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De Merteuil.

Fashion

Tarantula

Tarantula

Tarantula

Valeria Pugliese

Jan 21, 20249 min read

Pre-Raphaelite Fetishism

Pre-Raphaelite Fetishism

Pre-Raphaelite Fetishism

Valeria Pugliese

Sep 25, 20235 min read

Heliogabalus: Ode to Anarchy

Heliogabalus: Ode to Anarchy

Heliogabalus: Ode to Anarchy

Valeria Pugliese

Aug 9, 20235 min read

Mid-April Paraphernalia

Mid-April Paraphernalia

Mid-April Paraphernalia

Valeria Pugliese

Apr 24, 20238 min read

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🖤 Devozione 🖤
Good Friday traditions in Sicily

#venerdisanto#sicily#sicilia#goodfriday#devotion#devozione#tradizioni#traditions

🖤 Devozione 🖤
Good Friday traditions in Sicily

#venerdisanto#sicily#sicilia#goodfriday#devotion#devozione#tradizioni#traditions

🖤 Venerdì Santo 🖤
Thank you to my native community in Ciminna for allowing me to take part in the Good Friday procession as one of the pious women, a powerful memento mori experience I have been doing, when present, since when I was a toddler.
Grateful 🙏

#goodfriday#venerdisanto#sicily#sicilia#tradizioni#passione#passion

🖤 Venerdì Santo 🖤
Thank you to my native community in Ciminna for allowing me to take part in the Good Friday procession as one of the pious women, a powerful memento mori experience I have been doing, when present, since when I was a toddler.
Grateful 🙏

#goodfriday#venerdisanto#sicily#sicilia#tradizioni#passione#passion

Additional pics from the family catch-up between Bologna, Modena & Maranello including anatomical waxes at Palazzo Poggi, Museum Enzo Ferrari and us being up north but, of course, ending up having dinner in an Apulian restaurant 🫀🚘🫒

Atmospheric photos by Sorella @delreyners

#Bologna#Modena#PalazzoPoggi#anatomy#anatomicalvenus#ferrari

Additional pics from the family catch-up between Bologna, Modena & Maranello including anatomical waxes at Palazzo Poggi, Museum Enzo Ferrari and us being up north but, of course, ending up having dinner in an Apulian restaurant 🫀🚘🫒

Atmospheric photos by Sorella @delreyners

#Bologna#Modena#PalazzoPoggi#anatomy#anatomicalvenus#ferrari

Outfit context:
- I was having a bad long hair day and I saw an unused Spanish peineta (high crest comb) among my hair accessories 🧜‍♀️
- Back in December 2024 I DIYed a brooch from a baroque putto previously used as a Christmas decoration 👼
- I am honestly looking forward to the upcoming Easter break, which I will be spending in Sicily with family 🌞
- I was on my way to the Club. Due to its imminent location change (after 20 years!), somberness was in air 🖤

The outfit is an impromptu celebration of both Spanish and Sicilian traditional fashion and, apart from some leggings-wearers giving me weird looks in the tube, it was indeed a success ✨️

#baroque#sicly#sicilianwoman#mantilla#spanishmantilla#peineta

Outfit context:
- I was having a bad long hair day and I saw an unused Spanish peineta (high crest comb) among my hair accessories 🧜‍♀️
- Back in December 2024 I DIYed a brooch from a baroque putto previously used as a Christmas decoration 👼
- I am honestly looking forward to the upcoming Easter break, which I will be spending in Sicily with family 🌞
- I was on my way to the Club. Due to its imminent location change (after 20 years!), somberness was in air 🖤

The outfit is an impromptu celebration of both Spanish and Sicilian traditional fashion and, apart from some leggings-wearers giving me weird looks in the tube, it was indeed a success ✨️

#baroque#sicly#sicilianwoman#mantilla#spanishmantilla#peineta

The morbid eroticism of the Anatomical Venus 🖤

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of visiting Palazzo Poggi, inside Bologna's university, and the vaste collection of anatomical wax models.
She was realised by the wax modeller Clemente Susini and inspired by the hellenistic beauty of the Venus de' Medici.

Touched.

Photos by sorella @delreyners

#anatomicalvenus#anatomy#anatomical#morbid#bologna#italy

The morbid eroticism of the Anatomical Venus 🖤

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of visiting Palazzo Poggi, inside Bologna's university, and the vaste collection of anatomical wax models.
She was realised by the wax modeller Clemente Susini and inspired by the hellenistic beauty of the Venus de' Medici.

