Downtown La

THE REEVE FOUNDATION!

SOOOO....We're going to keep this one short and sweet.  Do you remember earlier when I told you about my friend Francesco Clark, author of Walking Papers?  If not, just scroll down and read all about it.  What I didn't tell you is that he is a Champion with The Reeve Foundation which is one of the leading organizations for people living with paralysis.

We're coming to you today because we have some very special news.  The Foundation is hosting their summer party at The Standard, New York on the 18th floor and they want YOU to come and support.  The event is hosted by Christopher Reeve's children Alexandra Reeve Givens and Matthew Reeve along with Hayden Christiansen, Linda Wells, Editor in Chief of Allure Magazine, Francesco Clark and Elisa Lipsky-Karazs of Harper's Bazaar!

If you do anything this year, we ask you that this be it!  You get to see The Boom Boom Room.  You help The Reeve Foundation help others.  And you get to hang out with Stan D'Arde!!!  Really.  It doesn't get better than this.

Tickets are $175 and tables start at $1500.  To purchase or to just make a donation, please visit Summer Party. Do it now!

Merci as always.

xoxo
Stan

SOMEONE KNOWS WHO WE THINK WE ARE!

As you will recall, we came to you our Stan D'elicious readers to help us redesign our logo.  We were feeling a little stale, and we knew that only YOU could actually help us.  We waded through PILES of submissions which attempted to figure the true essence of what it means to be us....Stan D'arde Le Vanguard!!!

There were a lot of good ones.  Like Specik who had us living on the 18th floor of The Standard, New York.  But we are omnipresent...New York, Miami, Downtown LA and Hollywod.  We don't really like to be contained.  Then we had XDashaX who had her room key from The Standard, Downtown LA "slid in" to her bikini bottom.  We felt that might have been just a little too much for your wholesome eyes to handle. 

But then we came across an entry in our email inbox from a Dutch man who called himself Ssimone du Fresch (???).  Apparently, he had stayed at The Standard, New York, read about the contest and was inspired by our timeless sense of style.  How did he know just from reading our blog???  We love intuition.  Anystylemaster...

He submitted the above photo of his friend lounging at Le Bain on the roof of the hotel...his legs lazily crossed across each other on our pink waterbeds!  WE IMMEDIATELY FELL IN LOVE!  It was simple.  It was chic.  It was US!!!  We are totally ignoring the fact that he misspelled our name.  Not everyone can be perfect comme nous.

SOOOOO....

Being that we had found our winner (who will enjoy a one night stay at The Standard, Miami and a CHIC summer Quiksilver package of goodies), we instantly called our graphics design team to reveal the winning reader submission.  After three long nights of furious sketching, searching the interstan and drinking dirty martinis, our collective forces aligned to bring you the above new and improved Stan D'Arde logo.  HOW CHIC!  Can you just die???  We love having a design team....and a driver....and a wet bar...and a....well, you know what we mean!

The new logo will debut shortly.  We have a lot of very exciting changes coming at you in the next few weeks.  Hold on to your Stans cuz we're coming at you in full force!

CONGRATS, SSIMONE DU FRESCH!!!!

QUIKSILVER: THE SEQUEL!

This week, The Standard Hotels and Quiksilver are debuting our SECOND limited edition collection of swimwear!  Yes.  You heard us right, and now you understand why all the glam is so difficult to handle on the daily.  Not only have we come up with four new boardshorts and a reversible bikini, but we've also added handmade Quiksilver x Standard sunglasses and our very own Shisheido sunscreen.  CHIC OVERLOAD.....STAN D'E SOLEIL!!!!

If you have no idea what we're talking about, check out last year's video from the massive pool party we had to launch the first collection at The Standard, Downtown LA.  And because we're totally in the habit of topping ourselves when you just can't think it possible to do, we commissioned famed filmmaker and photographer Cheryl Dunn to make this Costa Rican Jungle video of our the new collection.  No.  That's not us in the tide pool, but we wish it was!

