Buongiorno!
It’s our last night here in Italy, but we definitely went out on a high note.
We had our last media visit today, and it was unfortunately my least favorite of all of our media stops. We went to Hearst Italia – the company responsible for publishing the Italian versions of Cosmopolitan, Elle, Marie Claire, and basically every other magazine that women flock to for the latest in fashion, beauty, and trends.
When we got there, it was fine, but it took a turn for the worse when Kimmie asked about diversity in models – since plus sized women are breaking through in the states, she wanted to know if more body types were being accepted across Italy too.
Her answer was that the stereotypical anorexic-looking models were still popular, but the “fit and naturally thin” look was also being accepted. So basically, no. She also held up a picture of Hailee Steinfeld, a model/actress/singer from the U.S. and said, “Look at her! She’s not thin! Her thighs are huge!”
Being someone who isn’t necessarily the thinnest person, it’s disheartening to hear that anyone who isn’t the “industry standard” is looked down upon. From that moment on at Hearst, I felt like I was being judged everywhere I went in the building.
We got to see the Editor-in-Chief of a few magazines and talk with art directors, who do indeed love photoshop (the same lady that said Hailee wasn’t thin proceeded to chant ‘Photoshop! Photoshop! Photoshop!’ even after emphasizing the importance of achieving the natural look).
It just definitely wasn’t the industry or company for me, clearly.
The rest of the day was amazing, though. Josh and I went into the city, by the Duomo, and found a cute pizzeria for our last pizza in Italy, then walked around window shopping and real shopping for a while. We also found a three-story candy shop!!!
It was also an adventure finding bus 54 out of the city. We eventually gave up searching for it on our own and I put the Via Larga into my phone so we could actually get to the hotel before dinner.
On our way, we found a little purse shop where I splurged and got myself a really cute tan and red leather bag. When in Italy, right?
We took the bus back to the hotel and relaxed a little before getting ready for our lat group dinner.
We walked over to the restaurant and had wine, a meat platter, some cheese-stuffed ravioli, an AMAZING steak with potatoes, and Emily’s birthday cake with champagne courtesy of Matteo (all the way in Barcelona) for dessert. It was the best meal yet.
A bunch of us went to Blender Bar beside the restaurant for one last goodbye strawberry daiquiri before flying home.
This trip has been absolutely incredible and I’m so thankful for the group of people I got to share it with. A special shoutout to Josh, who put up with me through it all:)
I’ll talk to you guys in the states!