Do you ever dream about a beautiful island somewhere in the blue lagoon? I dream about it even when I’m not sleeping 💙. On my dream vacation last winter, I travelled to the two islands Maui and Honolulu, Oahu in Hawaii. It was soo beautiful! I’m always daydreaming to go with the waves. If in May or June I am stranded on an island in the blue lagoon, this is my summer luxury that I would take with me:
💙 La Perla mare: the swim collection is beautiful in blue, very suitable for il dolce far niente on a pure white beach.
💙 Choo’s spring/summer collection is perfect for a summer expedition in the city or for exploring an island with classy Choo trainers and a small rebel bag in sand.
💙 Kopari beauty: I love all things coco from Kopari beauty, based on the caring sweetness of organic coconut oil.
💙 The spring and summer collections 2018 from Milano, Paris and New York are so beautiful and now available in the (online) boutiques. My daily luxury for the summer is inspired by the delicate dresses from Salvatore Ferragamo, Oscar de la Renta and Saint Laurent.
It had always been my dream to go to Maui and Honolulu, Oahu. And the two islands in Hawaii, set in the sparkling blue Pacific Ocean, only 22 hours away from my home, were even more beautiful than in my dreams 💙.
Maui 💙 In my turquoise bikini I was standing on a black lava sand beach that seemed to be out of this world in contrast with the beautiful blue ocean and lovely palm trees. Maui, called the Valley island, is home to the most divine beaches, blue lagoon waterfalls and lush rainforest. The tropical fish, seaturtles and whales swimming and splashing in the ocean, near the beaches of Ka’anapali and Kihei, are beautiful to see.
These are beautiful places in Maui:
💙Molokini: an underwater volcano and marine sanctuary where you can snorkle or snuba dive (no diving certificate necessary) to see tropical fish and coral reef you won’t find anywhere else in the world.
💙Maui Ocean Center in Maalaea bay is a small aquarium where you will meet sharks, sea turtles, sting rays, and other sea animals and tropical fish, that will eventually be released back in the ocean again.
💙Honolulu cookies store: the sweet pineapple shaped shortbread cookies are my favorite, dipped in white or dark chocolate with coconut, with macadamia or with chocolate chip.
💙Longhi’s: a beautiful Italian restaurant in Maui, where you can enjoy that morning’s catch of the day and homemade pizza, while overlooking the bay. A perfect place for lunch (try the fish tacos)!
💙Lahaina: the Hawaiian resort Aina Nula is a nice retreat to discover the quaint little town Lahaina and the neighboring beaches like Ka’anapali and Napili shores. Down the hatch is a cool place where all the locals go for drinks and fish food.
💙Whaler’s Village is a chique seaside shopping mall in Ka’anapali, where you can have a lovely lunch or dinner, for example at the Hula grill (try the Hawaiian ceviche with coconut and tarot chips), watch the whales swim by in wintertime, and find some beautiful clothes and jewelry (Mahina) and beachy souvenirs (Sand People).
💙Once a plantation town, Pa’ia is now a small little hippie town with an Ibiza feel that has been built on rock and roll, boho vintage shops and kitesurfers from Hookipa beach.
💙 Hana: the long road along the east coast of Maui will bring you to the most beautiful views of the island, to the black lava beaches, waterfalls, bamboo forests, rainforests and valleys with different micro climates. In Hana you will find the first luxury hotel where Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe once stayed and the Hana ball park where Joe diMaggio once played. Oprah posseses a large plantation on this side of the island.
Honolulu, Oahu 💙 After some sweet days of exploring the natural beauty of Maui, it is soo nice to go to Honolulu with its cool city vibes. Each day Hawaiian Airlines is flying from Maui to Honolulu (or one of the other Hawaiian Islands). Honolulu is a beautiful mix of Asian, American and Hawaiian cultures, which you will find for example in the delicious Pacific cuisine 🌸. The lovely beaches in Honolulu are perfect for swimming, surfing and sunbathing. Hanauma Bay for example is truly a hidden treasure.
💙 I love the sweet melon pan and bread with strawberry and mascarpone at the Japanese bakery Brug. Don’t miss out on the sweetness!