Touched.

Photos by sorella @delreyners

#anatomicalvenus#anatomy#anatomical#morbid#bologna#italy

My lovely sister came to visit this past weekend 🦊🦊 @delreyners

Apart from winning in convincing her to wear pearls and fur, we celebrated her recent birthday and our graduations 🥂

#vitamì

My lovely sister came to visit this past weekend 🦊🦊 @delreyners

Apart from winning in convincing her to wear pearls and fur, we celebrated her recent birthday and our graduations 🥂

#vitamì

Debut of my heaviest and longest coat, lucky finding dated 1950s 😍🍷

#vintage#vintagefashion#fashion#fur#vintagefur#realfur#london#londonnights

Debut of my heaviest and longest coat, lucky finding dated 1950s 😍🍷

#vintage#vintagefashion#fashion#fur#vintagefur#realfur#london#londonnights

Not sure what is behind this, but Paris is currently a fashionista heaven!
Here is another exhibition I had the pleasure to visit: Au fil de l'or at the Musée du Quai Branly ✨️🌞

The exhibition tells the story of the centuries-long love affair between gold and mankind, and how it is used in the textile arts and fashion by different civilizations 🪭🥻👑
In awe admiring the precious creations of @guopei and now in need of a properly embroidered kimono... 😏👘

#gold#or#fashion#guopei#guopeihautecouture

Not sure what is behind this, but Paris is currently a fashionista heaven!
Here is another exhibition I had the pleasure to visit: Au fil de l'or at the Musée du Quai Branly ✨️🌞

The exhibition tells the story of the centuries-long love affair between gold and mankind, and how it is used in the textile arts and fashion by different civilizations 🪭🥻👑
In awe admiring the precious creations of @guopei and now in need of a properly embroidered kimono... 😏👘

#gold#or#fashion#guopei#guopeihautecouture

La Flâneuse 👠🦚🥖🍷🇲🇫

La Flâneuse 👠🦚🥖🍷🇲🇫

🖤💛 DEVOTION 💛🖤

🖤💛 DEVOTION 💛🖤

Dolce & Gabbana exhibition currently in Paris, Grand Palais ✨️

Personal faves from multiple collections including Agrigento, Carretto, Il Gattopardo (The Leopard), Opera & Glass ❤️

Dolce & Gabbana exhibition currently in Paris, Grand Palais ✨️

Personal faves from multiple collections including Agrigento, Carretto, Il Gattopardo (The Leopard), Opera & Glass ❤️

Touching (yes, we almost shed some tears in this room!) visit to the Dolce & Gabbana exhibition "Dal Cuore alle Mani" (From the Heart to the Hands).
Here it is a golden celebration of the ancient Norman Kingdom of Sicily, with references to the splendid mosaics of Palermo and Monreale ✨️

#dolcegabbana#sicily#sicilia#palermo#monreale#norman#holyromanempire#fashion#hautecouture

Touching (yes, we almost shed some tears in this room!) visit to the Dolce & Gabbana exhibition "Dal Cuore alle Mani" (From the Heart to the Hands).
Here it is a golden celebration of the ancient Norman Kingdom of Sicily, with references to the splendid mosaics of Palermo and Monreale ✨️

#dolcegabbana#sicily#sicilia#palermo#monreale#norman#holyromanempire#fashion#hautecouture

Byzantine & Baroque holy splendour in Sicily ⛪️
Pics from my recent visits to:
- Palatine Chapel (royal chapel within the Norman Palace in Palermo - ongoing restoration works on the Christ Pantokrator section, alas!)
- Saint Francis church in Mazara del Vallo

#art#church#holyart#catholic#romancatholic#sicily#visitsicily#byzantine#baroque

Byzantine & Baroque holy splendour in Sicily ⛪️
Pics from my recent visits to:
- Palatine Chapel (royal chapel within the Norman Palace in Palermo - ongoing restoration works on the Christ Pantokrator section, alas!)
- Saint Francis church in Mazara del Vallo

#art#church#holyart#catholic#romancatholic#sicily#visitsicily#byzantine#baroque

Inside the neoclassical Pompeian Room at the Royal Palace in Palermo ✨️

Other pics include:
- Gutted because the Chinese Room was inaccessible due to restoration works though I did find an interesting erotic panel during my chinoiserie hunt 🎎
- Heavenly gardens 🌴
- Royal carriages
- The delightful surprise of discovering the ongoing exhibition "Celebrating Picasso" once inside 🎨

