Hollywood

STONE COLD!

We can’t keep apologizing for keeping you from our Stan D’Wisdom for such extended periods of time, so we’re just not going to.  The past few weeks have been too fabulous for words.  First it was New York Fashion Week then it was off to London for a few meetings and parties and THEN it was Milan for the shows.  Now we have a couple of days to throw some Stan D’Elicious info at you before we jet off to Paris.  We have very little time, so we’re going to make this short and sweet…

While we were in London, we were on our way to Bungalow 8 when we decided to stop by an adorable little brasserie down the road.  We ordered a Grey Goose on the rocks, and when it came, we were taken a back by the ice cubes!  They were marble in appearance, and at first we thought, they had frozen dirty water, but we were terribly wrong.

When we dipped our fingers into our glass and pulled a cube out, we found that it was a cold cube of STONE!  Quelle surprise!  After asking our waiter about these curious cubes of coolness, he told us that they were made from pollution free Nordic base rock.  He told us where to go pick some up, and we did the very next morning.  They’re completely reusable, they come in a leather pouch and they’re an incredible way to save water and promote sustainability.  You know how much we love being green!

You can buy your own Nordic cubes by visiting Mocha.

LA VIE EN ROSE, BLUE & GREEN!

We’re not even going to bother telling you a story to set up this posting because we’ve just died and gone to the color library in the sky!!!  Just a moment ago, we were randomly searching for a website with a built in function that would be able to take the exact color of our periwinkle Hermes cashmere socks and calculate the corresponding Pantone paint color with which we want to paint the bathroom in our new jungle hut in Costa Rica, and we came across Colorware!

Apparently, you can have your iPod, your MacBook, your Sidekick, your PSP, your mobile phone or your gaming consoles in a your choice of rainbow colors!!!  You can either send in whatever you want to coat or you can buy a product new from them when you pick out your colors!

We love color.  Color in the morning.  Color in the evening.  Color with a martini!  (You knew that was coming, didn’t you?)  But buyers beware!  Once you coat your electronics, the manufacturer considers your warranty void!  Don’t tell us we didn’t warn you!

YOU BET YOUR ASSOULINE!

One day we’re going to write a book.  We say one day because every time we sit in front our vintage Remington typewriter, we suddenly get writer’s block, and then we run to the cellar for refuge in a bottle of 1968 Chateau Lafite Rothschild.  Sigh.

Until that day, we have found a new haven in the fair city of New York, tucked away on the mezzanine level of the newly renovated Plaza Hotel.  This nouveau home away from home is none of then the first American outpost for famed Parisian fashion publisher, Assouline!  

Known around the globe for its stylish books on all things fashion, the French giant has made its footprint stateside with one of the most Stan D’loveliest boutiques we have seen yet.  Stop by to pick up the CHANEL Leather Slipcase Set or maybe you’d prefer a Vintage Dandy Crate?   Either way, there’s always a treasure to find.

Assouline
The Plaza Hotel
768 Fifth Avenue
212-593-7236 

THE BOWL!

Bowls have always played a very important role in our lives.  As a child we had a silver bowl by Tiffany & Co. out of which we ate our freshly picked garden berries with crème fraiche.  In our teens, we used bowls to mix the plaster from which we sculpted miniature reproductions of Michaelangelo’s statue of David.  We found very special use for bowls in early adulthood.  Those reasons we won’t go into right now for fear the DEA come after us!

But our favorite bowl still remains The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.  This bowl was built in 1922 and was nestled into the natural hillsides of Bolton Canyon just above Sunset Boulevard.  The Los Angeles Philharmonic, under the direction of famed conductor, Alfred Hertz, inaugurated the first season of music under the stars.

Ever since then, the Hollywood Bowl has played host to some of the greatest musicians of all time including Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Luciano Pavarotti, The Beatles and, most recently, UB40.  (Between you and us, we were at the UB40 concert, and we had the most Stan D’elicious time thanks to all of the bowls being passed all around us, but we digress yet again….)

This month’s program brings with it a Tchaikovsky Fireworks Spectacular featuring one of most favorite works, the 1812 Overture!  Could you just die?!  We almost did!

If Tchaikovsky isn’t your cup of tea, look into the Calendar of Events for something that might tickle your fancy.

TURN ON YOUR HEART LIGHT!

She and us would build sand castles on the beach.  We would sit her on our knee and feed her mint chocolate chip ice cream which she would in turn spit out all over our Yves Saint Laurent grey twill pants.  We even changed her diaper and powdered her little bottom, but she would never want to hear all that now, so we tell her boyfriend instead!

Well, that little girl is all grown up now, and she has taken on saving the world one green project at a time.  Her most current endeavor is just our cup of tea.  She is working on equipping a hospital in Kigutu, Burundi with solar energy in order to help the 156 doctors in that country deliver proper health care to a staggering 8 million people!  It’s an incredible mission to say the least.

Being the socially couture minded individual that Elettra is, she is making you an offer you cannot refuse.  She has enlisted six of the hottest designers in the industry today, Rogan, Chris Benz, Rag & Bone, House of Diehl, Philip Lim and Giambattista Valli, to design energy and Africa inspired t-shirts in a limited edition of only 100 pieces in order to help raise the funds.  The tees are $60, and a simple tee in a non-limited edition (pictured above) is available for $30. They are all going on sale beginning August 25th via Just One Frickin Day.

