Sciura
A Sciura is an elderly lady from the city center of Milan, who is essentially rich, elegantly dressed and often easily recognizable by her careless attitude.
Language-wise, ‘Sciura’ is the feminine form of ‘Sciur’, which is the Lombard word for ‘Mister’. Although the word in itself can be literally translated as ‘lady’ or ‘Mrs.’, the actual semantic of the term has evolved to a much broader meaning within the context of the city and its hinterland, especially when used as a common noun and not as an honorific.
Characteristic features
In an objective attempt to define her typical aesthetic traits, the 'Sciura' is elegant and refined in her own way, but with an attitude; she is elderly, wealthy and usually living downtown, where she either wears timeless high fashion designed clothing or outdated and just as expensive fancy clothes, which often include furs and pearl necklaces, along with permed hair. The 'Sciura' is often to be seen in the high-end areas of Milan, strolling the streets, going to the theatre, shopping, or simply having an espresso.Sciura and class
The origins of ‘Sciura’ is rooted in the old aristocratic society of Milan. The connection between the essence of 'Sciura' and the upper class hierarchical system is undeniable. Consumption as a way of displaying and defining your social relations and identity has been a crucial point in the theory of the Consumer Culture. As ‘Sciura’ taste has become synonymous with luxury, the display of this certain style has therefore become an activity in which one displays wealth and upper class. This act of using commodities as a form of visibly expressing ones wealth is what the American sociologist Thorstein Veblen called conspicuous consumption, and has become an essential part of the ‘Sciura’ way of living and how to portray one's own personal brand.Sciura, snob effect and manifestation in media
'Sciura' has been found in fashion, Films, Theatres, literature and in television for over a decade. The fashion world especially adopted the classical features of the ‘Sciura’ and from a 60-year-old Isabella Rossellini starring in the Bulgari advertisement in 2012 to Lauren Hutton closing the Bottega Veneta show together with Gigi Hadid in 2017, the fashion world is adopting more and more to the dressing codes of the elders.The ‘Sciura’ prefers exclusive, unusual and unique goods, which is called showing a snob appeal. How they are dressing is a way to communicate the status in a silent but effective way, where a high price also means high quality. The goods often have high value, but low practical value and the rarer the item is, the higher the snob value will be. They are influencing our contemporary society with the so-called snob effect which is making the ‘Sciurastyle' grow and can therefore be seen many brands at the moment. Brands like Balenciaga, Marc Jacobs, Prada and Gucci bring back its classic cuts and embraces the snob appeal.