#Palermo#Sicilia#Sicily#visitsicily#palazzodeinormanni#neoclassical#pompeian#chinoiserie

Inside the neoclassical Pompeian Room at the Royal Palace in Palermo ✨️

Other pics include:
- Gutted because the Chinese Room was inaccessible due to restoration works though I did find an interesting erotic panel during my chinoiserie hunt 🎎
- Heavenly gardens 🌴
- Royal carriages
- The delightful surprise of discovering the ongoing exhibition "Celebrating Picasso" once inside 🎨

#Palermo#Sicilia#Sicily#visitsicily#palazzodeinormanni#neoclassical#pompeian#chinoiserie

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of exploring the wonderful Sala Ruggero within the Royal Palace of Palermo (Palazzo dei Normanni), commissioned by Roger II of Sicily.
I spent the majority of the time mouth wide open observing the heavenly ceiling, an artistic representation of the Arabic Gennet-ol-ardh (Paradise on earth); the stunning mosaics depict highly symmetrical hunting scenes, with the animals to be intended as powerful allegories of Norman rule 🦁🦅🦚

I was dumbfounded!

I am still terrible at manual shooting therefore the pics are a mix of salvageable (i.e. not out of focus) manual camera shoots and others done with the smartphone 🥲

#Palermo#Sicily#visitsicily#Sicilia#royalpalace#norman#normans#antique#art#arthistory

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of exploring the wonderful Sala Ruggero within the Royal Palace of Palermo (Palazzo dei Normanni), commissioned by Roger II of Sicily.
I spent the majority of the time mouth wide open observing the heavenly ceiling, an artistic representation of the Arabic Gennet-ol-ardh (Paradise on earth); the stunning mosaics depict highly symmetrical hunting scenes, with the animals to be intended as powerful allegories of Norman rule 🦁🦅🦚

I was dumbfounded!

I am still terrible at manual shooting therefore the pics are a mix of salvageable (i.e. not out of focus) manual camera shoots and others done with the smartphone 🥲

#Palermo#Sicily#visitsicily#Sicilia#royalpalace#norman#normans#antique#art#arthistory

Fred Astaire would have been proud 💃🥂

ATTEMPTING ballroom dancing at the latest @candlelightclub
Spotlight on Ivan wearing an original 1931 white tie 🖤

#1920s#flapper#dance#dancing#ballroom#whitetie#vintage#vintagestyle

Fred Astaire would have been proud 💃🥂

ATTEMPTING ballroom dancing at the latest @candlelightclub
Spotlight on Ivan wearing an original 1931 white tie 🖤

#1920s#flapper#dance#dancing#ballroom#whitetie#vintage#vintagestyle

Festive @candlelightclub night with friends 🥂

#candlelightclub#london#flapper#egyptomania#egyptianrevival#flapper#1920s#whitetie#cheers

Festive @candlelightclub night with friends 🥂

#candlelightclub#london#flapper#egyptomania#egyptianrevival#flapper#1920s#whitetie#cheers

Egyptomania at the @candlelightclub ✨️

Festive evening with friends - casually dressed very similar to @barbara_giurastante - while exploring a new look: I am learning to experiment more with colours and I realised that certain tones of rose work for me; also, slowly, I am getting used to the 1920s cut (still feeling the pain of hiding my waist!).
The fringes created a beautiful movement, the perfect dress, with added Egyptian flair, for a dancing night 💃👯‍♀️
Egyptian revival jewellery pieces included golden bracelet cuffs, pendant earrings with random pharaoh and a 4 in 1 (once detached, I can get 2 x separate necklaces + 2 x brooches!) necklace I acquired in Cairo during my last trip to Egypt which deserves to go out more 😍

#egypt#ancientegypt#egyptomania#egyptianrevival#flapper#1920#1920s

Egyptomania at the @candlelightclub ✨️

Festive evening with friends - casually dressed very similar to @barbara_giurastante - while exploring a new look: I am learning to experiment more with colours and I realised that certain tones of rose work for me; also, slowly, I am getting used to the 1920s cut (still feeling the pain of hiding my waist!).
The fringes created a beautiful movement, the perfect dress, with added Egyptian flair, for a dancing night 💃👯‍♀️
Egyptian revival jewellery pieces included golden bracelet cuffs, pendant earrings with random pharaoh and a 4 in 1 (once detached, I can get 2 x separate necklaces + 2 x brooches!) necklace I acquired in Cairo during my last trip to Egypt which deserves to go out more 😍

