Housecraries, what happened to? The truth is that they are more trendy (and viral) than ever

NStars, spools, balls, buttons and bonds… to see them exposed, ordered for foggia and shades of color, on shelves and drawers, wants to give themselves to sewing, to indulge in some sartorial creation. And it is easy to understand why some haberdashery are una gold mine for designers, stylists and costume designerswhich in these colored bazaars find raw material and inspiration.

We were given to pretend to her Just a few years ago, when the shadow of the large retailers And the internet sales through couriers stood out more than threatening on these small family -run realities with an ancient and reassuring flavor, risking to make them disappear forever.

And instead still today there is no shortage of examples of historical shopscustodians of memories and experiences not only of those who stubbornly carry them forward, but also of those who frequent or have attended them – perhaps accompanying the grandmother to suppose a needle and thread, or of underpants (today we would say briefsto give us a tone) strictly in white cotton. A few years ago I bought two pairs too, new but coming from the past, they were part of one stock Invented (we could say archive if we wanted, once again, to give us a tone) and they had all the simplicity of childhood in a detail embroidered in Fiorellini.

To sell them, for a few euros, it was the haberdashery Manabì of Bologna: After intercepting them on Instagram (because everything remained as in the 1950s and 1960s, but with due modernization) I personally went to the shop to buy them and to examine with Biancamaria, the owner, the possibility of adding a shoulder strap to a straw basket that I had brought home from a trip to Morocco – if then the bag remained in the drawer of the dreams and unrealized ideas.

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Photo Courtesy of Manabì.

In the shade of the arcades of via Santo Stefano, Manabì tells the story of the three women who have carried out the activity since the name: Maria, Natalia, Biancamaria. Open by Maria, during the Second World War, to maintain the large family, the shop, initially located in via Mascarella, was destroyed by the bombings and only subsequently reopened in the current position, where she became – also with the support of her daughter Jolanda – a point of reference for the district of the neighborhood. Once raised, the male children of Jolanda began working in the shop dealing with administration, inventory and deliveries, but it was the smallest of the brothers, Natalia, the only female, to take the management in the seventies in hand, expanding its offer and including knitwear in wool and cotton and some pieces of costume jewelery.

An image of Jolanda. Photo Courtesy of Manabì Bologna.

While maintaining the charm back of the ancient Bolognese shop, the activity – since 2013 in the hands of Biancamaria who inherited it from Aunt Natalia – has evolved into what the current owner has renamed creative haberdashery. So now next to fabrics, cortexes and tapesyou can find original creations handmadebijoux and other accessories found around the world. And, although the offer can also be purchased online, go to the shop and chat with its owner, always ready to dispense advice to those who want to make an accessory or a garment with their own hands or remember one who already owns, is An experience that brings back a little back in time.

A similar story, although with roots that sink into a less remote past, is that of Chiari Hargetopen in 1982 by grandmother Enrica in the center of Chiari, a small town in the province of Brescia, and today made famous online by the grandchildren Letizia and Chiarawhose leather camelias he is bows in gros grain and velvet They have conquered fashion lovers throughout Italy and beyond. Made by the hands of Enrica herself and by local trusted workshops, the Chiari Hargore Accessories combine tradition and contemporaneity and, thanks to an excellent communication made of nostalgic images that show their grandmother at work and other more glossy of young women who wear creations, have become real objects of desire.

Historical Bottega Viganò, in via Paolo da Cannobio 39 in Milan.

In Milan there is Viganò, whose story begins in 1919 with the company Carlo Viganò (later became Viganò Alta Moda), in via Paolo da Cannio 39, a stone’s throw from Piazza Duomo, frequented by the great Italian tailors and the costume designers of the Teatro alla Scala; continues in the years of boom economic with the girls who queue out of the shop after school to buy beads to put in bracelets and necklaces; And it comes to the present daywith Laura Viganò driving a historic shop that has become viral thanks to a video on Tiktok e storing by an international public, Eager to take home a pendant, a chain and a piece of Milan.

“A trip to Italy can turn into a small treasure hunt for local delights, and I’m not just talking about food”wrote the New York fashion signature Laura Reilly last summer in her newsletter Magasin, referring to Quercioli and Lucheriniancient haberdashery since 1895 in Florencenow specialized in Made in Italy underwear and quality. My personal treasures, brought home after a trip to Florence and a good half hour spent analyzing the most beautiful shades of orange and brown ever seen, are two pairs of Scotland thread footprints produced in Italy with Quercioli and Lucherini brand, together with a pair of white and blue cotton boxers I wear as shorts At the sea, and that remind me of that beautiful day spent in Florence.

Why Shoping in places like these is a way to immerse yourself in the reality of the neighborhoods and the cities where they arise, feeling part of it. Far from the windows that are repeated equal in every city in the world, looking for unique pieces… and of a piece of Milan, Florence, Bologna, or of any other city where a historic shop is still located, to take home.