You can also help by simply making a donation to the fund through their Just One Frickin Day Donation Module which calculates “just one frickin day” (get it?) of your annual salary....post tax bien sur!

Helping others just got a little more fabulous…

UNION SQUARE FARMER'S MARKET!

We’ve always had a secret fantasy about being a farmhand.  Waking up at the crack of dawn in a stack of hay wearing nothing but a pair of beat up denim overalls, trekking through muddy fields while our lips turn blue from the crisp morning air and milking the cows with our cold bare hands sounds like a dream!  Actually, come to think of it more closely, it sounds like a nightmare! Can you imagine us getting our favorite mink lined Hermes work boots all muddy?!  Neither can we!

That’s why our most favorite way to go green is New York City’s famed Union Square Farmer’s Market.  The market has been providing New Yorkers with fresh, local produce and farm products since 1976.  Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, from 8:00am – 6:00pm, farmers from all over New York State set up shop in Union Square, as well as other locations, with fruits, vegetables, flowers, breads, cheeses, juices and organic products galore!

It goes without saying that some of the city’s top chef’s take advantage of these farmer’s goods, and this is where it gets good!  The market offers Chef’s Tours and Tastings where a local chef takes you on a tour of the market while he purchases produce for that day’s menu and then you go to the chef’s restaurant for a lunch where he creates a feast using the produce you just bought with him!

We usually host the chefs at our house for a private dinner which our staff whips up using the green market goods.  We’d invite you, but we have a feeling you’d just end up rifling through our closets for next season’s fashion favorites!

JUICY!

One lazy afternoon not too long ago, we were basking in the sun poolside on the rooftop of the Downtown LA Standard while eavesdropping on the conversation next to us.  One lady, who, if you ask us, should NOT have been wearing a thong bikini, was telling the other lady a story of a man named David Otto, who one summer supposedly ate absolutely nothing by watermelon for 77 days straight!  Personally, we could never imagine doing that unless the watermelon had been previously vodka infused, but we digress…

Being the aficionados of fresh fruit juices that we are, we set off to find this man.  It wasn’t hard to do because we also had heard these ladies mention that Mr. Otto owned a juice shop in Beverly Hills, which was aptly named Beverly Hills Juice.  What could be better?  Fresh juice and a shopping spree down Rodeo Drive!  An ideal afternoon if you ask us.

When we stepped into the small shop, the aroma of fresh apples and bananas overwhelmed us sending us into a juicy state of euphoria.  Mr. Otto wakes at 2am daily and buys only the best organic produce, which he then spends six hours cold pressing in the back of his shop.  

There’s apple juice, apple mint coconut juice, apple papaya juice, carrot coconut juice, watermelon juice, kombucha tea and our personal favorite, the Big Ten, which is a special juice made from carrots, beets, celery, parsley, spinach and sunflower greens!  It’s the only way to keep your body green and your mind clean.

DON'T SMOKE IT!

Sometimes, we wish we could have experienced the 1960s at its prime….the political upheaval, the counterrevolutionary music, the free love, the “herbal” refreshments!  But we didn’t, and we’re never going to.  That’s just a fact, but we don’t get Stan D’epressed over it because we find other ways to fill the void.  One of which is an array of hemp products!

Hemp is harvested for its fibers for use in fabrics and its seeds for oils.  With a growth cycle of only 100-120 days, it’s an incredibly efficient and economical crop for farmers around the globe.  Green green green!  But what we love most about hemp is our messenger bag!

Our Hemp Messenger Bag has crossed the globe with us a thousand times over.  It’s perfect for toting around our laptop, our passport, our Vertu cellphone, and most importantly, our wallet containing our most prized possession….our Black American Express card!  It’s made of 100% pure hemp fibers and comes in olive with dark olive trim!  Too chic!

Whenever we arrive at the front desk at the Standard Hollywood to check in, the bellboy always tries to smoke our bag, but it doesn’t work.  C’est la vie!

GOING GREEN!

When we were just petit Stan D’Enfants growing up in the foothills of the Loire Valley, we would watch Miss Piggy slap Kermit the Frog, and we would double over in laughter and fall out of our vintage Barcelona daybed, which, coincidentaly, Mies van der Roehe personally gave our father ages ago!  Back then, that was what “going green” meant. Just Kermit and us.  Green green green!

Nowadays, going green means something totally different.  It’s about preserving the planet and ensuring its wellbeing for millennia to come.  We could have sworn that we were totally doing that already!?  We fly via private jet!  We cruise the Mediterranean on luxury yachts!  We only purchase designer luxury products!  We had thought that maintaining this kind of lifestyle was completely green because we weren’t contributing to the wasteful habits of the masses, but it turns out we were wrong.

This month, we’re focusing on making a difference.  We’re starting with saving energy, ensuring that our staff in our houses across the globe are green at home, and most importantly, we’re telling our drivers in New York, London and Paris to make our cars green.  A metallic Kelley Green would be our preference, but we’re not going to get picky!  J’adore!

SCHNEBLY VINEYARDS!

We know you’re already thinking that we should step away from the bottle of Dom Perignon right about now because whom besides a drunk fool dressed head to toe in Gucci F/W 2008 would post a photo of a tiki hut alongside a posting about a vineyard!?  Don’t get too ahead of yourselves our little Stan D’Alcoholics.  There’s always a method to our madness.

