In Rome (and New York, apparently) it’s either fashion or food. Today it’s fashion, and it’s all in black and white. Karl Lagerfeld once said, “Black and white always looks modern,” and this month in the fashionable neighborhoods around Piazza di Spagna and Via Condotti Karl’s dictum has been optimized. Women, men, thin, tall, short, heavy, young, old, and all the store windows are full of it.

But first, we need a soundtrack. Every fashion show needs musical accompaniment and these guys are a perfect fit. They call themselves Stageless, but they do have a CD and a Facebook page. They’re strictly street musicians. Yesterday they were in front of our apartment on Via del Babuino, where the narrow street with tall buildings creates an echo effect. The muted trumpet echoed in the neighborhood, and when we heard it through our open apartment window we had to go down to find out who was playing. These three guys are the best street buskers I’ve ever heard. They do upbeat, funky, New Orleans and soulful jazz, and they do it all well – especially the trumpet. We stood on the opposite side of the street, listened, and fed their open guitar case Euros. This morning we ran into them again in the big square in front of the Pantheon. Here’s a black and white fashion parade from the last two days in our neighborhood. Imagine, if you will, a soulful rendition of Summertime https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZWuyU-QC4E when you watch the black and white show unfold. – or this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51MB9fboJTE Let’s check out street fashion in Rome: read more