#egypt#ancientegypt#egyptomania#egyptianrevival#flapper#1920#1920s

It's an intensely busy week, including three Christmas Parties in a row and additional evening outings (my flat will be resetted on Sunday, I promise!); yesterday, while doing outfit planning for the Wed Club Night, I discovered I have been featured in the latest edition of @thechapmag 🥹❤️
Thank you to Martin @sstealer for capturing me in a rather "fatale" look, pale, serpentine & somewhat vampiric 🖤
Thank you to Gustav as well, I am deeply grateful.

BTW, I am wearing a supposedly "trashy" golden bodycon dress from 2010s (it still fits!) with vintage accessories, including a 1940s stole: shall we give bodycon dresses another chance? 😏

It's an intensely busy week, including three Christmas Parties in a row and additional evening outings (my flat will be resetted on Sunday, I promise!); yesterday, while doing outfit planning for the Wed Club Night, I discovered I have been featured in the latest edition of @thechapmag 🥹❤️
Thank you to Martin @sstealer for capturing me in a rather "fatale" look, pale, serpentine & somewhat vampiric 🖤
Thank you to Gustav as well, I am deeply grateful.

BTW, I am wearing a supposedly "trashy" golden bodycon dress from 2010s (it still fits!) with vintage accessories, including a 1940s stole: shall we give bodycon dresses another chance? 😏

Saturday outing organised by my Darling @the_sensualstylist ❤️
We started at The Photographers' Gallery, perusing through the two exhibitions "Letizia Battaglia: Life, Love and Death in Sicily" & "Deborah Turbeville: Photocollage" and ended up at The Bloomsbury Hotel, with winter wine, random Norvegian designers admiring our outfits (as we deserve) and conversations ✨️🍷

Saturday outing organised by my Darling @the_sensualstylist ❤️
We started at The Photographers' Gallery, perusing through the two exhibitions "Letizia Battaglia: Life, Love and Death in Sicily" & "Deborah Turbeville: Photocollage" and ended up at The Bloomsbury Hotel, with winter wine, random Norvegian designers admiring our outfits (as we deserve) and conversations ✨️🍷

Happy Birthday to my beloved friend Lynsey @fabginge ❤️

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for having been a TRUE friend in what has been a year filled with highs and lows and for always being an inspiration to me.

Love you lots 🥰

Dramatic fur-sisters (🦊🐎) photo from the latest outing with @society.of.salome shot by @guycorbishley 📸

Happy Birthday to my beloved friend Lynsey @fabginge ❤️

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for having been a TRUE friend in what has been a year filled with highs and lows and for always being an inspiration to me.

Love you lots 🥰

Dramatic fur-sisters (🦊🐎) photo from the latest outing with @society.of.salome shot by @guycorbishley 📸

Memento Mori Halloween Walk at Abney Park Cemetery by @society.of.salome 🖤

My interpretation of Victorian mourning wear & FINALLY spending some time with my beloved @the_sensualstylist 😈

Wonderful photos, including "strike a pose"guidance, by @lira_karina_photo 📸🥰

#halloween#cemetery#mementomori#walk#victorian#victorianmourning#vintage

Memento Mori Halloween Walk at Abney Park Cemetery by @society.of.salome 🖤

My interpretation of Victorian mourning wear & FINALLY spending some time with my beloved @the_sensualstylist 😈

Wonderful photos, including "strike a pose"guidance, by @lira_karina_photo 📸🥰

#halloween#cemetery#mementomori#walk#victorian#victorianmourning#vintage

Memento Mori Halloween Walk at Abney Park Cemetery by @society.of.salome 🐦‍⬛🎩

Dressed in Victorian mourning wear adding my usual Southerner touches, this time including 2 x silver Ex Voto; note the difference in manufacturing and details between the antique (framed in red velvet and glass - lucky find in Palermo this summer!) and the new one 🖤

Photos by @guycorbishley 📸

Memento Mori Halloween Walk at Abney Park Cemetery by @society.of.salome 🐦‍⬛🎩

Dressed in Victorian mourning wear adding my usual Southerner touches, this time including 2 x silver Ex Voto; note the difference in manufacturing and details between the antique (framed in red velvet and glass - lucky find in Palermo this summer!) and the new one 🖤

Photos by @guycorbishley 📸

Wearing an all white outfit inspired by Italian women silhouette in the 1980s, including a power suit (not enough shoulder pads though), chunky gold and pearls, my penultimate fur acquisition (Dasco vintage fox, the bigger the better!) and a cordovan hat that receives many many compliments everytime it comes out with me.

