Day 5: Fashion and Costume Museum and Shopping in the City

Today we went to the Fashion and Costume in Milan. The rooms were absolutely stunning. The walls and ceilings were completely covered in paintings of people and landscapes. Although, I don't really understand why it was called the Fashion and Costume Museum because there were only like 3 outfits on display. We were told that the clothes couldn't be kept out for long periods of time because they would get damanged and lose their shape. One of the clothing displays was typical women's wear from back in the day. The dress covered the body from head to toe and looked very tight and restricting. It was interesting to see how modest the women of the olden days had to be.

After the museum, we went to Ermegildo Zegna, a menswear store and tailor. The manager, when asked about the company, said “We used to sell wool. Now we sell lifestyles.” He walked us through the 4 levels of te store, where you could buy and customize anything from a shirt, jacket, pants, belt, shoes, tie, and more. You could choose the fabric, color, pattern, cut, fit, and buttons. One multicolored leather jacket on display cost 7000 euros! It seemed crazy that someone would buy that. The manager told us that the company utilized vertical integration, meaning that they own every step of the process. This typically adds to the profits of a company because they don't have to go another company to do some of the work.

After the visit to the tailor, we had lunch at the UNA Hotel Restaurant. We all had two courses. I had lasagna and grilled beef. The beef was probably the most American thing I've had since I arrived in Italy; it even came with fries on the side. After lunch, we were supposed to hear a lecture about business customs in Italy from a manager at the Italian Chamber of Commerce, but he got sick and cancelled, so we had the rest of the day to ourselves! Some of the girls and I decided to use this time to shop. We went to a bunch of outlet shops in the streets near the Duomo. I bought two shirts and a necklace for myself. For dinner, we went to a restaurant near the Duomo where I had delicious bruchetta.