Shall we go on?  We think we shall...

This collection's boardshorts are again inspired by each Standard hotel location in Hollywood, Downtown LA, Miami and New York and their respective color identities. The boardshorts now come in two lengths, 16” and 18” and are made with Quiksilver’s Diamond Dobby technology.  The bikini features a solid white bandeau top that reverses to yellow, with a low-rise bikini bottom.  The sunglasses are hand-made, two-toned black acetate frames with distortion-free, shatter-resistant lenses and 100% UV sun protection.  These sleek unisex shades are complemented with the Quiksilver signature black and red checkered print on the inside of the frame.

We totally sound like we're on the Home Shopping Network, but we're TOTALLY going with it because this collection is too chic to even stand.

We are blowing up the line with a pool party at The Standard, Miami this month with live music, BBQ, Ping Pong and more at The Standard, Miami during Miami Swimwear Fashion Week and at The Standard, Hollywood in late summer. The Standard Boardshorts By Quiksilver will retail for $75.00, the Bikini and Sunglasses will both be available for $88.00. Shiseido Sun Protection Spray SPF 16 will be available for $28.00 and Shiseido Sun Protection Cream SPF 38 will retail for $32.00.

You can purchase all items at Shop The Standard.  Email or tweet us photos of you in your gear.  We love getting your hot pics.

xoxo
Stan

DON'T YOU KNOW WHO WE THINK WE ARE?

The other day we were lazily amusing ourselves poolside by reading quotes from the late Coco Chanel.  She was quite a woman.  One of her quotes got us to thinking...  "Fashion fades, only style reamins the same."  It was all about consistently changing but remaining the same, so we figured we'd change things up a bit while remaining Stan D'elicious...

For this month's Stan Contest, we're asking YOU to assist us in making that change.  We want you to help redesign our logo which you see at the top of this page.  You see us?  Lying on the floor with our martini glass?  We feel stagnant and mundane (even though we know we're not), and we need a makeover.  We know!  We never thought we'd see this day either!

Sooooo....we would like you to email us what you think our logo should be, and then we'll have our personal design team use your depiction of us to come up with a final portrayal.  You can also TwitPic us with an @StanDarde mention.

Get creative Stan D'elovelies!  You can hand draw the logo.  You can take a picture of yourself acting out the logo.  You can watercolor the logo.  You can do whatever you want.  We're giving you full creative license.

We know that right now you're totally asking yourselves..."What do we get for all of our hard work?"   Well, we totally thought of that, so here you go...  The winner will be chosen the second week of July, and they will receive:

One night stay at The Standard, Miami 
One pair of the brand new Standard x Quiksilver boardshorts or bikini
One pair of the brand new Standard x Quiksilver sunglasses
One bottle of the new Standard x Quiksilver sunscreen

In addition, the winner's submission will be posted on this very blog for all to see!  Yes.  Fame and fortune will be yours.  Okay, well maybe not the fortune....but definitely recognition.

So, to recap...  You come up with what you think our new logo should be.  Email it to us.  We'll pick a winner.  Our design team will come up with a final version, et voila!  Your'e on your way to Miami.  Life is sweet!  Happy contesting!  Follow us on Twitter for updates!

xoxo
Stan

REALLY? MORE BALLS? POLO IS UPON US!

With the onslaught of summer, we begin craving two things and two things only.  The first being André Balazs Rosé.  Bien sur.  The second is Veuve Clicquot's Polo Classic!  This is when all the best polo players, including our good friend, Nacho Figueras, and his good friend Prince Harry (or as he's referred to on DListed!....Prince Hot Ginge) come together on Governor's island to smack some balls around while riding around on gorgeous equine!

(Don't even get me started.  We're working on a Sunday so just bear with us with we dole out this valuable information.) 

Anyballsmackinghorserider....