Thank you @lira_karina_photo ❤️ 📸

#1980#1980s#80s#vintage#fashion#italian#italianwoman#realfur

Wearing an all white outfit inspired by Italian women silhouette in the 1980s, including a power suit (not enough shoulder pads though), chunky gold and pearls, my penultimate fur acquisition (Dasco vintage fox, the bigger the better!) and a cordovan hat that receives many many compliments everytime it comes out with me.

Thank you @lira_karina_photo ❤️ 📸

#1980#1980s#80s#vintage#fashion#italian#italianwoman#realfur

Wearing an all white outfit inspired by Italian women silhouette in the 1980s, including a power suit (not enough shoulder pads though), chunky gold and pearls, my penultimate fur acquisition (Dasco vintage fox, the bigger the better!) and a cordovan hat that receives many many compliments everytime it comes out with me.

Thank you @lira_karina_photo ❤️ 📸

#1980#1980s#80s#vintage#fashion#italian#italianwoman#realfur

Wearing an all white outfit inspired by Italian women silhouette in the 1980s, including a power suit (not enough shoulder pads though), chunky gold and pearls, my penultimate fur acquisition (Dasco vintage fox, the bigger the better!) and a cordovan hat that receives many many compliments everytime it comes out with me.

Thank you @lira_karina_photo ❤️ 📸

#1980#1980s#80s#vintage#fashion#italian#italianwoman#realfur

🥂 Milan 80s 🥂

Wearing an all white outfit inspired by Italian women silhouette in the 1980s, including a power suit (not enough shoulder pads though), chunky gold and pearls, my penultimate fur acquisition (Dasco vintage fox, the bigger the better!) and a cordovan hat that receives many many compliments everytime it comes out with me.

Thank you to the sweet and beyond talented @lira_karina_photo ❤️ 📸

#1980#1980s#80s#vintage#fashion#italian#italianwoman#realfur

🥂 Milan 80s 🥂

Wearing an all white outfit inspired by Italian women silhouette in the 1980s, including a power suit (not enough shoulder pads though), chunky gold and pearls, my penultimate fur acquisition (Dasco vintage fox, the bigger the better!) and a cordovan hat that receives many many compliments everytime it comes out with me.

Thank you to the sweet and beyond talented @lira_karina_photo ❤️ 📸

#1980#1980s#80s#vintage#fashion#italian#italianwoman#realfur

"Flapper shapes and decadent flourishes at last month’s Grand Silver Jubilee Ball"

Thank you @thechapmag for the kind mention 🦚

Photo by @sstealer, the only one always able to capture "something" more intense than usual in my eyes 👁

#flapper #1920s #1920sfashion #decadence #vintagestyle #glamour #femalestyle

"Flapper shapes and decadent flourishes at last month’s Grand Silver Jubilee Ball"

Thank you @thechapmag for the kind mention 🦚

Photo by @sstealer, the only one always able to capture "something" more intense than usual in my eyes 👁

#flapper #1920s #1920sfashion #decadence #vintagestyle #glamour #femalestyle

Unpublished photos from the Summer Whites Picnic at Kenwood House by @society.of.salome 🦢🤍

Photos by the beautiful @lira_karina_photo ❤️

#summer#summerwhites#picnic#vintage#1920#1920s

Unpublished photos from the Summer Whites Picnic at Kenwood House by @society.of.salome 🦢🤍

Photos by the beautiful @lira_karina_photo ❤️

#summer#summerwhites#picnic#vintage#1920#1920s

Thank you to @sstealer for sharing these magnificent shots from @thechapmag Grand Silver Jubilee Ball, followed by some low quality ones taken with my smartphone including me smoking the first Sobraine of my life (thank you Gillian) ✨️

Fantastic celebratory evening with my favourite people 🥂

My outfit for the night is called "The Chap Bride" 👰‍♀

Follow @sstealer for more shots 📸

#thechap#thechapmagazine

Thank you to @sstealer for sharing these magnificent shots from @thechapmag Grand Silver Jubilee Ball, followed by some low quality ones taken with my smartphone including me smoking the first Sobraine of my life (thank you Gillian) ✨️