We want to introduce you to Schnebly Vineyards purveyors of the finest tropical fruit wines in southern Florida!  Yes.  We said tropical fruit wines.

The vineyard, located about an hour outside of sunny Miami Beach and perfect for a day trip, is a tropical treasure trove filled with coral bridges, cascading waterfalls, tiki hut tasting rooms and enough birds of paradise to satiate even the most discerning of snobs…and by that, we’re talking about ourselves, bien sur.

They specialize in wines made from naturally occurring tropical fruits of south Florida including guava, passion fruit, lychee, mango and carambola.  The wine making process is exactly the same as traditional wines.  The fermenting process is the same, the aging process is the same and the alcohol content is the same (and you know that was the first question we asked!)

TRASH!

Trash has been on our minds a lot as of late.  We don’t know why.  Actually, we DO know why.  It’s because we hate it.  It’s as simple as that.  We don’t like the way it looks.  We don’t like the way it smells.  We hate that we feel guilty creating so much of it on the daily, but we can’t save ALL of our Tom Ford shopping bags, now can we?

We’re bringing this up because there’s been a groundswell in New York City recently, and it’s all been revolving around one artist and his efforts to bring to light the serious repercussions of the excessive waste we as consumers create. Don’t get all scared on us.  We don’t want to hop up on a soapbox, but life can’t be all caviar and champagne all the time!  Well, OUR lives can, but we still have to care about the environment!

The artist in question is Adrian Kondratowicz, and his latest art project is called TRASH: anycoloryoulike.  What he’s done is create brightly colored, polka dotted trash bags which are available for purchase through the site and which are meant to be used as one normally uses trash bags.  Then, on trash day, when you take out your trash, the streets are lined with color and mayhem reminding your neighbors and all passers by that we need to make a change immediately.

You want to know the best part?  The bags are all biodegradable, and they smell like bubble gum!  We LOVE that!

The next curated installation will take place on July 30 in NYC’s meatpacking district from 5pm – 12am.

WATERFALLS!

Whenever we come across a waterfall, we rip off our clothes, put on our little square cut Moschino bathing suit (we keep it on our person at all times just for this reason) and throw ourselves under the cascading currents and pose for a non-existent photographer in a high fashion photo shoot which will never transpire!  What?  You don’t???  Anyway…

The other day, we almost got ourselves thrown in the slammer while in New York because, right now, contemporary artist, Olafur Eliasson, in conjunction with the Public Art Fund, has launched one of the most incredible works of public art that the city of New York has seen in a very long time.

Four monumental man made waterfalls rising out of New York Harbor entitled The New York Waterfalls are now on display through October 13, 2008 and are located at the Brooklyn anchorage, the Brooklyn Piers between piers 4 and 5, Lower Manhattan at Pier 35 north of the Manhattan Bridge and on the north shore of Governors Island.  

The falls operate from 7:00am to 10:00pm daily except for Tuesdays and Thursdays when they will run from 9:00am to 10:00pm.  They’re also lit after sunset, and that’s enough reason for us to break open the bubbly!

OLVERA STREET!

 

In 1781, a group of 11 families consisting of 44 men, women and children arrived upon an area right across from a crystalline river in order to create a new colonial settlement under the orders of King Carlos III of Spain.  This small colony was named El Pueblo Nuestra Senora Reina de Los Angeles which means The Village of our Lady Queen of the Angels.  Oooh!  We just got a tingly feeling inside. We love history!  It’s our ultimate aphrodisiac!

You already know where this is going, right?  It was this settlement upon which the great city of Los Angeles was built.

Today, the original colony is more popularly known as Olvera Street, one of Downtown LA’s most colorful little marketplaces comprised of over 27 historic landmark buildings all surrounding a typical Mexican plaza.  We love Olvera Street for the mariachi bands, the tacos and enchiladas, the vendors selling authentic Mexican wares and the Aztec Indian folkloric dancing!

Our favorite day to visit Olvera Street is Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead.  This is the time (usually the first two days of November) when Mexicans honor their friends and family members who have passed on.  The streets are filled with colorfully dressed skeletons and eerily beautiful ceramic skulls adorning everything and everyone.  Plates of food are left at various altars for loved one to feast upon, and an All Souls Procession winds through the marketplace.

So after your second martini at The Standard Downtown LA’s Rooftop Bar, make sure you take advantage of all the area has to offer.

FILTHY RICH!

Last summer while we were vacationing on the Cote D’Azur in our favorite little town of Villefranche-sur-Mer, nestled up in the hills overlooking Cap Ferrat just outside of Nice, we met the sweetest young man at the local sidewalk café.  He had asked us for light.  We offered him a glass of our Bandol Rose.  We sat and shared stories for hours upon end!

He asked us about our lives.  We told him about the homes we keep around the world with which he was all too familiar.  We told him about where our friends dock their yachts when we cruise the world with them, only to hear that he’s been to most of those cities too. (We suspected he’d only read of those cities in school books, but we didn’t want to step on the young man’s style….)  He even knew about how much one is supposed to tip the house staff when visiting a friend’s chateau for the weekend!  We were quite impressed.  He almost knew more about our lives than we did!  We enjoyed that afternoon very much, but he bid us adieu without even giving us his name!  We were saddened to see him go.

