May 2012
1 post
JUST BACK: Shades of Pink
Expect understated chic at Pink Sands, where the beach blushes the delicate color of vin rosé (of which there is plenty on hand), and, depending who you are with, so will you. The 25 pastel cottages may have a hot designer – and even hotter celebrity guest list – but this resort is all about being cool. Biba founder – and 60’s style maven – Barbara Hulanicki mixed Indian, Moroccan and...
April 2012
3 posts
12 tags
The Rise of the Caftan
If anyone has seen my summer beach wardrobe, then they know I love to rock the caftan. The perfect staple from beach to street in an instant, (and easy to pack), caftans should be an effortless part of your summer wardrobe. However, I’ve noticed many women ask how to buy the right ones. Which work well and which don’t? And, as a slim, 38-year-old woman, why do I feel the need to cover? Step into...
3 tags
Punta Mita...my home away from home.
I’m writing this from LGA’s Admiral’s Club (a renovated one I might add), I’m en route to my second home (or third, or fourth…can’t keep track of where I actually feel like home these days, which I don’t mind one bit) and heading to the Punta Mita Golf & Gourmet, returning for its second year, taking place from April 12 through April 15, 2012. This...
4 tags
March 2012
3 posts
Spring in NY
I posted on my FB page yesterday that I tipped a street entertainer playing Stairway to Heaven on the electric guitar. I was walking down Broadway. On March 20. And it was 77 degrees. Yes, you read it correctly - the first day of spring was masked as the first day of summer.
What was I wearing? A vintage (well, I feel like three seasons can still be vintage for some designers) YSL green jersey...
Is there Room at the Inn?
In the mid 1990s, I began my career in travel and tourism PR and was the corporate communications director for a company in the Caribbean. The owner taught me the ropes (always telling me that this business was 2/3 sh-t and 1/3 glamour and he has been right). Thanks Rob.
I did everything from hosting press trips, to writing copy to buying pottery for the new hotel we were opening at the time....
Hail to Holbox
Some things you just stumble upon, and then they stay with you for a lifetime. Like super gorgeous gelato cools the soul, on the hottest Italian summer day.
Isla Holbox isn’t exactly easy to stumble upon, but I visited here on a whim two years ago. I had needed a beach and a friend recommended this fabulous spot. It’s about two hours from Cancun, but only a 20-minute Cessna flight....
February 2012
7 posts
Ssss-weet Dreams →
2012 February 28
Ssss-weet Dreams
WHAT: Dea Rosa Sleep Mask in Coral Red Python WHY: Amid the whirlwind of Fashion Week hopping around the world, shut-eye is perhaps at its most neglected yet direly desired for the front row set. Fret not, darlings: Dea Rosa’s sumptuous sleep mask in a fetching, impossible-to-ignore coral red hue is made from lush python and should make for a better...
5 tags
Water water everywhere
I don’t usually post about my PR clients unless they’re part of my round-ups that focus on various trend and style, but I was SO excited about this property re-opening in San Juan, that I had to share it with all of you who didn’t just get the normal press release.
I stayed here once back in 2003 and hosted a party on the hotel’s rooftop for a client launching a new travel...
It's a Wrap
Just back to the Big Apple after wrapping the Dea Rosa F/W 2012 Collection look book shoot in Shanghai with Peter Wesley Brown. This amazing city sparked my inspiration for the new collection - it’s such a dichotomy of old and new. I’m just obsessed with it.
Here are test shots overlooking the famed modern city’s skyline in the background…I’m toting around a limited...
Back to the Future
Heading to Shanghai makes me feel like I’m heading ‘back to the future’ - this city celebrates the dichotomy between old and new perfectly. ‘Midnight in Paris’ is on everyone’s lips, but I’m channeling my inner Marlene Dietrich - going to find my ‘Shanghai Lil’…there’s a song in there somewhere.
old…
and new!
Milano sotto la neve!
Well, it’s the first snow of the year in Milan, and it’s COLD. Thankfully I have a coat from Quentin Veron’s couture 2011 collection (he just showed 2012 in Paris last week). Quentin is SO talented. I met him when he was only 22 years old through a friend while I was in Paris. I’ve seen him grow considerably as a designer—he embraced the fur trend far before the high...
9 tags
An Oasis on the Bund
I was working my way down the famous Shanghai Bund (and its bevy of gorgeous hotels) when I came across Les Suites Orient, a super-luxe retreat that practically spills you into the Huangpu River and the Pudong skyline.
Comfortably contemporary, this boutique hotel is located only a few steps away from the famous Yu Garden and only 15 minutes away from the bustling city center and the Pudong...
