A Cause Very Dear to My Heart-Dress for Success

I have been connected to Dress for Success Boston since July 2001 when the organization first opened its doors in Boston. Dress for Success (DFS) is an international organization that provides interview appropriate clothing to women re-entering the job force after overcoming tremendous obstacles in their lives - drug addiction, physical or sexual abuse, homelessness, poverty- and are on their way to self-sufficiency. We are but one small step in the process.

How can you get a job if you don’t even have anything to wear to an interview?

So the volunteers at DFS fit clients with a suit, shoes, hosiery, a handbag, and accessories, and get them ready for that first step-the interview. All clients have been referred by job training or transitional agencies, and they all have interviews lined up.

DFS Boston has dressed 5000 women since 2001, and this year, through the end of June, has dressed close to 600 women.

Clothing and accessories are donated by people like YOU!

For 6 years I volunteered every Thursday at DFS Boston. Without a doubt, that day was the best and most rewarding one of my week, no matter what else was going on. You may think that I was giving our clients strength and courage, but actually it was the other way around.

Women empowering women is an unbreakable chain.

With so many affiliates of Dress for Success in the country, I’m sure there’s one near you. Please contact them to see what needs they may have - tailored costume jewelry, earrings, handbags - leather or otherwise, shoes, hosiery, a stylish suit. Anything that you can reasonably say is in style, wearable and clean, that you no longer need, can be put to use. It’s a safe bet that it will look really nice on a woman as she walks into that corner office. It’ll make your day.

Dress for Success Boston

The Beautiful Catalan Language

You all know how much I adore learning and speaking foreign languages. Barcelona turned out to be the perfect place to combine my knowledge of Italian, French and Spanish, in order to understand the Catalan language, and to put the pieces of the puzzle together. It’s a really beautiful language to listen to.


One of the reasons I started Serena Italian Imports was so I’d be able to speak and write Italian every day, as most of my vendors in Italy don’t speak English too well. When I’m buying designer costume jewelry  from Angela Caputi, or Italian handbags from Gianni Chiarini, it’s all done in Italian.

Catalan, the other official language- besides Spanish- of the region of Catalunya, is called an Iberian Romance language by some, and a Gallo-Romance language by others. It is also spoken in the country of Andorra, and in a few other places in Europe, including the city of Alghero, on Sardegna. Fascinating!

It turned out to be remarkably easy for me to understand the written word in Barcelona, but- sometimes a word in Catalan seemed to have no rhyme or reason to it- very common words, the derivation of which was impossible for me to discern. Take the word for “closed”- as in the sign on a door indicating whether a store is open or not.

So- in Italian we have “chiuso”, in Spanish we have “cerrado”, in French we have “ferme’” and in Catalan? “TANCAT”. What is the derivation of this? Are any of my readers familiar with Catalan?

Here are a few photos of Barcelona: 

 A little lunch after much sightseeing:

                                                       

            

Pastries at Farga

Casa Batllo' by Gaudi'

Our hotel Casa Fuster

A Wonderful Week in Barcelona

We’ve just returned from a terrific week in Barcelona. What a vibrant European city! Barcelona is sophisticated and fun, culturally stimulating, and there’s something for everyone. The city is on the beach, but it’s very cosmopolitan with a real city feel to it. The food is terrific- I’d say it’s good to be a seafood fan although not a necessity- and a pitcher of Sangria can cool anyone off on a June day. My favorite is Sangria made with Cava, light in taste and in color, and very refreshing.

Our sole (no pun intended) means of transport were our poor and tired feet! We walked everywhere, and explored a different part of the city each day. My favorite for shopping is the Born-Ribera district, where there are lots of interesting boutiques. I also enjoyed shopping in the Eixample area, an upscale and sophisticated part of town where there are larger stores, some designer stores that we see in the States, but also some uniquely Spanish and Italian shops.


Just like in Italy, all women wear their pocketbooks across their bodies. It’s a functional, safe and stylish way to carry a bag, and is so very European. Here are some photos of women walking in the city:

You can find bag of this style on our site: http://www.serenaimports.com/
More blog posts and photos to come about all that Barcelona has to offer and about the beautiful Catalan language!

Loving Angela Caputi, In Grande Stile

I happen to adore Angela Caputi and her jewelry. The company makes designer costume jewelry and has been around for decades- and there’s a reason for their success and continuity. As an importer, it’s important to me that a company be easy to work with, that they ship items on time, that they be responsive to my needs, and more importantly, to the needs of my clients. Angela Caputi and her staff live up to all of that.


From a creative standpoint, Signora Caputi never fails to outdo herself, over and over again. Just when you see a piece, and ooh and aah over it, and think it’s the ultimate, she pulls out another piece or another season’s line, and the creativity and colors are new and exciting. And the quality of her work is consistent and reliable.

I always ooh and aah when I’m in her showroom choosing items for my clients. Decision-making is tough!

Sometimes people say her pieces are big- and that you have to be a big, tall woman to wear them. Not so-there are plenty of necklaces and bracelets that even on a smaller woman are just perfect. I’m a petite woman, and confidently I wear her jewelry with simple clothing.

