About us
In the Spring of the year 1937, a young teenage girl left her home in one of the coastal Mediterranean countries and set off for the city of Milan in Italy. The girl’s name was Marietta, and she was only sixteen. Her father, a wealthy producer and distributor of confectionary, had arranged for her to take lessons in fashionable hat-making from one of the most renowned Italian “milliners” of the era- “Gallia e Peter millinery in Via Montenapoleone 3”.
During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, bonnets and hats were not only fashionable but essential in any woman's wardrobe. Bonnets especially the “Eugénie hat” were romantic and coquettish and thus the perfect accessory for women of the era. Millinery flourished, led by a strong force of Parisian and Italian "modistes", who set the tone for high fashion and demanded to be addressed reverently as "Madame”.
Her father had promised to open a fashion atelier for her once she returned home armed with the most exquisite profession of the time. Marietta came to Milan willingly and in search of adventure, but her dream was actually very different from that of her father. She couldn’t stand hats and wanted to become a different kind of “modiste”- one that could dress women implacably.
The perfect opportunity arrived when she met Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel at a party in Millan. Gabrielle - at the time an established celebrity - was amused by the young girl’s free and joyful character and her vision of creating couture that was ‘uncluttered’, simple, and sawn to perfection. Gabrielle offered her work in her “embroidery” workshop and gave her the nickname Marietta la Bella (Marietta the Beautiful).
Years later as the war finally came to an end, Marietta la Bella followed in the steps of Coco’s relentless drive for perfection, whether in design or fit, paired up with her own vision of feminine designs of sweet ruffles and flowery fabrics.
Marietta la Bella was my grandmother, and this little boutique store is a tribute to her perfectly beautiful and creative soul.
Times and circumstances are different now and the world has changed but, in the same way, as my grandmother did back in the 30s, I'd love to help every woman who believes in herself, dress simply and implacably.
As I believe that femininity is a treasured, timeless power that every woman possesses, my dream is to create a nest of like-minded women where every single woman feels encouraged and loved just the way she is, and where true beauty can be achieved through love for oneself, simplicity of design in clothing and fits that flatter the inherently beautiful feminine body.
Hence, I want to thank you, dear friends, for supporting my love for my grandmother, my dream of feminine perfection, and my team’s hard work and dedication.
Be Blessed.
