I love Italian edicole (newsstands). They’re colorful and cute and “so very European” in my opinion.
I’m not really a newspaper or magazine reader (though I love books), however, Italian edicole have much more than just reading material. They have stuff like collectible stickers, trading cards, small toys, key chains, and bracelets that turn me back into a little kid and make me feel like I’m at the Italian version of the Balich 5 & 10 store in my hometown where I used to get little surprises if my report card was good (which it often wasn’t).
These edicole even have stuff with characters like I Puffi (The Smurfs), MadBalls (a throwback to the 80′s), and Barbapapa (a French cartoon that’s very popular in Italy too).
I love all these little gadgets and though I’m usually pretty good at contenting myself by only browsing, sometimes I do wind up buying something. My recent obsession is bracelets. The edicole have tons of fun bracelets, and my current favorites are Shokky Bandz. They have these cute embroidered Makramé ones that come in different shapes and colors and these awesome Skullini Mon Amour ones which are little plastic skull charms. Anybody who knows me knows that these bracelets are right up my alley! Each bracelet comes in a different color or shape which represent various things (bears for tenderness, hearts for love, green for energy balance, yellow for enlightenment). I mean, I’m all for tenderness, love, energy balance, and enlightenment, so I gotta get ‘em all, right? Right!??!
These bracelets are usually marketed as a summertime thing too, so now is the time to start decorating your wrists! In fact, there is a very common non-edicola rainbow string bracelet that you can see all over Italy. There are guys selling them (read: pushing them on you) every day in Piazza Duomo in Milan, but they are mostly thought of as the bracelets bought from guys that walk up and down the many Italian beaches, selling to sunbathers. These things are literally everywhere in the summertime. I mean, you can even see them peeking out under the sleeves of “suit and tie” businessmen as they walk down the street with their briefcases. I think this in itself is very Italian – the combination of serious (and most likely expensive and tailor fitted) business attire paired with a €1 rainbow bracelet bought from a street vendor. Hey, as long as it’s fashionable, who cares!
You want a lucky bracelet? Only €1!
I have so many bracelets at this point that it would be impossible to wear them all at the same time without Stretch Armstrong limbs. I mean, even with the 5 or 6 that I tend to wear together my boyfriend says that I look “like a Christmas tree” 
. Can you imagine what it’d be like if I wore ‘em all at once?
Let’s close out today by taking a look at some of my fashionable and very VIP summer bracelet looks. Feel free to imitate me if you want to… I mean it’s the highest form of flattery, after all!
Look 1
Look 2
Look 3
Leave a comment letting me know which bracelet look you like the best (and don’t forget to do the poll below)!
:O il braccialetto dell’HB *-*
Buonooo! Birra gigante e salsiccia fino a vomitare!
OMG the 5 and dime!!! That was in walking distance to my house so I was there a lot. The owner was such a dick… he’d follow the kids around to make sure we weren’t stealing. I should have stolen something to justify it! I’m loving look #2.
Don’t you trash talk the Balich! He probably followed you around for good reason! I mean, you did have pretty sketchy hair when you were lil’, Jess.
vince in assoluto il look 3 e il trashissimo gadget di Monaco!! roba da vero businessman incravattato
Si dice “incravattato”? Figata!
Grazie per il comment, Anna!
Un bacio!
The winner is…look #1! Semplicemente perchè ti strappa via un po’ di peli superflui dal polso
Ma che superflui! Dai, che non è colpa mia!
Mi piace il look numero due per le faccine sul braccialetto nero…dovrò cercarlo anche io in edicola!
Grazie per aver votato! La snap bracelet di Barbapapa è davvero una figata! Corri in edicola!
sei l’idolo più invidiato dei bambini delle elementari.
però quello verde con il nodo e il morsetto che fa tanto marinaio…beh quello vince.
Allora, un altro voto per look #2!
Infatti, c’era una ragazza in metropolitana ieri che mi guardava i polsi con invidia!
Dear Mr Hairy Wrist, I think I’ll choose Look #3
Thanks for voting Andrea!
Effetivamente, my wrists did come out pretty darn hairy in these pictures!
I love that huge awesome monster (?) band in look #2. Molto cool. And that’s the extent of my Italian
Thanks for voting! That “molto cool” monster band would be a character from Barbapapa! Collect ‘em all!
I teschi sono bellissimi! Quando torno in Italia in estate me li compro tutti. Voto per il look numero 2
P.S. mi pare di ricordare che quando compravi un braccialetto da 1 euro (quelli sottili e colorati), dovevi esprimere un desiderio. Poi non te lo potevi togliere. MAI. Quando finalmente si rompeva il tuo desiderio si esaudiva.
Grazie per aver votato! Sembra che Look 2 sta vincendo!
E’ vero che per quei braccialetti rainbow devi anche esprimere un desiderio. Io ne ho uno addosso da quasi 2 anni, mannaggia! Finchè non si rompe, il mio desiderio è in pausa …
O Garrett! I love this post. Dear to my heart right now as I came back from my last jaunt in Italia sporting those bracelets you tie on and don’t take off until they fall off. Poi, braccialetti maschili….Don’t get me started. They are just super sexy somehow. Dico sul serio.
Sono d’accordo! W man bracelets!
I have … hold on, let me count … 8 things on my wrists right now (6 on the left and 2 on the right)!
Not to mention your cockrings
Mr. Porta! :-O *shocked*
Sorry, did not mean to offend
No worries! It was funny!
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do you know what i can search for in ebay to find these rainbow string bracelet? thanks!
I tried looking on the internet using different key words… no luck. Sorry! I really have no idea! :-/