Dressful

The black book of retail is a concise selection of Italy's 200 finest multi-brand stores and boutiques. Each store is laid out on one page, with all the necessary information for shoppers – short description in Italian and English, photos, list of main brands, opening hours, contact details and a message from the owner. The stores are divided by region.

The bilingual guide was written for domestic and international customers who feel limited by single-brand stores or prefer to do all their fashion shopping in one place.

Six marketing, retail and design experts chose the stores by the following criteria: the stores must have been in business for at least three years, they must have at least 90 square meters of retail space, they must be multi-brand and carry quality brands. All 20 Italian regions are included in the guide, however for obvious reasons, Milan has the highest number of listed stores. Most stores have operated for decades, a solid statement to the local sartorial tradition.

The black book has a pleasant layout that makes it easy to pick up information. I'm a curious reader and shopper, so I appreciated the inclusion of photos and messages from store owners. Each boutique is a sphere of its own that becomes much more personal when you know the face and philosophy behind it.

Single-brand stores and multi-brand stores focusing on smaller brands are not included, but that's material for a whole new guide.

The black book of retail was sent to me by Biblioteca della moda.

2011 was an exciting and fruitful year for me as a fashion blogger.

In February I attended my first major runway show, Emporio Armani F/W 11/12 at Milan Fashion Week. Envisioning myself working in fashion before I started blogging, I thought I would have to spend years interning and assisting at magazines before my boss granted me a privilege to attend shows and write about them. I am my own boss at Dressful so nobody showers me with benefits, but thanks to the "democratization of fashion" we bloggers have become regulars at fashion weeks, be it catching street style photographers' attention with eccentric outfits or reporting from shows.

Concept Korea Spring 2012 presentation at New York Fashion Week.

In September I attended New York Fashion Week, which turned out to be a much bigger deal than I had expected. It's the collections shown in Paris and Milan that get the most international attention, but New York is the most blogger-friendly fashion week (Reuters claims that 40% of the press at NYFW are bloggers) and a great place for networking. As opposed to Milan and Paris, all shows take place under one roof in New York, which means you can hang out with people in-between events instead of wasting your time getting stuck in insane traffic jams.

When I started going to fashion weeks, I quickly realized there would be no way back, i.e. if I attend, I have to return next season to see more shows, meet more people and do better work. Due to unexpected health problems I didn't create as much content as I wanted to at NYFW in September. I will be attending NYFW again in February and I'm tickled pink to have a chance to improve. I haven't seen wintry New York in three years.

Invitation to the Emporio Armani Spring/Summer 2012 show
Celebrating Halloween with a Chanel pumpkin carved by my dad

Dressful has gained many new readers in 2011. I receive charming, encouraging emails from those of you who find it inspiring and I wish such perceptive and intelligent readers will accompany me in 2012 too. Constantly working on ways to reach more fashion enthusiasts, I'm satisfied with the direction Dressful is developing in. I've discovered that in my case, sharing original and quality content is the way to go. People like words and images they won't find elsewhere and I feel good expressing myself in different creative ways.

In 2011 I rejected various proposals that would have brought me money but didn't align with Dressful. I've been hesitant with monetization because I find some methods largely inefficient and because this blog is my personal space where I only recommend what I absolutely love and know well.

I have seen bloggers rush into monetization without thinking it through; in the end, they were not compensated fairly, the brand or product they promoted didn't fit their blog, the banner ads looked out of place … If done wrong, such deals can do more harm than good to the blogger, despite the money they earned. That being said, there are several types of collaborations I am interested in; I will soon create a separate page to outline them more precisely.

Sens(n)ation Maison Martin Margiela exhibition in Ljubljana.

I would like to thank everyone who takes time to comment on my posts; your comments are not of the "nice shoes check out my blog" variety; rather, they contribute valuably to the post and discussion. I truly appreciate it when you share my posts on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms – this is the easiest way to help me reach more people. Next to providing quality content, expanding my audience is my number one goal for 2012.