So why are we telling you this story?  Well, this past week, that chance encounter we had over a year ago with that gentleman, whose name we now know to be Christopher Tennant, has transpired into a book called The Official Filthy Rich Handbook!  We would have never known it was the same man had we not noticed his picture in the back!  

In a nutshell, (a solid platinum nutshell, that is), the book is all about how the other 0.0001% (or all the Stans of the world) live, and it’s cleverly titillating…if only you’re still wishing you had our lives!

SHALLOW IN TIMES SQUARE!

The 1970s were a crazy time for us.  We were at the heyday of our youth.  We were partying in the dark, seedy clubs in London.  We hung out in the Haight Ashbury district in San Francisco.  Our skin-tight bellbottoms were infamous in New York’s Times Square.  Sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll wasn’t just a saying, it was a way of life…okay, no it wasn’t, but we can remember the 70s however we like!

Whenever we’re in New York, we like to aimlessly walk around Times Square recalling those days while trying to remember how we possibly were able to get anywhere in pants so tight, but we digress…  The other day we were doing just that, and we came across the most beautiful broadcast on MTV’s jumbo videoscreen.  After asking around, we found out that it was a video art installation entitled Shallow, created by Malcolm McLaren, founder of The Sex Pistols, and sponsored by Creative Time, the leader in public art initiatives.

Shallow is a series of 21 “musical paintings” created from films of the 1960s, all of which contain various moments right before or after sex scenes.  How chic is that?!  The film will be showing every hour on the hour through mid-August in Times Square between 44th Street & 45th Street.

LOUIS VUITTON SOUNDWALK!

If you’re anything like us, you’ve already booked your first class ticket to Beijing for the Olympics, and you already have a room in the east wing of the Forbidden City reserved and paid for!  What?  You don’t?  Well get on it already!

Our point, oh gorgeous Stan D’Lovelies, is that our head is about to explode with excitement because one of our most favorite names in fashion has just come out with their very own Louis Vuitton Soundwalk! We know!  We can’t believe it either!

Soundwalk, if you don’t already know, but you should know because it’s just too chic, is a collection of audio walking tours for various cities around the world, which you purchase and download in MP3 format to your MP3 player.  You are given a starting point and then a specific person, sometimes a celebrity, sometimes not, guides you on a three-hour tour of a specific neighborhood in that city or country!  Could you just die???

The Vuitton Soundwalk is very unique and comes to you threefold with Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai guided by Chinese actresses Gong Li, Shu Qi and Joan Chen, respectively. A slew more are expected to roll out for China over the next few months, so keep checking back in.

And just because we Stan D’Love you so much, we’re gonna fill you in another little secret.  There’s a Da Vinci Code Soundwalk of the Louvre Museum in Paris too!  We just can’t take it.  This is just too much for us to handle.  Where’s that bottle of Dom???

THE OTHMER LIBRARY!

GLOBE TROTTER!

Not too long ago while we were having tea with the Queen, she and I were discussing our latest travels…where we’d been, what we’d seen, who we had bought at auction in the local markets.  We were totally kidding of course!  The days of colonialism are too long gone, but her twisted sense of humor remains of course.  God Save The Queen!

We then got to speaking about how difficult it is to pack when going on such long excursions so far away from home, and she told us her little Royal secret.  Apparently, the royal family has had their own personal luggage designer, Globe Trotter, for close to 100 years!  Even we can’t get any chicer than THAT!

It turns out that Globe Trotter is bringing its chicness to the masses via the ultra exclusive Centenary Collection!  The collection comes in a variety of colors, but our favorite is the jet-black natural leather with the burgundy trim!  You best try to get yours before the Queen snatches them all up!  Don’t you just hate royalty sometimes?

VIZCAYA!

You know those days where the world feels like it’s slowly closing in on you?  The pressure of it all just makes you want to scream Calgon!  Take Me Away!  When this happens to us, we usually run to Rodeo Drive when we’re in LA or Upper Madison Avenue when we’re in New York, but when we’re in Miami, the only place we find solace is at Viscaya.

Built in 1916 as a personal residence by American industrialist, John Deering, Viscaya was constructed in the style of great Italian palazzos covering over 10 acres of luscious oceanfront property and boasting over 34 rooms built from walls, panels and doors acquired by extensive European travels.

After Deering’s death in 1925, and after two major hurricanes damaged the property, Deering’s family donated the residence to the Miami-Dade county under the condition that it be used a public museum in perpetuity.  

Our favorite part is The Secret Garden, which was used to display the orchids Deering grew for himself in his green house.  There, we sit and reflect upon the current state of style and design while tiny Monarch butterflies land on our shoulders and console us with whispers of their adoration.

Viscaya is located at 3251 South Miami Avenue, Miami, FL.  305-250-9133.

KITCHEN 24!

What we love about Los Angeles isn’t just the constant sunshine or the gorgeous beaches or the fact that there are more plastic faces in a square mile than in the Barbie aisle at your local Toys ‘R Us.  It’s the fact that the 1950s were its heyday!  Long stretches of orange groves lined the streets.  Lucy and Desi cruised down Sunset Boulevard in their convertible Thunderbird.  Hoards of young girls in poodle skirts and mary janes packed the local diner while they swooned over the James Dean knockoffs combing their greasy hair outside!

It was the diner that became the local fixture during this incredible age of innocence.  