Fantastic celebratory evening with my favourite people 🥂

My outfit for the night is called "The Chap Bride" 👰‍♀

Follow @sstealer for more shots 📸

#thechap#thechapmagazine

Thank you to @sstealer for sharing these magnificent shots with these Muses from @thechapmag Grand Silver Jubilee Ball, followed by a low quality one taken with a smartphone ✨️

Fantastic celebratory evening with my favourite people 🥂

My outfit for the night has been titled "The Chap Bride" 👰‍♀

Follow @sstealer for more shots 📸

#thechap#thechapmagazine

Thank you to @sstealer for sharing these magnificent shots with these Muses from @thechapmag Grand Silver Jubilee Ball, followed by a low quality one taken with a smartphone ✨️

Fantastic celebratory evening with my favourite people 🥂

My outfit for the night has been titled "The Chap Bride" 👰‍♀

Follow @sstealer for more shots 📸

#thechap#thechapmagazine

"Maximalism is a manifestation of a desire for a different world" ✨️

"Maximalism is a manifestation of a desire for a different world" ✨️

👁👁 Eyes 👁👁

Thank you to the talented Martin @sstealer for sharing some additional shots taken at the 2024 Grand Flaneur Walk by @thechapmag ♥️

#flaneurwalk#grandflaneurwalk#thechap#sicilian#sicilianwoman#exvoto

👁👁 Eyes 👁👁

Thank you to the talented Martin @sstealer for sharing some additional shots taken at the 2024 Grand Flaneur Walk by @thechapmag ♥️

#flaneurwalk#grandflaneurwalk#thechap#sicilian#sicilianwoman#exvoto

"Naughty" photos ahead 🌶

Sex & eroticism in ancient Rome 🍇

Wonderful examples of sex positivity in Pompeii; some giggles, fascination and admiration during my last visit in the ancient city and the archaeological museum in Naples.

Highlights & learnings include:
- Interesting visit to Pompeii's brothel ("Lupanare") including a visual "menu" of what was available 😏
- My antique Incolay cameo band cufflinks with aroused Faunus 🐐
- Priapus looking over my favourite villa, the House of Vettii 🍌
- Aphrodite striking some modelling poses and the beautiful "Pompeii Lakshmi", showcasing the commercial trade between Rome and India ✨️
- My darling Emperor Elagabalus as Hercules, re-faced as his successor, Alexander Severus 🌹

#pompeii#pompei#rome#ancientrome#eroticism

"Naughty" photos ahead 🌶

Sex & eroticism in ancient Rome 🍇

Wonderful examples of sex positivity in Pompeii; some giggles, fascination and admiration during my last visit in the ancient city and the archaeological museum in Naples.

Highlights & learnings include:
- Interesting visit to Pompeii's brothel ("Lupanare") including a visual "menu" of what was available 😏
- My antique Incolay cameo band cufflinks with aroused Faunus 🐐
- Priapus looking over my favourite villa, the House of Vettii 🍌
- Aphrodite striking some modelling poses and the beautiful "Pompeii Lakshmi", showcasing the commercial trade between Rome and India ✨️
- My darling Emperor Elagabalus as Hercules, re-faced as his successor, Alexander Severus 🌹

#pompeii#pompei#rome#ancientrome#eroticism

Napoli 🌶

Napoli 🌶

My parents told me the last time we were in Pompeii I was a toddler; I finally had the opportunity to go back!

During the visit, we took the decision to focus on the central section of the ruins and then move towards the suburban villas.

Pompeii touched something inside me, leaving me with a strong sense of pride for the Roman civilisation (including my journey towards the acceptance of a Roman nose 👃), inspiration (once I will own my place, at lest one room, possibly the bedroom, deserves to be in Pompeian red + I understand the ancient roman fashion and jewelry suit my face and physique 👑) and pure "aesthetic catharsis", taking the time and space I needed to contemplate and replenish myself through Beauty, a silent rebellion against the surrounding uglification.

Visit Pompeii if you can ✨️

My parents told me the last time we were in Pompeii I was a toddler; I finally had the opportunity to go back!

During the visit, we took the decision to focus on the central section of the ruins and then move towards the suburban villas.

