Yacht club. That kind of menswear inspired by the sea can be easily defined as timeless. Yes to jackets (for the yacht), windbreakers (for the sailing boat), pullover made of cotton (for both), accessories for watersports. And, for the most elegant, yes to the classic double-breasted blue navy blazer with contrasting buttons for the happy hour. Why are they timeless pieces? The striped sweater reminds us of the pictures of Dalì with Garcia Lorca in the 20s. The windbreaker reminds us of the legendary Jacques Cousteau in the documentaries of the 60s/70s. Actually, the steel cronograph can be also worn in the city, as the white trousers, that perfectly match red and blue (but never wear them all together, they immediately make think about the french flag). In terms of shoes, espadrilles are allowed only at the seaside. Jacques Cousteau on the Calypso, ex minesweeper of the Royal Navy, after a diving exploration.

Milan in the middle. Milan, that Milan written and interpreted by Lucio Dalla in 1979: “Milano you change many banks, Milan wide legs, Milan that laughs and has fun…”. 36 years have passed by. From May on, the city is in the public eye, it’s the middle of the world. Thinking about Milan, talking and writing about it: this always moves me. I won’t ever change it with any other. Rather, if I have to change my life, I’ll move to the seaside: a small town, surrounded by nature. But the best city remains Milan. For months it will be full of Chinese, Japanese, American, British, French, German people. Someone will even come from Australia, Korea, Russia. Eyes on. “…Milano what a strain…”. Is it going to be a success? I hope so. The legend has it that Italian men are the most elegant. I don’t agree with it, but let’s try to stoke this legend. And wish it could become the truth. The new skyscrapers of Gae Aulenti Square, in Milan.

Spa Code. When you stay in a big hotel, a 5-star with excellent cookery and a beautiful spa like the Relilax Miramonti in Montegrotto Terme, even if the atmosphere invites to relax, it doesn’t mean that you can have breakfast half-naked wearing slippers. Be careful about lapses of style. It’s possible to dress with taste without carrying a heavy luggage. You can wear a tracksuit with sneakers for breakfast; at lunch opt for a pair of dark jeans or velvet trousers, with a polo shirt or a plain colour shirt. In the evening, a simple but stylish, preferibly single-colour, look: round-neck sweater, shirt and gabardine trousers, to match with classic and comfortable desert boots. And in the spa or at the pool? First of all, turn off the mobile phone (or rather leave it in the room); then opt for swimming trunks and bathrobe. Finally, in the water, avoid the butterfly stroke: these are places where silence is the rule. The pool of the Relilax Miramonti Hotel, in Montegrotto Terme.

Breaking the rules. Who knows me well, knows that I can’t stand social occasions: I limit my participation to the bare minimum. Then there’s the matter of outfit. Legend has it men are helped: “A beautiful dark jacket, white shirt, bow-tie or tie and you’re ok”, First of all, we’re bored to dress in the same way too; then, not necessarily only ladies can transgress. Can you try to break the rules? Yes, but only if you are already eccentric in everyday life. So, how to break the etiquette’s code for a social event? Take a look at the collections: there’s a triumph of check fabrics, from the micro-printed to the tartan, and there’s a big celebration of colour that leaves space to the most daring matches. And a lot of fashion accessories, and “little” objects of desire, but destined to a vertical decline soon. Picture by Jean-Baptiste Mondino.

Grey-blue. The nostalgia for one-time Milano is a generation vice, doomed to be handed down forever. Today’s twentysomething will say the same thing repeated by nostalgics now. Who was twenty between Seventies and Eighties regret a Milan that doesn’t exist anymore (“how fine we felt, how nice it was”). Actually, they regret having lost their youth; Milan’s energy was a projection of adolescence, it was not true. There was both cultural and political unrest, but dont’ forget that they were the so-called “Years of lead”. Today it’s more beautiful and liveable than once even if it remains a hard city: you can love or hate it, there’s nothing in the middle. Maybe “it doesn’t laugh and have fun anymore”, as Lucio Dalla sang in his ’79 piece, but it’s almost ready for Expo, peripheral areas have become beautiful and new glass buildings look like shining rockets pointed towards the future. The new Milan is grey-blue. Fast and glossy more than ever. Work in progress for Milan Expo.