Macaron in the City
Waking up this morning in the new Hotel Chateau Monfort in Milan, well, it’s a bit like waking up in a box of macarons. In a good way, of course. Not claustrophobic or sticky sweet, but gorgeous, refreshing and draped in a palette of beautiful color. As the snow falls outside my window, I’m cradled by this delicious new addition to the hotel scene in Italy’s fashion capital. Off...
January 2012
3 posts
Street Style in the Snow
This week, I’m in Milan finishing up the Dea Rosa Fall/Winter 2012-13 collection. Today was the first snow of the year, and looking chic as always, is Dea Rosa’s Operations Manager, Anjeza Tufina with a limited edition “dyno” python carpiano satchel.
11 tags
Searching for Ceviche: Lima, Peru
Lima? Yes, Lima. Why not Lima? Truth is, I had to do a mileage run to maintain my executive platinum on American Airlines and had a meeting in Miami, so I thought heading south to the ceviche capital of the world was a good bet.
I was right.
Lima is only five hours from Miami, meaning I could save my VIP upgrades for long hauls to Europe. It was a day flight, and I booked an exit row seat....
Mr. Armani's Milano
Milan evokes a strong opinion in those who know it; people either love it or, frankly, they hate it. It’s not exactly beautiful when compared to its southern sisters Florence or Rome, and, on weekends, it empties out like it’s August holidays: people head to the mountains in the winter or the seaside in the summer.
It is, however, Italy’s style hub and I happen to be quite fond of it. This...
December 2011
3 posts
7 tags
AFTERGLOW
With thousands of day spas in New York, it’s hard to make a decision on where to get something very basic: the facial. You have super high-end gorgeous spots that feel like an oasis in the city, and some super common, inexpensive joints that just get the job done. Question is: who do you trust your face with? What I’ve found is that it’s rarely the spa that I fall in love with, but actually the...
Pop-up Hotel Anyone?
Yes, you read that correctly, and I’m obsessed with this concept! Design Hotels launches The Papaya Playa Project, a pop-up camp with 99 cabanas on the beach of gorgeous Tulum, Mexico. A first for the industry to bring the phenomena of pop-up retail and art into hospitality, this authentic experience will open on December 6, 2011 and close on May 5, 2012. (I’m ready to go NOW.)...
2 tags
Arabian Nights
My last day in Dubai and was so thrilled to find the darling XVA Art hotel to settle into for this weekend. Dubai is a funny place, and not so easy to get your head around. This hidden spot in the city’s old quarter gives you a good place to ground yourself from the flash (with key bazaar and souqs in walking distance). Gorgeous vegetarian restaurant too.
November 2011
3 posts
Sweet Shanghai
I’m bittersweet about leaving this amazing city. I love going back to New York, and, of course, being away makes me love returning home so much. But Shanghai has gotten to my very bones…like I belong here in a way I haven’t felt in quite some time. It seems to be a bit of every place that I love: New York, Paris, Buenos Aires, Rio, Mexico City all mixed together into a giddy...
Shanghai Knights
So my first night in Shanghai I was with the super talented chef/award-winning cookbook author/sustainable movement pioneer/all around food man extraordinaire Robert Oliver and we nipped out for a quickie bite before I was off to bed. He took me Noodle Bull, the modern, warehouse-designed, beef-inspired noodle bar. House-made plum juice was the drink of the eve and we dined on small plates...
What's in My Carry-On?
Everyone always asks me what’s in my carry-on bag, so I’m happy to share a bit of insight into how I make it all work. Given that I’m off to Shanghai on Tuesday, this is a timely entry.
I’ll be toting around the Carpiano satchel from my Dea Rosa FW11 collection. One of my faves for winter done in this amazing double-faced cashmere in charcoal grey and python in jade green...
October 2011
2 posts
6 tags
Ms Mita: I Want to Hold Your Hand
About seven years ago, I took a sabbatical in Mexico and quickly grew a strong affinity for its hospitality, food, culture and the feel-good sense of place I had when I was there. I was based in Puerto Vallarta at the time, and was introduced to its northern neighbor, Punta Mita. As someone who grew up accustomed to a Caribbean seaside, the coastline just an hour from bustling Vallarta was...
My Fall Bag Hits the Beach
A recent jaunt to El Matador beach in California with Dea Rosa’s Carpiano from AW2011 in chocolate python.
Photo by Peter Wesley Brown.
September 2011
2 posts
23 Hours in Venice
Venezia. The sheer thought of the mysterious northern Italian outpost always sends a shiver up my spine. There’s that perpetual gasp (and subsequent re-gasp) when I walk out of the train terminal; it always feels like I’m seeing Venice for the very first time. It’s curious. It’s dark. Its night and day are as different as, well, night and day. Hollywood-crafted, jaw-dropping, movie set...