Pompeii touched something inside me, leaving me with a strong sense of pride for the Roman civilisation (including my journey towards the acceptance of a Roman nose 👃), inspiration (once I will own my place, at lest one room, possibly the bedroom, deserves to be in Pompeian red + I understand the ancient roman fashion and jewelry suit my face and physique 👑) and pure "aesthetic catharsis", taking the time and space I needed to contemplate and replenish myself through Beauty, a silent rebellion against the surrounding uglification.

Visit Pompeii if you can ✨️

Summer nostalgia wearing @b.i.nette by Sorella 🌅

#binette#sicily#sicilia#fashion#fashiondesign#handmade#anatomy

Summer nostalgia wearing @b.i.nette by Sorella 🌅

#binette#sicily#sicilia#fashion#fashiondesign#handmade#anatomy

Making use of my multiple earring holes wearing some pieces from my surrealist anatomy collection (have you seen the golden nipples? ✨️) at "The Flaneurs" private photo exhibition by Ian Macaulay for the @thechapmag 🍸

Splendid evening of conviviality with stylish friends, now looking forward to next weekend 🔥

#thechap#thechapmagazine#conviviality#jewelry#surrealism#surrealist#anatomy

Making use of my multiple earring holes wearing some pieces from my surrealist anatomy collection (have you seen the golden nipples? ✨️) at "The Flaneurs" private photo exhibition by Ian Macaulay for the @thechapmag 🍸

Splendid evening of conviviality with stylish friends, now looking forward to next weekend 🔥

#thechap#thechapmagazine#conviviality#jewelry#surrealism#surrealist#anatomy

I am FINALLY (approx. 85%) done with uni and I found the mental space and tranquillity to avidly read again; the last 2.5 months have been mainly dedicated to anthropology and history readings, with a focus on mysteries and magic traditions in the Mediterranean 🌊

This resulted in an impromptu decision to escape to Naples and Pompeii at the end of the next week, a way to lessen the nostalgia for yet another summer now ended, seeking Beauty also through the contemplation of death (Pompeii as 'Memento Mori') 🖤🌋

My readings included:

- Accabadora by Michela Murgia
- Aleister Crowley: un mago a Cefalù (a magician in Cefalù) by PierLuigi Zoccatelli
- Culti Misterici ed Orientali a Pompei (Mystery and Oriental Cults in Pompeii) by Antonio Virgili - currently reading
- Messalina by Honor Cargill-Martin - the top 'Valeria' in history, one of the reasons why I love my name
- Mystery Cults in the Ancient World by Hugh Bowden
- Sud e magia (Magic: A Theory from the South) by Ernesto De Martino

The antique holy hear ex voto was found in Palermo at my trusted antiquarian and may find its way among my wearable accessories soon... ✨️

#book#books#reading#anthropology#history

I am FINALLY (approx. 85%) done with uni and I found the mental space and tranquillity to avidly read again; the last 2.5 months have been mainly dedicated to anthropology and history readings, with a focus on mysteries and magic traditions in the Mediterranean 🌊

This resulted in an impromptu decision to escape to Naples and Pompeii at the end of the next week, a way to lessen the nostalgia for yet another summer now ended, seeking Beauty also through the contemplation of death (Pompeii as 'Memento Mori') 🖤🌋

My readings included:

- Accabadora by Michela Murgia
- Aleister Crowley: un mago a Cefalù (a magician in Cefalù) by PierLuigi Zoccatelli
- Culti Misterici ed Orientali a Pompei (Mystery and Oriental Cults in Pompeii) by Antonio Virgili - currently reading
- Messalina by Honor Cargill-Martin - the top 'Valeria' in history, one of the reasons why I love my name
- Mystery Cults in the Ancient World by Hugh Bowden
- Sud e magia (Magic: A Theory from the South) by Ernesto De Martino

The antique holy hear ex voto was found in Palermo at my trusted antiquarian and may find its way among my wearable accessories soon... ✨️

#book#books#reading#anthropology#history

"Je suis l’Empire à la fin de la décadence"

Last week, I had the absolute honour to model for two of the sister's creations (follow @b.i.nette); here, with 10 cm less of hair, I am wearing the "cage dress", inspired by the morbid intertwinment between crude anatomy and coquette femininity 💚
We were in an abandoned lighthouse called "Faro di Capo Zafferano", nearby Bagheria in Sicily.
Wearing such an opulent and structured dress among the decaying ruins in front of the open golden sea was quite a touching experience, a way to salute another Summer lost and an occasion to celebrate, as always, Beauty.