This year, the competition is fiercer than ever! Lucy & Mark Cornell, Delfina Blaquier & Nacho Figueras and Peter M. Brant invite you to join them on the 27th of June for a competition in benefit of Sentebale, Prince Harry's charity which transforms the lives of Lesotho's orphans and vulberable children.  We love a powerful charity.

Last year was too much fun, and this year proves to be even more exciting.  Just don't ask us where the afterparty is....because we've been sworn to secrecy.

To purchase tickets, please visit VC Season.  See you there, Stan D'olo fans.

xoxo
Stan

HEAD STANDS ON THE GREAT LAWN!

Once again, our gorgeous little Stan D'ogis, we are about to set a record never before seen by the likes of ANYONE!  That's just how we do what we do when do what we do.  If we don't break records, then it's just not worth it for us.  

This Tuesday, The Standard, New York, along with Jet Blue's True Blue and FlavoriPill have come together to bring you what is poised to be the largest yoga event in the world!  This Tuesday, over 10,000 people will gather on the Great Lawn in Central Park to be lead by acclaimded yogi, Elena Brower, in a free yoga class in the park.

In order to participate, you will have have to register here and hope that there is still room for your undulating body to bend and twist in the open air and straight into the Guinness Book of World Records. If not, you can still show up and watch.  Jet Blue is providing the mats and Smart Water is doling out all the fluids you need!  We thought that was OUR job?!  Oh, well...

We're hoping to see you there.  The Great Lawn.  Tuesday, June 22, 2010.  6 o'clock in the evening.  Downward facing Stan is in order always.

WALKING PAPERS!

Last summer at The Standard Grill, we had the pleasure of meeting Francesco Clark through our friends Robert Tagliapietra and Jeffrey Costello, the designers behind Costello Tagliapietra.  Francesco was a simple man with boyish charms, a boisterous laugh and an infectious smile, the kind that can only make you smile twice as big. He was also in a wheelchair.  That didn't really matter because what's a wheelchair anyway besides a piece of furniture that rolls around the room?  We enjoyed a couple of minutes of laughter and gregarious conversation before we were on our way.

Almost nine months later, we found ourselves sitting right next to Francesco at a pre-wedding dinner in Washington DC for some mutual friends of ours.  We love how small the world is at times.  Again, we laughed and caught each other up on our lives.  He told us that he was about to launch a book about his story.  What story was that, we asked him?   

Apparently, at the age of 24, Francesco took a moonlit dive into the shallow end of a pool and broke the vertebrae in his neck leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.  With an endless battle ahead of him, Francesco fought tooth and nail to prove his doctors wrong when they told him he wouldn't be able to move his body again.  Along the way, one of the obstacles he faced was that his skin was no longer able to determine between hot and cold temperatures, and he wasn't able to sweat out the toxins in his body, leaving him with bad acne.

With the help of his father, a doctor trained in traditional Western medicine and homeopathy, Francesco developed a botanically-based skin care line that helped him even out his skin.  Along with the help of friends and family, and a lot of word of mouth, Clark's Botanicals, Francesco's eponymous skin care line was founded.

Today, Francesco sells 13 products through his site, and he counts numerous fashion elite as some of his best customers including supermodels Karolina Kurkova and Maggie Rizer, fashion designers Peter Som and Narciso Rodriquez, and the ever poweful editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar, Glenda Bailey.

This past week, Francesco launched his book Walking Papers to much fanfare and adulation from Vanity Fair, Paper Magazine and Style.com to name a few. Never before have we read a more inspiring story of strength, will and perseverance than we have with Walking Papers.  If you read any book this summer, it is this one.  You'll laugh.  You'll cry.  You'll hate Francesco for doing everything in the world you want to do but are just too scared to.  We are very fortunate to count him as one of our good friends. 

And don't forget to order the ultra rich lip balm.  This stuff is heaven to your lips!

Congrats, Fran!!!

xoxo
Stan

THE BALL TO END ALL BALLS!