7 tags
Endless Summer
With so much to post from this amazing summer of 2011, I just don’t know where to begin. Since summer is all about the beach, I’ll start with one of my favorites…Agios Sostis in Mykonos. It’s a fabulous (relatively unknown) beach on the north coast of the island that encapsulates everything about a total bohemian, let your (sun-streaked, seawater waved) hair down kind of...
July 2011
3 posts
From Rio, With Love
Rio is everything. Ok, that’s a bold statement. But it really is. Take all your pre-conceived thoughts about Rio – the sex, the glamour, the gorgeous people, the beaches, the sheer expanse of it all – multiply it by about 1,000, and you have today’s Rio de Janeiro. This city is exploding. If you don’t go tomorrow, go next month; but at the very least go before the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the...
My Guardian Angel
My addiction to Rome comes from my love of discovery. The city’s tiny alleyways and narrow streets always lead to something fabulous, whether a new gelateria, a bustling street market or an ancient aqueduct. This weekend in the Italian capital, I stumbled upon a historically famed jeweler and a Dominican hair salon (more on the latter, later). I was eating a salted caramel gelato while walking...
Canine Companions
It seems that every country I go to, I run into lovely dogs. At sunrise in Trancoso, Brazil, four of them ran on the beach with me every day. I then fell in love with two beach dogs on Koh Kood in Thailand and, when I visited friends in Umbria, their dog, Harmony, remembered me from when he lived in Antigua. And unlike Italian men, the dogs have a slightly tamer personality (and they don’t...
June 2011
5 posts
Another NY moment...L-atitude X John Robshaw...
Had a great time this week at the fabulous L-atitude X John Robshaw Indian Bazaar…check out the story here . L-atitude, where fashion meets travel, is an online portal for shopping trips around the world. L-atitude introduces exotic, exclusive and edgy finds from the world’s most stylish cities to you. It will be your new travel addiction!
Story and photos by Lisa Vonweise
A Taste of My Gotham
The best part about my far-flung travels is coming home to Manhattan. Of course, there’s nothing I love better than embracing a new culture, discovering a few words of a language or soaking up exotic tastes and flavors, but I can do all of that here in New York too.
Here are my some of my faves (all within a two block radius of my office in SoHo) that remind me everyday what a melting pot...
Ze Plane! Ze Plane! -- (Soneva Fushi style)
Clearly, it doesn’t take much for me to hop into any kind of aircraft and zip away somewhere; and often times, the smaller the plane (and the more remote the location), the better. I’m happy sitting in the right seat (when the pilot allows), and taking my turn on shouting out navigational coordinates. However my recent trip to Soneva Fushi in the Maldives had two pilots—and they were both barefoot...
Ze Plane! Ze Plane! -- (the departure!)
A snap of the plane landing at Soneva Kiri Airport.
Hated to leave but loved jumping back into this Cessna Grand Caravan for my private flight back to Bangkok! Check out the inscription on the plane: Ever Soneva So Over The Top.
Style note: this American Apparel chiffon maxi skirt works so well for travel..paired with ballerinas from L’Artigiano di Brera [the go-to ballerina flat for...
Ze Plane! Ze Plane! (a series)
Although Hervé Jean-Pierre Villechaize (known to TV land as the diminutive Tattoo and right-hand man of Ricardo Monteblan in Fantasy Island) wasn’t there to greet me, I could almost hear him shouting, “Ze Plane! Ze Plane!” as I softly landed on the private gravel airstrip at Soneva Kiri. A super-short speedboat ride away and I was whisked off to this fantasy island (more to come...
May 2011
4 posts
One Night in Bangkok
One night in Bangkok and the world’s your oyster…or so the song goes…
This amazing city is the perfect jumping on and off point for a Southeast Asia sojourn. I love flying here to shop for a bit of silk (if you don’t have time to hit the markets then the Jim Thompson boutiques at the airport have great selection and are fairly priced), enjoy an evening aperitivo high...
My Trip Down the Rabbit Hole
Designer hotels aren’t new. There’s Missoni, Bulgari, and suites designed by Bottega Veneta, Vera Wang and others. Each boast super luxe amenities, amazing service and fabrics that leave you thinking: I could make a great tote of out this bedspread.
But my recent stay in Milan left me longing to be best friends with a rabbit. Maison Moschino hotel is as fashionable as it’s historic,...
Channeling Your Inner Dorothy
Everyone always asks me how I pack my life into a carry-on for my wanderings. Neutral palette, punchy accessories I say. Hey, even Dorothy had her red shoes and not much else in Toto’s basket. This punchy red peep-toe slingback clog from cult brand Swedish Hasbeens will kick it up a notch. They use sustainable materials and manufacturing, and are made by hand in Sweden using chrome-free,...
Jane of the Jungle
Prada gave us plenty of brights this season, monkeys too. So it was on a recent trip to Costa Rica that I embraced my inner “Jane of the Jungle.”