We ladies know that we love to buy costume jewelry. So add Italian imported resin jewelry by Angela Caputi to your list of must-haves. If you’re a fan of hers, join the group- and if you haven’t tried her yet, knock yourself out and give it a whirl. We’ve got a great selection.

Here’s a video of her workshop:

Passing on the Love of Travel

We were young ourselves, with two 4 year-old sons. And after several years of local travel, to the beach, to Disneyworld, and to all the fun places young parents go with their kids, we longed to go back to Europe, children in tow.

There were no plans of doing the grand tour of Europe like all the American painters did, or anything remotely like that. All we wanted to do was be there, and live. So we rented an apartment for two spring weeks in Piazza Sta.Croce in Florence.

We brought a dear aunt of our sons along, to help us when the two of them decided to run in three different directions and to have another adult around for the usual craziness.

It couldn’t have turned out better. The apartment was gorgeous, with plenty of bedrooms to go around, and kitchen and washing facilities to make dishwashing and laundry very convenient.

We spent our days doing simple things in Florence, made it child-friendly, with lots of time built in for just running around the piazza chasing pigeons- which turned out to be a favorite past-time of theirs. And I will never forget the blue skies- every single day of the trip. We saw not one cloud in 15 days! Cielo sereno, as they say.

And I got to run off by myself a few times to buy an italian leather handbag, some Italian gold, Angela Caputi jewelry, and gifts for all my friends while my husband and sister-in-law took the boys to the nearest park with a playground.

Over the years we have returned with our sons to Florence several times. One eventually studied there (or I guess what kind of passed for studying) for many months, and the other travelled there with a girlfriend, so proud to show her his intimate knowledge of the city. In both instances my husband and I couldn’t have been happier.

We have seen in our sons the love of travel extend to all corners of the globe, and are thrilled to see that they have embraced and assimilated it to be a part of each of them.

How do I Choose My Designers?

Clients and friends often ask me how I choose a particular designer – and it’s so fun to think about because really there is a unique story that goes along with each one. Take Gianni Chiarini for example, a handbag designer whom I came to know just a few years ago.

I was shopping in my favorite clothing store of all in Florence, Macel, which is right near the Pitti Palace. In addition to clothing, they also sell a selection of shoes, boots and handbags, and everything in the shop is made in Italy. And much of it is Tuscan. I bought a bag there a few years ago, not even looking at the label. But I liked the soft leather, simple design, and knew I’d get a lot of use out of it.

The following day I was walking down Via dellaVigna Nuova, and went into a fabulous handbag shop called Contemporary Bags. The store sells solely Gianni Chiarini handbags, which turned out to be the label in the bag I had bought the day before.

I just knew when I saw this collection, that American women would love these bags. The prices are fairly reasonable, considering what imported handbags cost these days, the bags aren’t fussy, and they look sturdy and stunning. And best of all, it’s a Florentine company.

Once back at home in the States, I contacted the company and made arrangements to visit their showroom in Florence on my next trip. Imagine walking into a really big space- like an enormous supermarket- and all the rows, on either side, are filled with handbags. What would you do? I think I was drooling! They must have thought I was out of my mind. And I was swooning from the scent of so much leather. And by the way, Gianni himself is a pretty young and friendly guy.

As I’ve mentioned before, I follow my instincts. If I like a bag, I’m pretty certain my clients will too!

The Greatest Compliment of All

One of the tremendous advantages of living in a foreign city for an extended time is becoming fluent in the local language- and for me, one of my goals was to pass as “one of them”. This takes total immersion of mind and body, a good ear, the confidence to use new words and phrases every day, and the courage to try out and adopt the local accent. Forget speaking with an American accent. Train your ear, listen hard and repeat. Over and over again. Eventually what initially seems forced, becomes comfortable.


After graduate school in Florence, wanting to stay for a while, I worked for Macy’s . They had their own buying office in the city at the time, not far from Piazza San Marco. My friend Debbie and I were the “americanine”, the little American girls working there. We were so happy to have jobs in Florence, and did whatever was necessary in the office- we answered the phones- that job is called being the “centralino” or operator, we ran the telex room (any readers old enough to remember what that is?) we typed orders, and when American buyers came over from the States for trade shows, we travelled with them, translating and showing them around. And what perks- luxury hotels, fashion shows, shoe shows to die for- and I wore sample size!- Italian was my language, all day. It was heavenly.

After a while, reality set it, and I knew it was time to make a decision- like the old song says “Do I stay or do I go?” For a gazillion reasons, time to go-but with a heavy heart.

So I got on the plane, with eyes red and swollen from all the crying and all the goodbyes, with a pile of Italian fashion magazines in my bag, and I suppose after all this time, looking somewhat Italian.

A flight attendant came by offering candy, magazines, and newspapers. In Italian, she asked me if I wanted something to read, and in my heavy Florentine accent, I told her I had some magazines, but would like a newspaper, please.

And her response? “I’m sorry, they’re all in English.” And she walked on. What a compliment. Mission accomplished.

A presto.

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