Though the world is far from perfect, the opportunities I've had in 2011 make me grateful to live here and now. Five years ago it would have been impossible to jumpstart my fashion career with a blog.

The blog is just the beginning.

I wish you happy holidays and lots of health, love, creativity and success in 2012.

This morning I attended the Emporio Armani Spring/Summer 2012 show in Milan. It was my second time at Emporio Armani (the first show I saw was Fall/Winter 2011/2012), but it will take quite a while before I get immune to the thrill and excitement of major shows. The best part of fashion week is the goosebumps you get when you realize the designers' efforts and inspirations in the past 6 months have united in a perfect, seamless whole. I am incredibly happy and honored to have attended Emporio Armani this season, especially because the collection is the loveliest I've seen in a long time.

The Emporio Armani Spring/Summer 2012 collection by Giorgio Armani is bringing back the plastic trend. We saw clear plastic handbags, bracelets, wedges, sandals, as well as striking big black or white flower-like accessories worn as headpieces, on the shoulder or around the neck. The color palette is mostly black and white with some flower prints. Models wore short blonde wigs and boaters. There were peplum dresses, sequin vests, snakeskin bags and wedges. Of course, the collection would not be complete without Armani's signature tailored blazers and pants.

For me, the highlight of the show were the shoes (I would wear every pair, not to mention this is the only instance in my life when I've admired plastic shoes! They are effortlessly fashionable.) and white dresses with hooped hemlines. Beautifully delicate, they reminded me of morning dew and the uneven shape of petals. It's interesting that a collection brimming with references to flowers was executed in black and white (we usually buy flowers in more lively colors). I also loved the use of boaters, a men's hat, with elegant, feminine pieces.

When I got back to my hotel after the show, I turned on the computer and caught the last few minutes of the second Emporio Armani show livestream (Emporio Armani schedules two consecutive shows: one for press, one for other guests). This should give you a good idea of how late shows start in Milan (the hotel I'm staying at is quite far from Teatro Armani where the Armani events take place). It also speaks volumes about how much I loved the collection and the show. A sentimental wish to relive the experience through a computer screen. I cannot wait for spring to see these beautiful pieces alive in the streets. Please, can we skip fall and winter?

Cut It Out is a Hong Kong/Milan-based label in love with sequins. They shot a short film titled "Sinapsi" (Synapses) to present their Spring/Summer 2011 collection. Do you notice similarity between sequins and the octopus's suction cups? If you read Dressful often, you probably know I'm slightly obsessed with finding those peculiar connections between fashion and other fields. So beautiful.

May. The month when you want to blend with the increasingly hot asphalt, but you should be in your room, studying for your exams (irony: once you do start studying, the thought you have to read more than one hundred books encapsulates your lungs with steel power and your immune system collapses in a matter of seconds).

The month you realize you'll never see your favorite pair of Spring/Summer 2011 sandals on the shelves again. You will, however, meet them once more in August in the street in Italy among much less stylishly clad pairs of feet. Though not the jealous type, you will inevitably give your sandals more scatterbrained looks than you'd like to admit, notice they don't even go with the rest of her outfit and think, oh, what a neophyte (it's so easy to be full of yourself in fashion).

The month when it becomes too humid for your spring perfume.

May comes with a set of neuroses, upset stomaches in knots and endless silent but trenchant internal debates about whether some things I did after months of hesitation and self-directed agony (outlined concrete plans for my future; blocked a few numbers in my phone; sharpened my instincts on where I do and do not belong) really were worth it. May is when everything I do feels like I'm galloping up an endless stairway full-speed.

May is when I think about February and the morning before my first runway show. The little lilac toy I got in my Kinder Surprise on the train from Trieste to Milan. I decided it would see all the shows with me in the future. My lucky charm, though I wouldn't know what to tell you if you asked me if I believed in lucky charms.

On the train from Trieste to Milan I felt just as uncertain as right now, only much more excited and, I guess, happier? How about they abolish the waiting time between fashion weeks? Make the adrenaline levels sky high as often as possible, please.

May is also the month you become aware of your crisis of impossible proportions the one moment you want to sit down and relax. Touché.