I was waiting for this. I think it is a bit too distant and cold. There is a bit of ‘eat the rich’ mood in the entire piece. Not that it doesn’t deserve it, but the sciura is mostly the quintessential ‘Milano bene’ and I disagree it’s just old money showing off. Most sciuras had to get there, had to work and sometimes had to fight for themselves. And they are taking (discretely) what they believe it’s deserved without asking permission or begging a role as ‘old people’. And it’s a claim of that Milano that worked its money off and tells us ‘I owe you nothing, don’t put me in the corner because I am old’. She is not bad or worse than many nonnas that surrendered to a role they never asked for. And perhaps she is just antipatica for this. So I would not go against the sciura by default. We’ll probably miss them one day, when louder and less elegant being will dominate or when those self centred and entitled (those now wasting their afternoon and evenings in never ending apericena) will show a face of Milan that does not distinguish from a sartorial elegance to a manufactured one.
Thank you for reading the whole thing, and for such a careful reply — I agree with almost all of it.
Here's what I was doing, and you've named the cost of it exactly. I took one trait and blew it up. On purpose — and, I should say, with deliberate coldness. The piece is a portrait of the extreme, not the whole range, and the range is where nearly every real woman actually lives.
I truly admire the sciure as the avant-garde of their generation's emancipation. I admire just as much the "typical" nonna who held whole families together through her own effort and sacrifice — and who had her own emancipation too, even if no one called it that: the woman who fought for a hard love, or watched the world change fast and adapted without giving up a single one of her values.
And the line runs both ways. Plenty of sciure held a family together and were the real grandmother to a house full of grandchildren — perfect style, self-care and all. Plenty came from poorer families and poorer regions, and fought their way to becoming the wonderful sciure they are today.
So yes: I left out the nuance, and the romance that surrounds both figures. I chose two poles that look like opposites and worked on those. You're right that the truth sits in between. That was the deal I made to write it.
And honestly — it's for comments like this one that writing is a pleasure.
I was waiting for this. I think it is a bit too distant and cold. There is a bit of ‘eat the rich’ mood in the entire piece. Not that it doesn’t deserve it, but the sciura is mostly the quintessential ‘Milano bene’ and I disagree it’s just old money showing off. Most sciuras had to get there, had to work and sometimes had to fight for themselves. And they are taking (discretely) what they believe it’s deserved without asking permission or begging a role as ‘old people’. And it’s a claim of that Milano that worked its money off and tells us ‘I owe you nothing, don’t put me in the corner because I am old’. She is not bad or worse than many nonnas that surrendered to a role they never asked for. And perhaps she is just antipatica for this. So I would not go against the sciura by default. We’ll probably miss them one day, when louder and less elegant being will dominate or when those self centred and entitled (those now wasting their afternoon and evenings in never ending apericena) will show a face of Milan that does not distinguish from a sartorial elegance to a manufactured one.
Thank you for reading the whole thing, and for such a careful reply — I agree with almost all of it.
Here's what I was doing, and you've named the cost of it exactly. I took one trait and blew it up. On purpose — and, I should say, with deliberate coldness. The piece is a portrait of the extreme, not the whole range, and the range is where nearly every real woman actually lives.
I truly admire the sciure as the avant-garde of their generation's emancipation. I admire just as much the "typical" nonna who held whole families together through her own effort and sacrifice — and who had her own emancipation too, even if no one called it that: the woman who fought for a hard love, or watched the world change fast and adapted without giving up a single one of her values.
And the line runs both ways. Plenty of sciure held a family together and were the real grandmother to a house full of grandchildren — perfect style, self-care and all. Plenty came from poorer families and poorer regions, and fought their way to becoming the wonderful sciure they are today.
So yes: I left out the nuance, and the romance that surrounds both figures. I chose two poles that look like opposites and worked on those. You're right that the truth sits in between. That was the deal I made to write it.
And honestly — it's for comments like this one that writing is a pleasure.
thank you for such a thoughtfully written reply to the piece.
‘Vestivamo alla marinara’ e’ stato scritto da Susanna Agnelli
What an excellent piece. Milan is a remarkable place, and this is a real insight
I shared this article with my fiancée Alicia. I told her, “You’ll love this article. Unfortunately, I didn’t write it.”
Thank you — really. To get a comment this generous from you is an honour, and not one I take for granted.