You remember how much fun we like to have getting our kicks (pun TOTALLY intended) with our soccer peeps, don't you?  See below our AdiCup realness if your short term memory is comparable to ours.  We just love us some soccer....even though we would never put our delicate features on a field where balls fly at us at super high speeds!  Jamais!

We would prefer to partake in the festivies from the comfort of our very own Biergarten!  Yes.  You heard us right.  We have our very own Biergarten, and it's located at The Standard, New York.

For the next two weeks, we have erected (pun TOTALLY intended AGAIN) a huge big screen in the Biergarten where the games will be shown daily.  Below is the schedule if you're interested.  The X denotes which games we're showing alongside the time we're opening the Biergarten.  

Can't wait to see you all there for the 7:30am games.  Beers on us!  Okay...not really.  Email us with any questions.  We're here all day.

xoxo
Stan

PLAT DU JOUR!

When you look up the word epicurean in the dictionary, you'll find the definition of the word right there.  What did you think we were gonna say?  That our picture would be next to the word?  It's not....because our picture is next to the word maleficent, but we digress...  (We digress alot, don't we?  There we go again. Stop it, Stan.)

Epicurean is defined as "a person devoted to sensual enjoyment, especially that derived from fine food and drink".  That's us, oh Stan D'elicious people!  And what is fine food and drink without fine china and glassware?  We're trembling at the thought of it.  That's why today, we're bringing you our latest obession...

Art Production Fund and Works on Whatever alongside Bernardaud are pleased to bring to us their first ever WOW plate edition designed by Rudolf Stingel!  CHICNESS!!!!  The 10.5 inch plates come in black and white and are made of fine Limoges porcelain.  Each plate is $98, and for each one purchased, Art Production Fund will make a donation to Citymeals-on-Wheels to deliver one meal to a homebound elderly New Yorker.

The plates are available at Works on Whatever or at Bernardaud boutiques in New York and Chicago.

WE SEE MOVIES WITH DEAD PEOPLE!

We love dead people, and we love funerals even more!  You want to know why?  It's because we love wearing black.  It's the color of choice, bien sur.  OH!  Have you ever seen Harold & Maude?!  Amazing!  ANYSTAN...

Whenever we're out in Los Angeles over the summer, we always head over to Hollywood Forever, one of LA's most beautiful cemeteries.  No.  We don't go there to lurk behind tombstones.  We go for the movies.  Yes.  We said movies.

Every Saturday and Sunday through mid-September, Cinespia plays hosts to a thousand or so people and screens classic midcentury and cult favorites.  People come toting blankets, picnic baskets, chairs, wine and cheese and stake their claim on the lawn.  It's really too much fun!

Up next on the big screen?  North by Northwest on May 29th.  Purple Rain on May 30th.  Casablanca on June 5th and Beetlejuice on June 12th.  For a full schedule of screenings, please visit Cinespia Calendar.

Hollywood Forever is located at 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard.  Gates open at 7pm.  Movie times vary so check the calendar per showing.  $10 donation tickets available at gate.  Parking is $5.

WE DON'T PARTICIPATE IN ACTIVITIES WHERE BALLS FLY AT OUR FACE!

Every year, our most favorite event is Adidas Fanatic...an entire day of soccer, BBQ and beer, hosted by our friends over at Adidas.  It started over 16 seasons ago, or back in 2002 for you non-fashion folk.  (And we don't have to tell you how much we love our Y-3. Don't even get us started!)

ANYSTAN...  This past Saturday marked a big turn for the soccer tournament as it went GLOBAL with ADICUP.....competitions in New York, Tokyo, London and Berlin all of which are coming up over the next few weeks.  One winning team from all the cities spanning the globe will be flown to South Africa for the finals.  Don't be jealous just because they invited us to go regardless of the outcome!

The Standard, New York pulled together their finest players.....Ryan, Kaja, Ezra, AJ, John, Max and The Michaels....to compete.  And they certainly did!  Armed with their full Adidas gear which we customized in handpainted metallic gold logos.  They were too chic to discuss....even Style.com took notice.

