Giovanna Battaglia: Arancia

Dear readers, I am thrilled to share with you the first guest column by Nick Robinson from Style Prompt in which he analyzes the secret to the style of Giovanna Battaglia, no easy feat! I adore Nick's sharp observations and it is wonderful to read the male perspective on fashion so I have asked him to write a recurring column for the site. Please be sure to let us know what you think of his analysis of Giovanna's style by leaving a comment, I would love to hear your reaction. I am also delighted to feature the lovely illustration of Giovanna by the talented Judit Garcia-Talavera.

If you have watched the fashion world much over the last few months, you have seen the massive popularity of orange in just about every collection for this upcoming season. There are quite a few ways to wear this celebrated color, be it as an orange blazer, dress, or shoes. The conundrum one faces with wearing orange is that while you may be predisposed to a certain shade of orange, it is as complex a color to wear as green.

For those with higher contrast palettes, following Giovanna Battaglia's example in wearing this color is something to behold. While I've written before about her ability to place contrasting items around her face, she has done the exact opposite in this picture. These black leggings simply make the look. The black Fendi bag that she carries here is quite important, however, it is not nearly as important as the leggings are. I can't remember the last time I've seen leggings worked as well into an outfit as Giovanna has done here.

Regardless of how it might seem at first glance, the orange dress, the black leggings, and the black bag are only the base to the outfit. The things that make it Giovanna's own are the long, simple necklace and the playful leopard print shoes. Having never been a fan of animal print before, I'm impressed at how she pulled this off. Each of these pieces has its own individuality, but together they are absolutely stunning. Simplicity and style — who doesn't want to be a Battaglia?

Giovanna Battaglia illustration © 2009 Judit García-Talavera. All Rights Reserved.
Giovanna Battaglia photographs courtesy of trendycrew.com and shoothebreeze.blogspot.com

Comments

[itziar]

i definetely want to be a Battaglia!! and i've loved Mr Robinson's analysis. i agree with what he says about orange and the leggings making the look.
i knew already your roitfeld page, but was over the moon to discover this one. i love Gio's style and cannot wait to read Mr Robinson's future columns.
thank you to you all.

[kellina]

Itziar, all thanks to you for absolutely making my day! I so appreciate your kind words and I hope that you will visit me often.

[Kate]

This is great, and that outfit is the epitome of glamorous! I agree with Mr. Robinson--the details make it. So inspiring!

[kellina]

Kate, so happy to hear that you like Nick's writing as well as Gio's outfit! It is assuredly in the details!

[Australian Comment]

Hi - this analysis by Nick is very good. I also looked at his site "Style Prompt". His commentary there is excellent - have you had the chance to use more of his writing? It would be great if he was working on a book or other outlet for more of his observations on use of colour and shape. Unfortunately I can't see any recent posts on either his own or on related sites.

[kellina]

Australian Comment, right you are on all counts! I have contacted Nick but heard nothing further from him, sad to say. I would love to publish more of his astute observations. Thank you for noting his talent.

[En Mufti]

I absolutely love this outfit. As a professional woman working in the City of London I am constantly looking for practical style inspirations that I can wear to work regularly. Gio is one of my favourite "office chic" muses. Check out my Battaglia inspired "after work drinks" outfit: http://www.enmufti.com/desk-to-dinner-dress

Thanks x