Thank you Roberta, "Grazie Maestro" 🦊🦊

#binette#fashion#fashiondesign#sicilian#sicily#sicilia#sicilianwoman

"Je suis l’Empire à la fin de la décadence"

Last week, I had the absolute honour to model for two of the sister's creations (follow @b.i.nette); here, with 10 cm less of hair, I am wearing the "cage dress", inspired by the morbid intertwinment between crude anatomy and coquette femininity 💚
We were in an abandoned lighthouse called "Faro di Capo Zafferano", nearby Bagheria in Sicily.
Wearing such an opulent and structured dress among the decaying ruins in front of the open golden sea was quite a touching experience, a way to salute another Summer lost and an occasion to celebrate, as always, Beauty.

Thank you Roberta, "Grazie Maestro" 🦊🦊

#binette#fashion#fashiondesign#sicilian#sicily#sicilia#sicilianwoman

My Sicilian summary on this occasion:
- Holy Roman Empire Crown 👑
- Norman tower and seaview 🌊
- Rosalia 🌹
- Catholic opulence ✝️
- A 1960s vintage bride item (my first white mink!) from my trusted antiquarian gifted from my myself to myself 🤍

#sicily#sicilia#sicilian#visitsicily#byzantine#jewellery#crown#history#vintage#sea#seaside

My Sicilian summary on this occasion:
- Holy Roman Empire Crown 👑
- Norman tower and seaview 🌊
- Rosalia 🌹
- Catholic opulence ✝️
- A 1960s vintage bride item (my first white mink!) from my trusted antiquarian gifted from my myself to myself 🤍

#sicily#sicilia#sicilian#visitsicily#byzantine#jewellery#crown#history#vintage#sea#seaside

I have been properly initiated to the Etruscan Civilization during my latest trip in Tuscany right at the start of the Summer, especially when in the village of Cortona, which left me with an appetite to learn more to the point of developing quite an interest (and a need) for Etruscan jewellery.
This weekend, I had fun with some jewellery I already owned and a light tan, attempting to create an Etruscan revival look 🌞

#etruscan#etruscanrevival#etruschi#historical#history

I have been properly initiated to the Etruscan Civilization during my latest trip in Tuscany right at the start of the Summer, especially when in the village of Cortona, which left me with an appetite to learn more to the point of developing quite an interest (and a need) for Etruscan jewellery.
This weekend, I had fun with some jewellery I already owned and a light tan, attempting to create an Etruscan revival look 🌞

#etruscan#etruscanrevival#etruschi#historical#history

Palermo Today 🌞
Above & Below the Cathedral

Palermo Today 🌞
Above & Below the Cathedral

Golden hour dinner date prep wearing an impromptu "romantic" jewellery set 🌅
And yes, I was at Zédel, AGAIN! 🍷

#goldenhour#fashion#vintage#jewellery#cameo#cammeo

Golden hour dinner date prep wearing an impromptu "romantic" jewellery set 🌅
And yes, I was at Zédel, AGAIN! 🍷

#goldenhour#fashion#vintage#jewellery#cameo#cammeo

With my Aviation Ladies (at last!!!) at the aviation-deco Bar Américain ✈️♥️🍷

With my Aviation Ladies (at last!!!) at the aviation-deco Bar Américain ✈️♥️🍷

Summer Whites Picnic at Kenwood House by @society.of.salome 🦢🤍

Thank you to the talented @lira_karina_photo for the magnificent shots 😘

#summer#summerwhites#picnic#vintage#1920#1920s

Summer Whites Picnic at Kenwood House by @society.of.salome 🦢🤍

Thank you to the talented @lira_karina_photo for the magnificent shots 😘

#summer#summerwhites#picnic#vintage#1920#1920s

I have a new remark (or compliment, points of view) to add to my list of iconic ones, this time about yesterday evening's bejewelled look: "You look Merovingian!"

Well... 👑👸😛

French lace stole by @b.i.nette ♠️

I have a new remark (or compliment, points of view) to add to my list of iconic ones, this time about yesterday evening's bejewelled look: "You look Merovingian!"

Well... 👑👸😛

French lace stole by @b.i.nette ♠️

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@valeriedemerteuil

About the Author

Valeria Pugliese

Sicilian turned Londoner, writing about decadent prose and pleasures, art and symbols, insights and life.

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