Window on Fidenza fashion

One of the pleasures of strolling Fidenza's main street is window-shopping the elegant clothing stores whose windows stand out amid the more mundane establishments typical of a small Italian city--the pastry shops and gelaterie, the real-estate offices, tabacchi, coffee bars,  and pharmacies. the halal butcher, the florist,The little shops selling jackets, dresses, and underwear mostly aren't big-name fashion brands; for that you need to go to the Fidenza Village outlet mall a couple miles outside of town. But, or perhaps therefore, the stores in town put a surprising amount of energy into their window displays, changing the outfits on the manikins every few days. 

And although the styles of the different shops vary from party girl to refined matron, it sometimes seems they're all following a similar playbook. 

A few weeks ago, a lot of stores suddenly erupted in Kelly green, often paired with pink. 

I noticed this rather violent combination mainly because I find that shade of green peculiarly unpleasant. Maybe that's just because wearing it would make me look jaundiced. 

And the answer to the question that some readers may have--does anyone in Fidenza actually dress like this?--is yes. Not everyone, of course, not even most people, but when I sit in the coffee bar across from our front door and survey the passing crowds there are women who regularly astonish me with their enthusiasm for bright, bling-y, very Italian fashion. Although I admit I haven't seen anyone in that pink fur vest, at least not yet.

I was relieved when, within a week or so, Kelly green began to be replaced by black and white, a color combo (or non-color combo) much more to my own taste.  

You can see vestigial Kelly green in the background.

I'm not claiming that every store in town turned its back on color. But the shift was noticeable up and down the avenue.

Not only that, but some of the clotheshorses of a certain age that I like to keep an eye on (but am too cowardly to photograph) began appearing in, for example, a black-and-white blanket-check coat, a white puffer jacket over black pleather leggings and boots. Clearly a memo had gone out to the fashionistas in town and everyone was following its orders.

But by the time I'd taken a few more photographs and started the arduous process of composing this little squib, the ground was beginning to shift beneath me. Pink had at first been merely an accent.

Now it began claiming the starring role.

Or perhaps the shift is not to pink per se, but to exuberant colors calculated to counter the cold, foggy gray of a Po Valley winter. 

It's also true that Fidenza's fashion attention span seems to be remarkably short. The photo below shows one of the windows that first made me realize that black and white was the "in" look for November. It was taken six days ago.

And here is the same window as of yesterday. Apparently while I was writing this a new memo went out.

I'm not rushing in to buy that suit, but I still like any of these new colors better than Kelly green. And come what may, color-wise, I can be sure that strolling around the neighborhood, even under gray, drizzly skies, will continue to be a reliable source of entertainment.