well hello.

Whoa. I have a blog. Okay, well, let me start by introducing myself. My name is Bianca. I am American. 5 years ago I picked up and left my home state of New Jersey to be with my boyfriend, whom I had just met a month before, and who calls me "polpetta" which means "meatball". 

To be precise, I live in Florence. I love it and hate it. I've got too many complaints to sufficiently verbalize. I've been to each museum once and even then I didn't see everything. My favorite is the Bargello, in case you were wondering. 

Before I moved to Florence, I studied art and graphic design at MICA in Baltimore. But I screwed it up. I wish I continued, because every single thing I learned there in only two years has had an incredible effect on my way of thinking. 

Meanwhile, I am finishing up fashion school right now and getting ready for the final graduation show in May. I think I subconsciously sabotage myself. I am really behind with my 8 outfits I have to make. Many problems. And now I have lost faith because my school has already started promoting certain people without giving the rest of us a chance to prove that we don't suck. In fact, I know I don't suck, but knowing that the people who are supposed to be supporting and guiding me think so, pisses me off. 

Which makes me say: Do I really, truly belong in fashion? I love it, I have natural instincts for it, I predict things years in advance, and maybe I'm just ahead of everyone and nobody understands what the hell I'm doing. Example: yesterday, a girl in my class was flipping through my portfolio, and commented on one of the collections that I designed 3 years ago, saying that it was very "London right now" and in the vein of Henry Holland. I laughed. Three years ago, when I presented that collection to the class, the same girl had said, out loud, to my face, "Bianca, I would never wear anything you design!" She couldn't believe she said that and felt horrible, but I thought it was hilarious because it totally proved my point: hate me today, love me tommorrow. It's a lonely life being a freakin visionary, I tell ya. 

So this blog is an experiment for myself. I need to figure out what I'm doing! What do I love? Really really love? There are so many things that I love: design in general (fashion, interior, object), music and movies, travel, family, babies, my man. And I would love to incorporate all of this into one future. So, let's see what comes up. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

And of course the title of this blog refers to the musical Annie, which I just re-discovered. 

"You're never fully dressed without a smile..."

Which is SO true.