Out to Lunch

If you are an American tourist on a first visit to southern Italy, you can be forgiven for wondering, “Where is everybody?” between the hours of about one and four PM. The streets are deserted, except for you. All the stores are closed. Need a lesson in “siesta?” Far from an historical anachronism, this fascinating phenomenon is alive and well. Jane’s Vanity offers a few siesta survival tips:

Have a lingering lunch. Restaurants are an oasis during siesta. Be there by 1PM. Wear your Klements Frieda dress, the perfect traveler, in Gothic Floral or Bialowieza silk print.

Take a stroll in the shade with a picnic basket. Look sporty in Klements Magma Pluto Skirt with the Magma Mildred Blouse worn loose over a Dana Pisarra Camisole.

Send lots and lots of postcards. The little coffee bars stay open, so make one your office. There you are in a back corner in your Wallpaper Flower Artemide Blouse and Piping Ceo pants from For Restless Sleepers.  

Succumb to a nap--the popular occupation. All you need is a chemise and, perhaps, a friend. Reach for the refreshing Morpho + Luna Paris Blue Tropical Silk number.

Dream of the moment when the jewelry stores actually open! The passeggiata calls to you in the late afternoon. Make the scene in Klements’s Moon Lite Forest Kimono over Marjolaine’s Cedre Silk Slip. Dinner is hours away. Find a vantage point and order a vino.  

Learn to appreciate “dolce far niente,” the sweetness of doing nothing, each afternoon. Enjoy it more In your best lingerie and loungewear from Jane’s Vanity.