💙 The Modern Honolulu, located on Waikiki Beach, is the most beautiful and chique boutique hotel that I’ve ever been to! The two swimming pools, the restaurants, the study (behind the bookcase), the club, it has all been beautifully decorated in a modern Hawaiian style, including amazing graffiti by POW WOW Hawaii.
💙The International Market place is a Hawaiian shopping mall built around a Banyan tree, a wahi pana or storied place, where you will find many places to shop and dine. Yauatcha is a lovely Asian patisserie to drink delicate tea with macarons and pastry.
💙 Pearl Harbor: the monument on the water built on a sunken ship, tells the tragical story of the Japanese attack on the American navy fleet during the Second World War. A humbling site to remember the fallen on this tragic day in American-Hawaiian history.
Come and discover Maui and Honolulu and check the Island guide from Hawaiian Airlines for more beautiful places to visit. For moda, daily luxury and beautiful places, you can follow me on https://nickybianca.com/.
Oh la la, the spring-summer collections 2018 presented in the city of love and macarons are très chique, feminine and sensual. The s/s collection 2018 by Saint Laurent presented at the Tour d’Eiffel was beautiful and breathtaking. The sculptured silhouette was small and chique, but also the mini dresses with poofy volume and delicate fabrics created a beautiful collection for the femme sensuelle and innocent. The spring-summer trend of (one or two) long earrings was seen in many s/s collections in Paris.
Elie Saab presented a beautiful collection for the modern Amazone. Lanvin went back to its roots with the cool minimalist collection of clean lines and sleek mini dresses in black and blue. Dior‘s s/s collection by Maria Grazia Chiuri, inspired by the art of Niki de Saint Phalle, showed mini and long dresses in tule with an animated or written story to tell. Another s/s collection for 2018 that was chique as ever, was from Giambattista Valli,Valentino and Altuzzara with lovely dresses of artwork.
For moda, daily luxury and beautiful places, you can follow me on www.nickybianca.com 💙
La città della moda Milano was the place to be last week for the beautiful s/s collections 2018. La moda e il lusso is an essental part of Italy’s cutural heritage. The spring-summer collections presented at Milan Fashion Week celebrated the luxurious fashion made in Italy with a lot of prints. The lovely Pucci collection from Firenze featured chique printed mini dresses presented in a fun poolside runway. Etro celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with a new version of their signature printed dresses in boho white, green and blue.
Salvatore Ferragamo has a beautiful s/s collection with lingerie inspired tops, midi skirts and delicate dresses in satin, organza and tule. The small bags carried around the waist actually looked chique! Another collection that I love is from Blumarine with beautiful see-through dresses, as well as the cool and chique collections by N.21 (Numero ventuno), Byblos and MaxMara. On the last days of MFW, Dolce & Gabbana presented their very Italian collection with black lace and organza dresses for your inner Monica, Pia and Sofia 💙.
For moda, daily luxury and beautiful places, you can follow me on www.nickybianca.com.
The end of summer is always a little less sad with the beginning of New York Fashion Week, continuing the coming weeks in London, Milan, Madrid and Paris. Last week the most beautiful spring-summer collections for 2018 were presented in New York. NY was the perfect setting for the casual and cool, nineties inspired spring-summer collections 2018 presented to the fashion editors, bloggers, Brooklyn babies and models.
Alexander Wang had an actual streetway runway for his beautiful minimalist collection with mini dresses and a mix of nineties streetwear essentials. Oscar de la Renta‘s inimitable s/s collection for 2018 combined city chique daywear (stripes, t-shirt, denim, written words, and paint dots) with the beautiful signature dresses in delicate tule, organza and silk. Another s/s collection 2018 presented in NY that I loved, was the collection of cool oriental dresses by Tadashi Shoji, and the romantic dresses by Marchesa inspired by bygone days and faraway places.
For moda, daily luxury and beautiful places, you can follow me on www.nickybianca.com.
My daily luxury for June is inspired by summer blue 💙, by the blue waterfalls, turquoise sea and white and black beaches in Maui, Hawaii 💙🏝:
💙 Tiffany’s beautiful aquamarine and diamants bracelet from the Blue Book inspired by the ocean 💙, a cute bracelet with turquoise heart and diamond earrings.