This week, Kitchen 24 opened its doors and welcomed us back to a world of value, comfort and all-American cuisine.  The menu consists of individually baked meatloaf, country friend pork chops, spaghetti and meatballs and turkey potpie, all of which are made with the freshest organic ingredients available.  They also have installed a Reverse Osmosis Filtration system, which translates into the best tasting water, cocktails and food this side of the Hollywood sign.

Kitchen 24 is open 24 hours (which is unusual for a city that is known to sleep around the clock) and is located at 1608 N. Cahuenga Blvd Hollywood, CA 90028.  323-465-2424.

BOB COLA!

The first time we ever went to New York City’s famed Studio 54, we were only 15 years old.  That night, Grace Jones, Bianca Jagger, Halston and Liza Minnelli were our best friends!  We danced!  We laughed!  We sipped champagne until we couldn’t see straight!

On that night, we were briefly introduced to Mr. Bob Colacello, one of Manhattan’s most prolific writers and a Warhol confidante.  We danced!  We laughed!  We sipped some more champagne until we finally DID see straight!  (It’s rumored that Warhol once told Bob to change his name to Bob Cola to give himself more of a pop culture aesthetic.  We don’t think he ever did.)

Next week, the Steven Kasher Gallery is exhibiting 70 limited edition prints from Colacello’s new book, Out, which documents the nightlife scene from the late 70s and early 80s.  We have to wonder if our photo is in there!  We’d be a little bit scared if it was.  We don’t really remember that evening very well!

The exhibition opens on June 11, 2008 with a party from 6pm – 8pm, where Colacello himself will be on hand to sign copies, and will run through July 19.

The Steven Kasher Gallery is located at 521 West 23rd Street, New York City.

iTRUNK!

We have the hardest lives EVER!  We’re always globe-trotting finding the best places to eat, shop, play, drink, gossip and, most importantly, stare at our own reflection in still waters on isolated mountaintops!  We never get any rest, and to tell you the truth, we’re a little over it!  It’s really hard (and expensive) being this popular!

But do you want to know our little secret on how we keep it together wherever we go?  It’s our iTrunk!  Yes!  We said iTrunk!  First came our iWallet.  Then the iManClutch.  Then the iManBag.  Then the iRollyCarryOnThing.  Then the iSuitcase!  And now it’s the iTrunk!

This genius contraption made by French trunk maker Pinel & Pinel is equipped with it’s very own 20” iMac, a Canon portable printer, JBL Creature sound system, and it comes in over 51 vibrant colors….in LEATHER!  It 62” high, 22” wide and 22” deep, and we take it everywhere we go!  

We knew you were going to ask, and you knew we were going to tell you.  The iTrunk costs approximately $6,000, but isn’t it worth being able to log on and say hello to us no matter where you go???  We think it is!  You can buy your iTrunk by visiting Pinel & Pinel iTrunk.

HOUSE OF LAVANDE!

BRAZILIAN BEAUTIES!

We know!  Don’t say it!  We can’t stand to hear it!  We’ve been gone FOREVER, and you hate us for it.  You probably think that we’ve been traipsing cosmopolitan cities across the globe, shopping and lunching and being our fabulous selves….but that’s the furthest thing from the truth!

Not too long ago, on a culinary trip we took to Sao Paolo, Brazil to explore the riches of Japanese Brazilian cuisine in the densely populated Japanese district of Liberdade, we heard of a lost tribe of warriors hidden DEEP in the outer jungles of the Amazon.  This tribe, which is rumored to be one of only 68 indigenous tribes in the Amazon, was located somewhere near the border of Peru and has never had contact with the outside world!  We knew that we had to find them to learn their ways of survival, subsistence and total autonomy.  (What we really wanted to know is how they make those really cute thongs we see them wearing all the time!)  Well, we finally found them!

So for the past month, we’ve been living with these warriors in the jungle in complete isolation….until one day when we heard a plane overhead!  We had been found!  We quickly hid the women and children, ran into our huts, painted our bodies in traditional war paint and ran back outside with our bows and arrows to take down this mysterious flying bird!  (We didn’t want to tell them that it was a Piper Mirage which seats 4 comfortably because we knew that they just wouldn’t understand!  Why ruin all the fun???)  We’re the one pictured above in all black body paint above because orange just isn’t our color.  Black is the new black this season!  

After we were found, it just wasn’t any fun anymore.  We bid our tribesmen adieu, and we trekked through the jungle back to the nearest airport to return home.  We were sad to leave, but we had missed you, our Stan D’Lovelies, WAY too much!  Plus, we had gotten a horrid rash from those damn thongs!  We’re glad to be back in our summer linens!

SUNSET BEACH!

One of our favorite places in the world is Shelter Island, a small little touch of paradise nestled in between the north and south forks of Long Island.  Hidden away in a tiny cove called Crescent Beach is the sweetest 20 room hotel you ever did see called Sunset Beach.

If you’re as obsessed with us as we are with ourselves, you’ll want to pay special attention.  When we’re not cruising the Caribbean or the French Riviera on our best friend’s yacht during the spring and summer months, we’re always at this fine establishment sipping on a chilled glass of rose at the waterfront restaurant.

So, here’s your chance to finally catch a glimpse of us in our Standelicious little swim shorts!

Sunset Beach is currently accepting applications for employment over the summer!  You’ll live on the island.  You’ll work in the restaurant or hotel.  You’ll take advantage of all that Shelter Island has to offer!  And on your day off, you can just hop the train for a quick ride back to NYC for some shopping and lunching!  Our two most favorite things in the world!

