What started as a tiny shop in Rome is now a top Italian export, with hotels and jewels that continue to dazzle.
The Jewelry: Authentic antique Greek and Roman coins have been a hallmark since heir Nicola Bulgari first started mounting his collection on gold in the 1960’s. Price upon request.
The Amenities: Bulgari hotels stock their own delicately scented green-tea bath products.
The Idol: Elizabeth Taylor said Bulgari’s shop was a highlight of filming Cleopatra in Rome—so much so that Richard Burton remarked: “The only word Elizabeth knows in Italian is Bulgari.”
The Backstory: Though the brand was originally launched in 1884, Sotirio Bulgari opened this shop on Rome’s Via dei Condotti in 1905; it still stands today.
The Bag: Snakeskin leather purse embellished with gold chains and replica coins. $3,200.
The Stars: Maggie Gyllenhaal in Bulgari sapphires and diamonds at the International Rome Film Festival.
In an era of mass-produced gadgets, there is a certain pride in knowing that a single Swiss artisan produced your watch by hand. Case in point: the 18-karat white-gold and alligator Cartier Calibre Multiple Time Zone. With the ability to track the time in 24 cities and a face that displays the hour in two places at once, this is the ultimate accessory for jet-setters. Price upon request.
Our freshest summer find: this hand-embroidered cotton-and-silk voile top by Virginia-based designer Jules Reid($295). With its vibrant kiwi print, it works at the beach or out on the town.
These six vibrant pieces were specially designed for select hotels around the world.
A limited-edition silk-georgette caftan ($1,650) from Samba Soleil by Tina Bossidy is perfect for a sunset stroll around the Cove Atlantis, in the Bahamas.
These braided leather sandals ($315) by Maloles for One&Only Resorts can go from day to night.
The screen-printed cotton-canvas Virginia Johnson tote ($98) from the Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, Mexico, works for shopping or beach-going.
To celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Ascot Racecourse, Dorchester Collection’s Coworth Park(doubles from $768), nearby, tapped British milliner Stephen Jones to create a line of chic chapeaus for its guests, including a headpiece resembling a peach-blossom branch.
Norma Kamali traveled to Iran during the reign of the Shah. Seattle-born designer Chris Benz’s favorite souvenir is a friendship bracelet. You’ll learn this and much more in American Fashion Travel: Designers on the Go (Assouline; $45)—a scrapbook-style compilation of Q&A’s with handwritten responses and personal snapshots from a range of stateside talent, plus a foreword written by intrepid traveler and New York style icon Diane von Furstenberg. The result is a colorful glimpse into the globe-trotting lives of fashion’s who’s who.
I don't
know about you, but I'm forever on the hunt for that quintessential thing that
you can only find locally—like the conch shells from the beaches of Turks and Caicos or Ladurée macaroons (before the French company decided to sell out and populate the earth).
It's that thing you would ask a friend to pick up if you knew they were going. Rare as it is with the internet at our
fingertips, it's still fun to make discoveries when we travel.
While in Florence on a T+L Sept cover shoot, I noted a great
pair of navy suede ballet flats on an effortlessly chic Italian colleague. Always on the hunt for great travel flats, I
became obsessed when she told me how much she paid and had to make a mad dash
to the shop before I got on the plane the next morning.
These sporty pieces will have you ready for a weekend getaway.
A Dapper Look: Cotton polo shirt, $80, by Lacoste. Lightweight corduroy blazer, $695, Gant by Michael Bastian. Linen shirt, $195, and cotton pants, $125, Façonnable. Seersucker belt, $80, Ernest Alexander. Leather-and-suede saddle shoes with Nike Air technology, $198, Cole Haan. Gingham bow tie, $60, Ernest Alexander. Canvas tote with calfskin details, $450, Ralph Lauren.
Viva Zapata is a sturdy collection of funky bags made by Argentinian expat Tania Carole Lugones. Each weekend for 7 years she would set up a table in New York City's Soho neighborhood outside of the Camper boutique selling her designs hand sewn out of vinyl remnants from bus seats in Buenos Aires. To date Tania has sold more than 8,000 of them. That’s a lot of seat covers! Up until last year she had to work as a nanny to support herself. This is the first year she can focus solely on design.
