English Version | In Vogue Shopping: The Big Book of Trends Issue

PARIS, MON AMOUR

The city of lights, love and fashion is also the mecca of an unmistakable style: Parisian chic. An oh-la-la! look that doesn't really have a formula, it's more like an attitude. You can combine a series of wardrobe basics and pull off a look that is as elegant as it is effortless, as casual as it is sophisticated. You can walk out of a boulangerie with a baguette under your arm and then arrive at a cocktail party for a flute of champagne without even changing your ballerinas. A pair of jeans with a striped T-shirt can work just as well as a contemporary New Look or a classic tailleur over a pair of stilettos. The icing on the cake? A touch of rouge, whether it's lipstick, clothing or a glass of wine. 

CIAO, MILANO

La dolce vita is not just the idyllic landscapes of the Italian coast bathed by the Mediterranean: it's also Milanese sobriety, the geometric and architectural lines dictated by its monuments, the polished looks that make its Vias an everyday catwalk, as if Milano Fashion Week was all year round and not just a week every six months. The everyday wardrobe is also influenced by the structured and sophisticated lines of the city morphology, in pieces that excel in quality and impeccable workmanship: feminine and powerful silhouettes guide a look that is both warrior-like and fun, that is both uncomplicated and refined, that is all empowerment and nothing about the dolce far niente. At least, never in the hustle and bustle of Milan.

LONDON CALLING

London's contrast is also its greatest style asset: the capital of a kingdom that remains in the world's imagination for the conservatism of the noble looks of the British countryside, it is also the birthplace of punk, of the swinging sixties, of such disruptive wardrobe experimentation that few other fashion destinations can boast such an eclectic side. An expert at playing with volumes and patterns, rock'n'roll and underground, there is an almost harmonious irreverence in the way contemporary and vintage are mixed in the same look, for a result that is as rebellious as it is romantic. It's cool and avant-garde making a street style statement that works anywhere, but fits particularly well in London's grey skies.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

No wonder Carrie Bradshaw was a New Yorker who was always ahead of the trends: the series may have been about Sex and the City, but the allure was about her style. Perhaps that's why sex was always a theme in every episode, but fashion was never in question: her wardrobe didn't raise any existential doubts, it didn't break her heart (only her wallet) and it was always there for our heroine. The last season aired in 2004, but Manhattan and her quartet of well-dressed friends will forever be a reference point for international street style - and a postcard of local style. It was he who taught us not to be afraid to play with volumes, to take risks with accessories, not to be afraid of colour and patterns and to pay attention to the silhouette, which can be relaxed and elegant. It was also this New York style that showed us that a statement piece can change an entire look and that this audacity will always be rewarded in the mirror. No wonder it's the city with an I heart on its business card.