I was doing an initial scout for a photo shoot at Parador Resort & Spa with my photographer, LA-based Peter Wesley Brown, and left with quite a bit of color inspiration for my next Dea Rosa collection (heading to Milan to work on that...
April 2011
4 posts
6 tags
In the Spirit of Capri
Capri. Last summer, I spent a week here in a darling apartment on Via Camarelle. Days were spent at Fontelina beach or toying around the blue waters on a boat. Evenings were aperitivo at Hotel Quisisana watching the world go by. Inspiration comes easy here, as it did for my Dea Rosa SS2011 collection. A magical place, Capri looks like Central Casting came in with a magic wand and, poof! Beautiful...
1 tag
Wanderlogue: What's in a Name? →
wanderlogue:
Naming a hotel suite makes a statement. Many evoke a famous figure, locale or emotion. Teaming up with her Wanderlogue bloggers from AMPR, Andria Mitsakos, lifestyle publicist, designer and wanderlista, spotted five suite names from around the world that have caught her…
5 tags
How Style Defines a Sense of Place
“Ah, love your necklace. Sayulita, right?” he said to me, and then lifted the cuff on his shirt to show me what was obviously the brother bracelet to my necklace. “Yes,” I nodded. Years later, a woman said, “Oh, look (as she pointed to the Tahitian pearls strung on lithe leather around my neck)…Saint-Barth,” she said fondly. These exclamations of familiarity might not sound like much, but if...
4 tags
Life in Trancoso: Part 2
“Ohhhh…bad mosquitoes. Fabio will tell them, in your face, just kisses.” This was a text Fabio sent me after I told him a mosquito had bit my cheek. Priceless really. What makes Trancoso such a special place is not just the serenity, the easy surfer-chic lifestyle, but the people. Fabio lives here with his sister and her daughter. He was also a craftsman, had his own studio and makes everything...
3 tags
Life in Trancoso: Part 1
“Is Fabio driving OK?” I had just touched down in Porto Seguro in Bahia, Brazil. My driver/concierge for the week, Fabio, continued to speak in third person, “Fabio loves New York!” This comical exchange continued and he asked, “How is the Big Apple? Do you like Michael Jackson?” After obliging to the music, we drove through the darkness, under a canopy of stars, to the King of Pop’s greatest...
March 2011
6 posts
3 tags
Alvorada in Trancoso
Alvorada. When the sun emerged from the sea this morning, it was like an explosion on the horizon. An eruption of every color imaginable. The dawn of a new day here in Trancoso.
I’m here in this far-flung (albeit super chic) part of the world in a gorgeous spot run by Brazilian Beach House, finding inspiration for my next Dea Rosa collection, and embracing everything this sexy locale has to...
5 tags
ASSOULINE GOES SOCIAL
Last night at the gorgeous ASSOULINE outpost on the mezzanine at The Plaza Hotel in New York, the famed publishing house founded by Prosper and Martine Assouline, announced its first foray into social media contests with the promotion of one of its newest titles, In the Spirit of St. Barths by Pamela Fiori. The legacy of St. Barths, an island synonymous with Caribbean elegance and chic, is...
5 tags
Greek and the City: John Varvatos
I was having breakfast at my morning gastro-go-to in Tribeca, The Odeon, with Gregory Pappas, founder of the Greek America Foundation. He wanted the pancakes, but opted for a healthier choice. “I have this idea,” he said. “OK, pitch away,” I said. So it was there, over The Odeon’s steel cut oatmeal (which is divine by the way), I stayed trued to my Greek roots, and...
10 tags
Easing Into Spring.
Let’s get a head start on spring. The old saying goes: “If March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb.” Being a Leo, I like to always come in like a lion, but that doesn’t mean putting up with this crazy weather anymore. That’s right, I’m officially boycotting winter. I’m done with tights, leggings and boots (OK, unless I’m going skiing). If it’s above 40 degrees, then that means my...
3 tags
Mr & Mrs Smith Take Manhattan
Everyone always asks me for travel advice. Where do I find hotels? Where to look? What to look for? Finally, I can take myself out of the travel-agent game (I’m not one, but some days it feels that way) and just give one, simple answer: Mr & Mrs Smith.
With a name that’s a cheeky nod to the clandestine British check-in pseudonym, Mr & Mrs Smith is the world’s most trusted...
February 2011
7 posts
6 tags
Art Deco Glamour: Miami Beach
I started writing this entry at 35,000 feet (en route to Miami on American Airlines) and I hope to finish it poolside at The Raleigh Hotel in Miami Beach. Ah, February in Miami Beach. Total bliss. Foodies make the pilgrimage to this art deco Mecca at the end of February every year for the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, and I’ve been asked by Xanté pear liquor to host a “ladies luncheon” at...