7 Staples Every Chic Italian Women Over 40 Has in Her Closet

Whether it’s a blouse or a jacket or a shacket combination of the two, an Italian woman knows that having some buttery soft leather—even if it’s faux—as a top makes everything she wears with it look more expensive and sophisticated. A leather layer is the more grown-up and sexier version of a cardigan, and it’s less constricting in appearance and feel than a blazer. Here, blogger Alexandra Lapp—who attributes her success to her over-40 status—is in Florence for the biannual Pitti Uomo collections.

Tamu McPherson, 45, is the founder of the streetstyle blog All the Pretty Birds and pretty much a fixture at international fashion gatherings and anywhere cool in Milan, where she lives with her husband and teen son. Here she's wearing the elegant Italian woman’s primary “don’t leave home without it” accessory: a pair of bold black shades. Want to enliven last year’s outfit? Start with a new pair of shades in a current oversized shape.

Here, fashion stylist Giovanna Engelbert is rocking leopard maximalism in Milan. Her neutral shoes, bag and black turtleneck make the look high style, whereas too many other accessories or brights might push the look into costume territory.

Italian fashion journalist Anna Della Russo, 60, is well-known in international fashion circles for her daring and colorful outfits. Here she rocks a brilliant pantsuit that’s a bit oversized, along with a pair of almond sunglasses, proving that a simple outfit in no way needs to be ho-hum.

Less is more, for the sophisticated Italian woman—and that includes handbags. A whole tone-on-tone outfit like this white wool coat and sweater combo snapped on the streets of Rome, is made fresh and interesting with a contemporary bright bag.

Italy is a world hub of precious textiles created using intricate artisanal methods, and the Italian woman of a certain age celebrates this heritage by wearing gorgeous prints, often in a simple shirtwaist or smock shape, the better to show off the fabric itself. On the right, Anna Della Russo wears a vivid print on the streets of Milan.

Credit Miucci Prada, the doyenne of Italian high design, for elevating the simple black midi skirt from humble village garb to a staple of the chic woman’s wardrobe (and what the designer herself wore for a Kim Kardashian selfie last year). Here, 44-year-old actor Griselda Siciliana wears the look at a dinner thrown by Miucci Prada in Venice, Italy. Her white button-front shirt and understated-yet-sparkly evening purse push the outfit into the perfectly Prada territory.