With Springtime upon us, now is the perfect time to jump on that summer adventure you’ve always wanted but which you’ve never given yourself.

For more information and to submit your resume, please visit Sunset Beach Jobs.

THINK! WASH! REPEAT!

You know those times when you can’t help but think dirty thoughts, and sometimes, those thoughts are so dirty, you have to take a shower because of them???  Ummm, okay, we don’t either then.  Moving on…

You know those times when you’ve just finished a LONG day of shopping in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, and all you want to do is head back to your 8 bedroom suite at the Ciragan Palace Hotel and just take a shower?  Yeah.  Us too!

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been pampering ourselves with the Pattern Body Wash collection, the only all natural cleanser we’ll let touch our supple (yet slightly hairy) skin.  The cleansers are paraben and artificial ingredient FREE, 100% vegan and they are not tested on animals!

We like to use the Black Pepper wash on Friday nights because it makes us feel spicy!  The Citrus and Cucumber washes are good for the weekend when we just want to relax, and we use the Eucalyptus wash in the morning on weekdays when we need to rejuvenate and energize ourselves for a full day of shopping and lunching on the Avenue Montaigne in Paris.

All four cleansers are only $20 a bottle and are available at Pattern Body Wash.  Or you can opt to get the full size trial kit which is all four flavors for only $60!

SPY WEAR!

Whenever anyone asks our name, we always answer “D’Bond.  Stan D’Bond.”  It’s totally funny and people get a chuckle out of it, but then we walk away feeling a little bittersweet.  Why?  We’ll tell you why!  

Ever since we were just a wee little Stan D’Infant, we always wanted to be a spy.  Of course, we always spy on our neighbors with our binoculars, but that’s not the same.  We know you know what we’re talking about!

A few weeks back, our dreams came true!  Well, they sort of came true.  Well, they didn’t come true at all, but we were introduced to the most genius little invention that allows us to pretend to be spies in our little minds if we so choose!

German Desinger, Tonia Welter, has invented a whole collection of USB Jewelry including cuff links, bracelets, keychains and necklaces, which discreetly hold a 2-Gigabyte mobile storage drive.  The pieces are limited edition, and they come in matte or shiny sterling silver!  

Now you can carry your “secret” documents wherever you go, and by secret documents, we mean your Stan D’Arde love letters which you wish you had the courage to send to us!

The USB Jewelry collection is available through Tonia Welter Collection.

EMPORIO ARMANI ROLLERSKATE!

We never exercise and that’s just FINE with us!   Lifting and pouring a magnum of Dom Perignon champagne is more than a workout, if you know what we mean! 

BUT….

If we were to work out, we would think that designer accessories are the only way to do it… Like with CHANEL leather skis or a CHANEL football.  You know we already have both, but we just haven’t gotten around to using them.

Now, to add to our collection of designer sporting accessories which we’ll never use but which we’ll treasure for years, are Emporio Armani’s Skorpio Quadline Rollerskates. These skates come with high rebound 100mm urethane wheels on a chromed Hyper™ rim with 2x ABEC 4 R/S performance bearings and Quadcoil™ chrome springs!  Don’t worry.  We have absolutely no idea what that means either, but we want them NOW!

The skates are $425 and available through Emporio Armani.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

Our most favorite season of the year is Spring!  There is something about coming out of that cold, dark Wintery hibernation only to be met with warm sun on your face, linen pants tickling your thighs, sweet little sparrows landing on your shoulder and singing you a song in your ear.  Well, maybe that last part about the sparrow is a bit over the op and would never happen, but if it did, we would probably scream, flap our arms wildly around our head like a little girl and run away at top speed down the street looking for the first Barney’s New York to run into and hide.

The arrival of Spring also brings with it our most treasured flower, the Tulip!  (Don’t get smart with us!  We know that tulips are perennials and they grow year round!  We just like to have them around us at Spring time!)  

With our immensely busy jet set schedule, we have found that the only place to get our favorite bloom is Tulips.com.  From Wild Tulips to French Tulips to Tulip bulbs, all of our tulip fantasies are just a click away!

Email Us and we’ll give you our address so you can send us an arrangement to let us know how much you love us!

LA ART WEEKEND!

 

 

We totally have a special place in our hearts for the small town of Los Angeles.  The sun always shines, the In ‘n Out burgers are always sizzling and it is the only place in the world where we haven't yet been arrested for drinking and driving! 

That being said, we were totally over the moon when we heard that our good friends over at Black Frame, in collaboration with For Your Art, were organizing the first ever Los Angeles Art Weekend.

This new annual arts fair will highlight the city’s rising stars in art, architecture, design and film through various programs, exhibitions and events!  We are most excited about the Weimar New York performance on the 12th where Justin Bond of Kiki & Herb fame will emcee a musical three-ring circus!

If you’re jet set like we are, and you’re able to fly in for the weekend, you already know that the only places to stay are the Standards in Hollywood and Downtown.  The Standards are the official hotel sponsor of the weekend, bien sur, because where else is there for you to stay in LA ever?  Well, we’re not including our 5 bedroom, 7 bath guesthouse in our backyard.  We save that for Donatella and crew, but if you’re nice, we might make an exception for you.  For special Standard Hotel rates, click here.

