I had some spare time to kill this afternoon so I looked through my ever growing abandoned projects pile and discovered a number of photos from my trip to Italy in which I tried to practice the art of street style photography and approach strangers in the hope of capturing their look of the day.

Luckily for me Italians are an open bunch and were very welcoming when I approached them to take a picture. The majority of the snaps were taken on the streets of Bologna and Padua with the styles perfectly representing the laid back nature of the cities.

Italian style is distinctive in its appearance, defined by its nonchalant nature and dedicated to achieving sprezzatura. In simple terms, if you go to Italy and try to act cool you’ll be found out very quickly.

“Sprezzature – a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought to it”

italy street style fashion photography travel blog-16

Italian style is much more diverse than many people come to assume, with regional nuances adding variety and characterising local tastes. One thing that I found interesting is that commitment is everything and the old saying of ‘beauty requires sacrifice’ rings very true here.

No matter the weather, scarves and wool jackets are always an option and a dog is probably the most diverse ‘accessory’ one can have with them.

guy on bike bologna street style

One key take away from Italy is that dedicating time to think and experiment with outfit ideas is the key to looking stylish without any apparent effort.

Just as important is the careful selection of style rules you’re willing to break as there is a world of difference between knowing the rules and breaking them, and not knowing the rules and playing it by ear.

STYLEGRAM

bologna cathedral

I hope you enjoyed my street style post from Italy. What do you think are some of the most stylish cities in the world? Let me know by leaving a comment below and check out my latest post from MONTENEGRO. Until next time – Anton

INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | PINTEREST