All it takes is a Dolce and Gabbana campaign to send me off on an Italian day dream.  Dare I say it, the D&G SS16 collection may have half sparked my suggestion to Mike to vacation in the Amalfi coast.

I left Toronto for Italy in search of a little piece of, la dolce vita, and returned rejuvenated and inspired from the sights, the sounds, and the coastal living.  If I could, I would escape to the Italian seaside every year, but since I can’t [well at least not just yet], I decided to take a little reminder home with me.

Immediately catching my eye in the shop windows of Capri were the cutest straw bags adorned with pom poms and tassels; how Dolce SS16 + how Capri!  Sadly, no poms made it back to Toronto, but I kept the colourful Amalfi nod of whimsy alive by DIY-ing my own Capri inspired pieces.  Though I may not be head to toe pom pom-ing, these fluff balls continue to trend in accessories this spring/summer and I will definitely be adding some pom to my step.

Hat -Club Monaco, sandal + bag -Loeffler Randall, sandals – J.Crew, necklace – Rosantica, earrings -Oscar de la Renta

Armed with colourful skeins of yarn, scissors, ribbons, pom pom makers, needle + thread, and Youtube tutorial vids, I went a tad crazy and created my own little pieces of Capri to wear and to share [as I gifted a clutch or 2 to some friends].

I would have posted a more detailed tutorial but there are more than enough vids up on the web demonstrating both handmade poms and tassels.  If you are interested in making something similar, I’m sure Google will quickly light your path in the right direction.  Once you’ve mastered the pom pom [and it won’t take long], you are set and ready to start attaching them onto everything!  And why not?! A colourful pom pom makes everything better!

To create this bag ornament, I hand sewed the poms + tassels onto a strand of black cording

I found some great + inexpensive unembellished straw clutches on Etsy which were the prefect canvases for my DIY trims.  All embellishments were hand sewn onto the clutch.

Now, all we need is some summer weather!

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DG campaign pic from http://www.designscene.net/2016/01/dolce-gabbana-unveils-ss16-campaign-italiaislove.html

runway photos from vogue.com