The Los Angeles Art Weekend runs from April 10th to the 13th.  Please visit LA Art Weekend Schedule for a full lineup of events and ticket information.

PIRELLI!

In this life, we’ve learned to love only two things.  Fast cars and fast women!  HAHAHA  Even WE can’t keep a straight face saying that!  Don’t get us wrong.  We love our cars, and we love our women, but they’re not the ONLY things we love.  That’s why God gave us Dom Perignon!

Back to cars and women.  Every December, we frantically check our mailboxes every day for two things.  The first being the Standard Hotels Calendar (see below for your very own.)  And the second being the Pirelli Calendar!

Back in 1963, The Pirelli Tire Company created a calendar showcasing ferocious pin-up models to send to their top clients as a gift for their loyalty.  Over the years, this calendar has become one of the most sought after gifts of the year featuring photographs of the world’s top supermodels shot by the industry’s most influential photographers including Mario Testino, Herb Ritts, Bruce Weber and Annie Leibowitz.  Unfortunately for you and amazing for us, only a select few of us receive this calendar annually.

But don’t fret because this year you’re in luck!  Publishing powerhouse, Rizzoli, in conjunction with Venetian Professor of Photographic History, Italo Zannier, has compiled an all-inclusive book of all the calendars from 1964-2007 including the never before seen 1963 calendar and behind the scenes photographs.

The book is $85, and can be purchased through Rizzoli.

LORD OF THE RINGS!

ABSINTHE POPS!

MARCH MADNESS!

 

SHINJO ITO!

Two summers ago, while vacationing in Villefranche Sur Mer on the French Riviera, we stopped by the home of our old friend, Tina Turner.  We lunched on duck foie gras outside by the pool, we laid on her bed and laughed while looking through old photos of her youth and then we ended our visit by chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, the Buddhist title and main teaching of the Lotus Sutra which declares that all living beings are able to attain Buddhahood or the state of absolute happiness.

BONOBOS!

On our last trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo, we came across a most remarkable creature in the jungle!  No!  It was NOT fashion designer Donna Karan in search of inspiration for her next collection! (But that’s a good guess!!!)  It was, rather, the lesser-known member of the chimpanzee family…the Bonobo!

The Bonobo is an endangered chimpanzee characterized by its slight form, longer legs, smaller head and less prominent eyebrow ridge!  These little guys get no respect because their more famous, older siblings, the mainstream chimpanzee, totally hog the spotlight.  One could say that Bonobos are the Nicky Hilton of the Congo jungle, but once again, we digress…

Upon our return to the USA shortly thereafter, we researched further this intriguing Bonobo culture, only to find that Bonobos already exist in New York City!!!  We swear!  Except the Bonobos we found stateside are not chimpanzee but the HOTTEST men’s pants we’ve seen in a very long time!

Founded by two Stanford roommates in 2007, Bonobos have been taking over the menswear market with their incredibly tailored fit, their luxurious corduroys, twills and wools sourced in Bavaria and Italy and their trademark print lining, both on the inside on the pant on in the back pockets!

Do you want to know the best part?  A pair of these luxurious pants is only $100 - $140!  The Mint Julep corduroys are already proving to be the must have for Spring.

For more information and to get yourself a pair, visit Bonobos.  Tell them Stan sent you!

OLYMPUS 850 SW!

THE WATERPROOF BOOT!

LOVEGROVE & REPUCCI!

JULIAN SCHNABEL!

LA MAISON TROPICALE!

CLIFTON'S CAFETERIA!

FASHION EMERGENCY!

VALENTINE'S DAY!

BEVERLY HOT SPRINGS!

SPIEGELWORLD!

What do you get when you combine multiple mirrors, loads of brocade and 350 applauding people?  No!  The answer is NOT Stan D’Arde at his high school prom!  (But we totally would have guessed that too!!!)  The answer is SpiegelWorld presented by The Raleigh Hotel....The Standard Miami's chic older sister which is easily accessible via the free shuttle from The Standard

Spiegeltent is Dutch for “Mirror Tent”, and they originated in Belgium in the 19th and 20th centuries.  These tents traveled Europe and provided entertainment and performing arts to the masses. 

Spiegelworld is no different.  Started in Canada and having made its debut in New York City last year, this traveling troupe of singers, dancers and acrobats provide two of the hottest shows in Miami at the moment, Absinthe and Gazillionaire’s Late Night Lounge.

Enjoy a cocktail at sunset in the Green Fairy Garden.  Have dinner at The Raleigh Oasis Restaurant.  Catch a show and then dance until the morning light with Spiegelworld’s DJ Sessions every Tuesday through Sunday.

The show runs through February 17 in Collins Park (21st Street & Collins Avenue).  For more information and tickets, please visit SpiegelWorld.  For dinner reservations and dinner theater packages, call The Raleigh on 305-534-6300.

MERCEDES BENZ FASHION WEEK!

MALIN + GOETZ!

HEAVY METAL!

ART LA 2008

STANDARD SESSIONS!

• DOWNLOAD PDF

CYNTHIA ROWLEY RIDES AGAIN!

It shouldn’t come as a shock to you that New York Fashion Week is a VERY busy time for us!  We’ve been in more front row seats at fashion shows than in back seats at car shows!  Trust us!  That’s saying A LOT!

Needless to say, with the first day of Winter, we immediately begin thinking of the first day of Spring.  Don’t get us wrong!  We love wearing our cashmere John Varvatos overcoat with the chinchilla trim, but we much rather prefer linen!

