Book: ‘On Any Sunday 40’ By Andrea Ventura (Interview)

The ‘On Any Sunday 40’ Book

Graphic designer and style consultant Andrea Ventura has just released his first self-published book, On Any Sunday 40. Over the past 30+ years, he has curated an impressive collection of vintage military, sportswear, denim, and other iconic garments and essentials. Now, he’s opened up his private archive to the world, sharing his passion in a stunning 300-page, full-color hardcover book. Each piece is beautifully presented with detailed stories and descriptions, offering insights into the history and significance of the items. Let’s sit down with Andrea Ventura for a sneak peek into this must-have book, On Any Sunday 40!

on any sunday 40 andrea ventura

The Interview With Andrea Ventura

Can you introduce yourself, who are you and what are you doing in daily life?

AV: I’m Andrea Ventura, I’m 48 years old and I was born and I live in Rome. I work as a graphic designer and style consultant for clothing brands.

How did your fascination for vintage clothing start? Can you take us back to the moment you realized that it became a huge part of your interest?

AV: As I wrote in the preface of the book, my fascination for vintage clothes began when I was circa 15, during my first year of high school. Before going to school on Thursdays and Saturdays, I usually stopped at the flea market near my house…sometimes I skipped school and went with a friend to the market in via Sannio, on Sundays very early instead of to Porta Portese. I liked looking for vintage American t-shirts, jeans, sweatshirts and jackets. When I was there I felt very good and happy, the emotion for the beautiful piece found was the trophy when you returned home!

Now, after many years of collecting, you decided to create your own book. People can know you from previous books as co-author of ‘’Rugged Style War- Rome’’ which came out in 2021. So you know how it works with creating a book. Can you share how this idea of making a book came alive?

AV: Initially, the idea was to simply collect all my vintage jackets in a catalogue. A way to have them all together in a book for me and to pass on to my son. While I was working, I then decided to do something more complete to share with all those who, like me, love these things. So I didn’t want to make just a photo book, I thought it would be nice to also include content regarding the jackets themselves. And in some cases also the stories linked to them. I wanted to create something interesting for the reader and something that my father from above would be proud of me for.

Can you share a bit of the process of making this book? How long did it take for example to make it final? And how was the making of the book?

AV: I started the book exactly on October 30, 2022. I had the first small batch printed in July 2024, two years in total. Initially, I created the book’s structure by dividing it into various chapters. I collected all the material that I already had available from the previous book ‘Rugged Style War’ and from there I started photographing all the rest of the jackets and objects that I wanted to publish. A very long and tiring job, also finding all the things that I wanted to include in the book. I remember that I got a terrible backache afterward for 2 months!

Once the photographic part was finished with all the details I inserted the descriptive captions doing meticulous research work and then all the descriptive texts, most of which were taken from various online sources. The final part, the last six months or so of work was the hardest with the revision of all the texts and the final decision to self-produce the book without relying on a publishing house.

The title of the book is ‘’On Any Sunday’, what means this title or where does it come from?

AV: It simply takes its name from my Instagram profile @onanysunday40. The choice to adopt this name was linked to my habit of frequenting flea markets on Sundays.

What is the content of the book? It is about your archive, but what can people expect?

AV: The content is about my archive, but it contains a lot of interesting information for any enthusiast or curious collector. In the military chapter, there are also beautiful stories of findings related to stories of people and families. An example is the story related to the aviator bag, from the name written on the bag after a long search I managed to contact the niece and daughter, who excitedly sent me the two personal photos of the airman that I then published in his honor. This is the romantic part that for me gives enormous value to the book.

You published this book yourself, which is quite uncommon and this makes it extra special. What is the reason you are doing this?

AV: I wanted to make the book the way I had in mind from day one. So, without stylistic impositions of any kind and then I didn’t want to wait years before seeing it published! The last two books were made and published by an important American publishing house. From the moment I delivered the files for printing I had to wait 3 years before their publication…too long!

As you live in Rome, Italy, is it easy to get your hands on vintage garments? Or how and where do you buy most of them?

AV: I found many things here in Rome, but at the beginning of the 90s in the markets and in the second-hand shops when you could still find interesting things. I remember on Saturday afternoons it was a fixed stop to go to the second-hand shops in the center of Rome. Then I bought the rest mainly on trips to America. And many other things online by participating in night auctions that kept you awake at night!!

If you can only pick one item from your archive, which one is your all-time favorite and why?

AV: There are some very beautiful pieces and some very rare ones in my collection, but the jacket I am most attached to is without a doubt the first leather Cooper. I bought it by the famous Tony, owner of the second-hand shop “Cheap 84” ​​in Rome in the African quarter. I went to buy it with my father who gave it to me as a gift. It does not have a great collector’s value but for me, it has an enormous sentimental value. Priceless!

Now, the book is available. How and where can people buy it?

AV: The book will be available in small quantities at the store in Rome in Corso Francia “Vintage American Jackets” by Massimo Scozzi @vintageamericanjackets. Or directly contacting me privately on my Andrea Ventura Instagram profile, of course: @onanysunday40.

www.instagram.com/onanysunday40

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One Response

  1. … just one humble comment from my end: Impressive… Thank You for sharing this with us. Appreciate it very much…

    … call myself a kind of veteran of the entire scene. Born in 1962, raised as Rock’n’roll enthusiast in the later 1970ties / early 1980ties.

    For my garment I was seeking on flee markets in Paris, Berlin, Hamburg, all over France during my boyhood wicked days 🙂 ….

    Keen to ride only British made vehicles, I got Mini-Cooper followed by 1973 MGB and finished beloved (but probably unnecessary) collection by Land Rover Discovery, 16 years ago.

    Came back to Hamburg after seven years (’16-’23)stationed in Asia to enjoy my rugged life in Europe where obviously belong.

    However, enjoy and let us know about Your news.

    Yours – Fabian

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