"Market day" takes place every Wednesday and Saturday; it gives local vendors a chance to bring in new fashions to Cagli.
Photos by Victoria Caswell
By Kevin Pauly
Cagli lies about 260 miles southeast of Milan, one of the fashion capitals of the world. In Cagli,fashion also
flourishes. Cagliese often gather in Piazza Matteotti to converse with friends and family. This gathering spot also
acts as a sort of runway, a place for the Cagliese to show off their taste in fashion.
Although centuries-old stone buildings line the streets, the fashion of the people who live here is anything but
historic. As in much of Italy, fashion is very important to the Cagliese. The many stores found in and near the main
piazza cater to the fashion needs of the people. At first glance, one would think that there are too few customers
to keep so many similar stores in business. This is not the case.
Clothing Trends
Scarves are a popular way to add vibrant color to the Cagliese wardrobe.
The Cagliese dress in vibrant colors and unique styles to impress for events as mundane as grabbing some gelato before returning home.
The stores they shop at carry name brand items, with name brand prices. Carlotta Abati, a local shop owner, says that it is not unusual for a younger person to spend 200-300 euro on a single item.
Abati believes fashion in Cagli is generally about a year behind the current fashion trend. It just takes that long for the fashion to reach the town. Walking the Cagli streets, one cannot help but notice how often the color purple appears.
Daniela Sciamanna, owner of Minfa, says the color purple has only been popular for the last two years. Before that it was quite rare to see that color in any designs.
Generally women seem to wear the color more, although purple is starting to find its way into men’s clothing as well. Purple is most popularly used in shirts although designers also use it in everything from purses to sunglasses.
Optics
A large number of stores in Cagli sell sunglasses. While these stores do sell regular prescription glasses, their biggest
Sunglasses are an important accessory to have in Cagli.
displays focus on name-brand sunglasses. Ray-Ban and Gucci, among others, are quite popular.
Sylvia Patrignani of Ottica ABC, a local optics store, says that despite Cagli’s small size, there is a large market for sunglasses. Clients will generally spend 100-150 euro for a pair. Some clients buy two pair a year, while others only purchase a pair every two years.
Like the other owners of fashion businesses in Cagli, Patrignani chooses from the styles that vendors are offering. Currently the ’60s style is very popular.
She says she tries to buy a wide range of styles that will appeal to many clients. She pays careful attention to her window display so she can attract as many people as she can to her store.
These are eye-catching: The current display features a gardening theme; an upturned bucket and a watering can draped with eyeglass frames rest on grass at the base of the window. On the glass shelves above, more frames are displayed along with designer posters of models wearing them.
High Fashion
Video produced by: Lauren Goodspeed
Hair styling is essential for the true fashion-fanatic. Matteo Susini, a local hairdresser, has dedicated his life to creating fashion. Susini meets with three of his colleagues every Monday between the months of September and May in a small shop in town called the Fashion Academy.
The shop is more like a single room, in which mannequin heads are positioned in front of tall mirrors. The mannequin heads have wigs that display the hairstyles Susini and his colleagues have created.
They use the Fashion Academy to do research, browsing hundreds of pictures from popular magazines and fashion books, looking for inspiration.
Despite the popularity of Susini’s salon, Loft Parrucchieri, his real passion is the research and creation of “high fashion” hairstyles. He says that about 80 percent of his salon customers request practical hairstyles, while the other 20 percent take a chance on a more avant-garde style.
Although the hairstyles considered popular change often, Susini says, he has not updated the posters in his salon for about three years, not because it would be expensive, but because the styles in Cagli do not change as quickly as those in the major fashion cities.
The Clientele
The clientele for fashion stores in Cagli differ depending on the store. At Abati’s store Les Bijoux, regulars usually come
Market day brings a wide variety of patterns, colors and fabrics for the Cagliese people to choose new fashions from.
to shop as soon as they get paid.
She says that most of her customers are younger Cagliese. Fashion is essential to Cagli youth, and they are willing to spend a lot of money to look good.
The younger Cagliese, for the most part, still live with relatives, so living expenses are low, giving them more money to spend on fashion.
Generally, black and white are the most popular colors sold. Abati says this is partly because it is easy to match black and white to more vivid colors like green, sky blue, and purple.
Although youth spend hundreds of euro on designer fashions at stores like Abati’s,she says she would like to see the young Cagliese make clothing choices based on the comfort of the items, rather than the desire to impress their peers.
Roberto Benni, a local fashion observer, agrees, “There are too many people who spend too much money on fashion. They believe that if the fashion has a name tag, it’s even better.”
Web production by Cassidy Caukin