That’s why, when we saw Cynthia Rowley send her Spring 2008 models out onto the runway on her new custom bicycles, we were beyond ourselves with excitement!  We love a bike ride in the country more than we love ourselves.  Okay, well that’s not true, but you know what we mean.

These new bicycles are one of a kind and they each come with a bell!  They are only $650.  A wicker basket is going to cost you $80 and, if you really want to go all out, you can add a leather pannier for $500!

They’re the perfect and most stylish “green” alternative to driving, don’t you think?

URBAN ZEN!

Every now and then, it’s important to give back to the world from which we take all the time.  If we’re going to ski in Gstaad and take in the sun in Brazil, we have to make sure the world we live in and its people are around for a while to come!

We’d like to introduce you to The Urban Zen Initiative.

In 2006, fashion designer Donna Karan founded Urban Zen “to promote well-being, preserve cultures and empower children [and to] envision a world where people embrace the vital connection between mind, body and spirit in order to live more empowered, healthy and fulfilled lives.”

Take the time raise awareness and inspire change by visiting the site.  

Okay, now let’s get back to talking about US!!!

MATSU GEN!

CASHMERE PLEASE!

When you travel as much as we do, it might prove a little difficult to keep looking fresh and vibrant!  We never actually have that problem. We’re just saying that if YOU were to travel as much as US, you probably might experience a little fatigue in the visage! 

We’re going to let you in a little secret of ours.  It’s Christopher Fischer cashmere.  We NEVER get on a plane without our Cashmere Travel Blanket Set!

The set comes with travel socks, an eye mask and a travel blanket which is 60” wide, and between you and us, that’s enough room for two people making the mile high club just a bone’s throw away!!!  We’ve been members of the club for YEARS, but you probably didn’t need to know that.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, Standelovelies!!!  We’re sorry we have been gone this long, but we’ve been around the world, and we we we, we still can’t find our baby!

We’re not going to bore you with ALL the details of our trip because we don’t want you to hate us this early in the game, but we’ll tell you this much….

We started with skiing in Gstaad then wine tasting in the Loire Valley then pheasant hunting in Scotland and then New Year’s in Sydney!  We tried to swing by the Los Roques archipelago off the coast of Venezuela on our way back, but then we heard there was no place to plug in our hair dryer, so we skipped it.

We’re wishing you the most prosperous of new years, and maybe next year, if you’re nice enough, we’ll take you on our next adventure!

In the meantime, we're still going to be bringing the only the best in what the the fabulous people have to offer, so keep checking in, and if you want to know anything, ask anything, say anything, just email at the link at the top!  

IT'S LACROIX, DARLING!

We all know that New Yorkers are not only known for their extremely discerning taste but also for their incomparable willingness to spend unspeakable of amounts of money on the quest for eternal luxury!  It’s just the way they do, and we love it!  Except for the fact that no one in NYC is spending their money on us, but we digress…

Every year, Evian introduces special edition holiday bottles, and this year, the French water company has commissioned fashion designer, Christian Lacroix, to design two versions of the bottle, one haute couture and one prêt-a-porter.

Reminiscent of Lacroix’s trademark white wedding dress fashion show finale, the haute couture bottle defines the elegance and the grace of women which has always been the inspiration behind Lacroix’s designs.  The prêt-a-porter bottle is adorned in a coppiced lace pattern and gives it a feeling of frost with which most New Yorkers are very familiar.

The prêt-a-porter bottle will be available in restaurants, hotels and clubs for around $10 and for $6 at Whole Foods.  Only 99 of the haute couture version are available and they will be sold at auction to benefit charity with the starting bid at $1,000.

For further information on the bottles, visit Evian Couture.

KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL

One cold and rainy day back in 2002, we found ourselves alone in a New York City kitchen with famed 4 Star Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.  We’re not going to make you jealous with the details of how we arrived at the one moment in time, but it’s every gastronome’s dream to be in the presence of THE master at work.  He greeted us in his warm Alsacian accent, and said to us, “Bonjour, Stan. Come. Try this.” 

He then hand fed us the most delectable little morsel of heaven.  Our legs began to quiver.  Our heart began to pound faster.  Our eyes slowly rolled into the back of our head in sheer ecstasy.  We almost asked for his hand in marriage right then and there, but we didn’t…..only out of respect, bien sur!  We were not worthy.

It was at that very second, when our taste buds were electrified with the magic that only Jean-Georges can conjure, that we knew we would follow the epicurean road to our grave.

Along this road not too long ago, we came across one of Los Angeles’ best kept secrets….Surfas. This mom and pop restaurant and kitchen supply shop has been serving the industry since 1937, and they only opened their doors to the general public in the mid-1990s. 

From over 60 varieties of mustard to more than 30 types of salt to work you into a frenzy, there is practically nothing that you won’t be able to find.  Refrigerators, bakeware, cutlery, rare olive oils (Nunez de Prado, $96.35, pictured), containers and aprons too!  And if you do happen to stump them with a request not readily available on their shelves (which is almost an impossible task), Les and Diane Surfas will find what you’re looking for in no time.

Now, if only we could find a box of Crackeur Jacques!

WORKS ON WHATEVER

 

Have you still not finished your holiday shopping?  What’s taking you so long?  Well look no further because we&