Above: A portrait I took in the wee hours of the morning in Rome. This man was a homeless chap and was more than happy to have his picture taken. Incidentally, 2 years later I bumped into the same man randomly in the streets near the Piazza del Poppolo.
When Graz presented his sunglasses to me I assumed I would not want to wear them. But when they were put in front of me I was amazed at how classically styled they were. They were not a fad, they were here to stay. I have always had an eye for the classics; from Borsalino hats to Berlutti shoes, there is something to be said for garments or accessories which transcend the seasons and I felt this with his sunglasses.
I decided to pick up my camera whilst I was in Rome and take some photos with the locals. I was writing a cook book for Stephanie (seen in previous threads) and when I had free time I put the sunglasses on whoever I felt had a somewhat interesting face. Pictured above is Eva Paunova.
This guy Nicola was an Albanian working in Rome. He had a full set of gold teeth. It probably represents his entire wealth. He was a lovely guy. The photo was taken on the balcony of Steph's apartment.
This guy here was actually an Australian near the Piazza Del Poppolo and he was doing a crayon drawing of the birth of Venus by Boticelli which is one of my favourite paintings of all time. It depicts Venus who is rising out of a shell which is a metaphor for the vulva. She was born after Uranus was castrated by his son Cronus in which his severed genitals fell into the sea, fertilising the waters. To me it rivals that of the legend of Europa in terms of imagery.
My Borsalino hat, brown suede and cotton mix.
And the famous Stephanie.
So what I love about the sunglasses is that they suited each person's face well across a broad range of people. A homeless Italian, an aspiration Bulgarian, a hard-working gold toothed Albanian, a struggling artist from Melbourne, a blogger and a fashion designer.