I’m swimming in my thoughts, diving deep into my soul, finding an ocean of love for you 💙. Even though you made me feel sad, I know that I’m a beautiful soul. I’m one in a million, too, and I don’t need to feel sad and heart-broken. I’m going to dream and go with the waves to my own beautiful island. My dreams and intuition know where to go. I’m going to sleep, write, eat a lot of dolci and love my daily luxury. I love and I’m loved, too 💙 and this is all I’ll ever need.
I don’t want too much for xmas, there is just one thing I need,
I don’t care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree,
I just want you for my own, more than you will ever know
Make my wish come true o oh, all I want for xmas is you! 💙
_All I want for Christmas, Mariah Carey
The winter is a beautiful season because of xmas! The Christmas season is all about love and giving. My xmas wishlist is becoming a long one, because of all the daily luxury in the boutiques around Christmas time. Beautiful beige Choos with rhinestones, Tiffany and co bracelet with a cute turquoise heart, Liu Jo down jacket from Les Plumes collection, cashmere knitwear by Repeat Cashmere or Choo, lovely lingerie (Intimissimi, Victoria’s Secret, La Perla), Dior sorbet cream, macarons, coffee table books…
I love the xmas song by Mariah Carey, and though all I want for xmas is you… I do like to have all the daily luxury on my dream list, too! Merry xmas and may all your wishes come true!
For moda, daily luxury and beautiful places, you can follow me on www.nickybianca.com..
Il dolce far niente in Italy 💙 beautiful places in Italy to be lazy_
I don’t know about you, but sometimes, between summer sadness and winter blues, I need some days to sleep and chill a little. Some lazy daysin a beautiful place in Italy would be a good idea! In Italy, il dolce far niente, the sweetness of doing nothing, is a lifestyle. It is about living on a Mediterranean rhythm and loving the daily luxury in your life. The daily rituals have become a form of art in Italy, from a beautiful pizza margherita, the perfect cappuccino to raspberry icecream, from spending time with family, l’amore to dressing well. La dolce vita is celebrated in the little streets, boutiques, restaurants and homes of each Italian city. These are beautiful places in Italy to be a little lazy:
💙 Milano and il lago di Como. Even though Milano is known as a busy city, it is a nice place to visit the beautiful white Duomo, and to shop in the monumental Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, la Rinascente and in Via Montenapoleone. For a day away from busy Milano, you need to go to Como at only half an hour distance. The view over il lago di Como is beautiful and you can go to romantic places across the lake, like Bellagio. Il dolce far niente: you can sit on the rooftop of il Duomo to read a book and enjoy the view, visit Armani Casa for some home inspiration, taste the delicious mozzarella dishes and pizzas at mozzarella bar Obicà, and try all the icecream you can find in Como.
💙 The lovely, little places on the 1920s beach in Viareggio all have nice entrances with wooden names. This is where the local Italian families go for a day on the beach. The place has a sweet scent that comes from the orange and pine trees. Along the seaside you will find the chique boutiques from for example Liu Jo, Patrizia Pepe, Intimissimi, and Atos Lombardini. In a two hour walk along the sea, you can go to Forte dei Marmi, another lovely coastal town in Lucca, Toscane. il dolce far niente: don’t miss all the boutiques in Viareggio and Forte dei Marmi, go to a spa, and try all the icecream at gelateria Grom.
In a beautiful setting, at the renovated Fontana di Trevi in Rome, Fendi celebrated its ninetieth anniversary. The love story between Fendi and Rome has its origins in 1926. As an homage to the ancient city, Fendi has invested in the restoration of the Trevi fountain (Fendi for Fountains). The Trevi fountain, loved for the classic scene in Fellini’s La Dolce Vita, is a symbol of Italian civilization, culture and architecture. At the beautiful event at the Trevi fountain, the piazza, filled with the world of moda e lusso, hushed at the sight of Fendi’s collection of fairy tales and legends. The collection by Fendi was a storybook, and each piece had its own story to tell. As made for a princess, the long, flowy dresses were embroidered with flowers and fairies. Come un sogno, the Fendi collection was like a dream. The only link to the cool daywear collection by Fendi, besides the creativity and craftmanship, were the carefully crafted bags (like the monster bags by Fendi). In the online boutique, you can find the inimitable collections by Fendi.
For moda, daily luxury and beautiful places, you can follow me on www.nickybianca.com.
Photos and images by 
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Nicky Bianca 💙 