 

 

 

 

THE OBJECT OF YOUR HUNTING!

Sometimes we tend to think that design is totally out of reach.  It's so out of reach because it's totally embedded within the depths of our souls, and at times, it's just too deep down there to get to.  We are design snobs, and we're not afraid to admit it.  Aero Saarinen is our idol.   We used to think that Vernor Panton was our long lost father, but then we found out that we were the third cousin of Karim Rashid three times removed....whatever that means.  Needless to say, we love anything design related.....(you can totally tell by any one of our Standard Hotels).

But we're not here to talk about ourselves....althought it IS one of our most favorite pasttimes EVER!  We're here to offer up the design world to you for just four days only.  Beginning this Saturday, May 15th, the 22nd annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair is coming to New York City!   Yes, you heard us right!  Four days and three nights of furniture and design under one large expansive roof!  Could you just die?

In celebration of this momentous weekend, we've brought together our most favorite design bloggers and twitterers in what shall be talked about the city over for years!  OBJECT HUNT 2010!  The genius that is NotCot has gathered the masses in what is going to be the greatest design scavenger hunt the city has ever seen.  Beginning this Thursday, hand made #ObjectHunt stickers will be plastered all over the city.  Your job is to find them, take a picture of them and tweet out the pic with #ObjectHunt mentioned.  A winner with the correct picture tweeted will be randomly selected to win a special surprise!  (That means we're still working on it....LOL!)  

UPDATE!!!!  So we've finally come together and brought you a GRAND PRIZE that will blow your Stans off!  The randomly selected winner who tweets out their sticker picture with the #objecthunt tag will win the following...

1. A two night stay at The Standard, Downtown Los Angeles in one of our HUGE rooms.   That's pretty huge.

2. Two Home tour tickets to Dwell on Design in Los Angeles, June 25 - 27, which is a preeminent modern design show for the design trade peeps on the West Coast. This includes a weekend pass and a choice of a Eastside or Westside tour.  Follow them on twitter...@DwellOnDesign.

3. Lastly, we're giving away a PUPPY!!!  Okay...calm your kibbles 'n bits.  It's a not a real puppy.  It's a cute Eero Aarnio puppy courtest of NotCot!

HAPPY HUNTING!!!!

We're so excited we can't even contain ourselves.  In order to get the full effect of the hunt and to make sure you don't miss out on anything, you have to follow all of the design crew on twitter.  Click on the links and follow away... StandardNY!  Stan D'arde!  NotCot!  Cool Hunting!  SubStudio!  ATColor!  MocoLoco!  WorldsBestEver!  DesignMilk!  DesignGlut!

May the best Stan D'Object of Our Affection win!

xoxo
Stan

SCARF IT DOWN!

Our favorite part of winter is wearing our extravagantly large cashmere knit John Varvatos scarf.  It wraps our neck and head with so much luscious scarfness that sometimes all you can see is our eyes.  It's pure fashion genius, and we never leave home without it when temperatures drop below 42 degrees Fahrenheit.  We've shopped endlessly looking for the Spring/Summer equivalent to such chicness, and we've just found it in our own backyards.  Well, not really our backyard.  It's more like The Shop at The Standard, but we digress...

In a follow up to the artist t-shirt colloboration we did last year, The Standard hotels have commissioned famed artists José Parlá (Miami), Rostarr (NY) and Thomas Campbell (LA) to design art which is printed on silk-cashmere scarves.  Each design is available in a limited run of 100.  They measure 24.5" x 70", have hand-rolled and hemmed edges and are lightweight enough for the warmer season.  Personally, we like to wear them as a sarong, but don't be jealous of our perfect legs.

The scarves are $225 each and are available at Shop The Standard.

xoxo
Stan

WE'LL TAKE STAN D'ARDE FOR $1000, ALEX!

