time I also used Wella Stay Styled hairspray for finishing touch because of the rainy weather.
I was dancing whole night and even took part in a Jack & Jill competition and hair stayed put!

If I want to have my hair curly also the next morning, I pin it back onto curls before going to bed. A good look for the second day hair is to wear a bandanna for "Rosie the Riveter"-look

Suomeksi: Lyhyehköön polkkatukkaan saa helposti vintage-tyylisen kampauksen pinnikiharoilla. Suosittelen katsomaan tämän videon, jossa on yksityiskohtaiset ohjeet, miten hiukset kannattaa valmistella ja miten kiharat tehdään. Huolellinen pohjatyö on kaikkein tärkein vaihe pinnikiharoissa; jos joku hiustupsu jää suoraan alkuvaiheessa, sen todellakin huomaa lopputuloksessa.

Itse olen yrityksen ja erehdyksen kautta havainnut, että näin lyhyissä hiuksissa pinnit eivät välttämättä pysy paikallaan nukkuessa, joten pyrin tekemään kiharat vasta muutama tunti ennen iltaa. Noin 3 tuntia riittää jos hiukset ovat vain vähän kosteat. Prosessia voi nopeuttaa hiustenkuivaimella, samalla huomaa jos joku kihara on huonosti kierretty ja hiuksia alkaa törröttää kiharasta ulos. Mikäli niskahiukset ovat todella lyhyet, voi ne käsitellä erikseen kihartimella silllä välin kun muut hiukset on pinneillä kiinni.

Ylimmässä kuvassa näkyy, että olen kiertänyt päälimmäiset hiukset aika löysästi kiharoille.Halusin päällihiuksien kihartuvan vasta latvaa kohden, jotta saan kiharoiden painopisteen alemmaksi, ja hiukset on helpompi saada sileäksi päältä.

Pinnikiharoista saa villin näköiset jos hiuksia ei kampaa kunnolla auki, mutta jos haluaa vintage glamour-tyylisen kampauksen, kiharoiden aukiharjaaminen on tärkeää. Kun pinnit irrottaa, kiharat näyttävät usein aikamoiselta harakanpesältä. Tästä ei kannata pelästyä, vaan ottaa hiusharja kauniiseen käteen ja alkaa kärsivällisesti muotoilemaan kiharoita haluttuun muotoon. Irtohiukset voi silottaa paikalleen esimerkiksi hiusvahalla. Jotta kampaus kestää kosteutta ja tanssilattialla pyörimistä, kannattaa kiinnittää kiharat paikoilleen hyvällä hiuslakalla.

Hiukset saa pysymään kiharalla seuraavaan päivään, kun kiertää ne suurinpiirtein takaisin kiharoille ja kiinnittää pinneillä yöksi. Jos kiharat eivät ole aamulla enää parhaassa terässä, voi laittaa huivin päähän Rosie the Riveter-tyyliin.

Vintage style travel ads... with a twist!

I lovelovelove vintage travel ads! Recently I was doing a google search on the subject when I came across this:

At first I was just puzzled, then I read the text on the ad and was even more puzzled. Little more google gymnastics told me this was the art of Steve Thomas. And there are so many more of these Star Wars themed, vintage styled travel ads! I love these! (Did i mention I might be just a bit of a geek?)

I seriously consider preordering his Space Travel Calendar fot 2013...

This stuff is so cool it's HOT!

Funky "enamel" keys

I love enamel on jewelry, so I couldn't wait to try this trick I spotted in Pinterest couple of days ago. I had only one vintage key available so I tried how modern keys would look with nail polish coat on them. While looking for old keys I also found one fake silver medallion so I had to paint that too...

  

Suomeksi: Vanhat avaimet voi muuttaa jännittävän näköisiksi koristeiksi maalaamalla ne kynsilakalla. Homma on aikaavievää ja vaatii vakaata kättä & kärsivällisyyttä, mutta lopputulos on aika hurmaava, vai mitä? Jos pieni bling-bling sopii makuusi, kannattaa kokeilla myös kynsistrasseja avaimia sulostuttamaan.

I believe the original idea is from this blog / Alkuperäinen idea avainten "emalointiin" tässä blogissa

Canvas sneaker revamp

The sun is shining and I feel like dancing! 

I love to wear heels but a girl's gotta have some flats too, especially in summertime when dancing outside on rough wooden floors. Simple sneakers are great for dancing, but they can look too sporty to wear with a skirt or a dress, so I turned my plain sneakers into a canvas for artistic experiments.

I used craft paints suitable for wood, paper etc. and a white fabric marker for sharpening the outlines of my drawings. I googled "old skool tattoos" and "tattoo shoes" for artwork ideas. I pretty much just copied what I liked and thought I can draw on such small space with equipment I already had.

Here are the ready ones, they look the same but not so much that it'll look factory made. I'd love to try this on pumps too, but I need more practice and finer brushes.

Put on your dancing shoes!

Weekends timeless vintage finds

I was visiting my old home town Pori for mothers day and popped in to an Antique fair. I really wouldn't called it "a fair", more like few sellers with old magazines, haberdashery and glass wases, but of course I couldn't leave without buying something!

I've been looking for a vintage watch for ages, and I finally found it!

It's an old Swiss made Certina, bought it for 2 euros. I don't know if it'll ever work, but it's a pretty accessory even if it doesn't show correct time. Now it has stopped on 5 o'clock so it's always tea time for me now! I also bought the hat needle with 2 euros, not bad?

I had to check what new Certinas look like nowadays, and I found one looking just like mine. It's a Certina Caimano, 395 euros in Atomic Clock.

Certina Caimano