When we were young, we had no lives.  All we did was bury our noses in books reading about the ancient Egyptians, Pythagorean Theorems, astrological phenomenons, philosophical musings and the occasional Danielle Steel romance novel.  We are suckers for a tear jerking love story, but we guess we didn't really need to tell you that.  Moving on!

All that reading lead us to become masters of trivia.  There wasn't a pub quiz we didn't win.  There wasn't a question we couldn't answer.  Useless information became our fodder for lack of a better word.  Did you know that there are over 40,000 muscles in an elephant's trunk alone?  Or how about the fact that ketchup was sold as medicine in the 1830s?  We bet you didn't know that there are no words in the dictionary that rhyme with purple, orange, month or silver!  Clearly we love trivia!

This is why, oh Stan D'intellectuals, we are introducing STAN D'ARDE'S TRIVIA CONTEST!!!!  Every month, we will be using our Twitter Page to ask our followers a trivia question, and the first follower to reply with the correct answer wins a prize at one of the four Standard Hotels!  

Our first trivia question will be tweeted out on Monday, April 26, 2010 at 12pm Eastern Standard Time.  The winner will receive a two night stay at The Standard, New York.  Too fabulously chic. 

So if you don't follow us on Twitter, you better start!  And don't forget to follow all the hotels as well.  @StandardMiami.  @StandardNY.  @StandardHWood.  @StandardDTLA.  Tell all your friends, and may the best tweeter win!  Tweet you on Monday!

xoxo
Stan

GARDEN CHIC!

In our crazy lives, we hardly get a chance to sit back and enjoy life truly to the fullest.  We know you think we do, but we don't.  Our lives involve more than leisurely strolls, casual lunches and sipping fine wines from various wine cellars across the globe.  We actually have a job to do, and that's to keep you informed of all things Stan D'electably fabulous.  It's not an easy job, and we think we deserve a little credit for doling out all of this glamour, but we digress....

When we DO get a chance to ourselves, we love to hide away in various garden oases around the globe.  We love Les Tuileries in Paris.  The Lohdi Gardens in New Delhi are breathtakingly gorgeous as they surround various tombs of Indian dynastic rulers.  And we can't forget all the Japanese gardens just out of Osaka.  Arrigato Stan-san!

If you're not able to steal away to a garden of international reknown, we are about to tell you about a little secret kept by horticulturists across America.  The Garden Conservancy's Open Days.  This incredible offering is a favorite known by very few people of the jet set type.  Every season from April through October, The Conservancy infiltrate's the country's most beautiful private gardens for exploration by the public.  This year, over 360 gardens in 21 states are available to visit and to take away gardening and landscape architecture ideas.  We love that!  

Tours are only $5 a person and $25 for a group of six people.  For more information and scheduled tour dates, please visit the 2010 Schedule.  Keep your thumbs green, our gorgeous Stan D'ardeners.

xoxo
Stan

THE GLOWING ORB!

You all know how much we love public art.  In actuality, our public art is trying to get home without embarassing ourselves after a few martinis on the 18th floor of The Standard, New York.  That's always a masterpiece in itself.  Calling Larry Gagosian!  Commission us for an installation!

This month we were very excited to have Naples-born and Los Angeles based artist Piero Golia use our favorite west coast hotel, The Standard, Hollywood for his latest installation.  Golia is known for his eccentric flair for theatrics.  At the Artissima art fair in Italy, he climbed to the top of a palm tree until an art collector paid him to come down.  (We've done that before for FREE!)  During Art LA, he crashed a 35-foot bus into an art fair booth.  (We were driving it with martini in hand....OOPS!)

Last week, Golia pulled up a crane outside the hotel and installed his latest and most innovative installation on the roof of The Standard, Hollywood.  This work is a luminous glowing orb of light meant to be seen for miles away.  The globe of white light is abot 5 feet in diameter and will shine brightly when he is in town and then it will go dark when he is away.  It's a signal to all his friends of his whereabouts while mesmerizing drivers on Sunset Boulevard with its enigmatic meaning.

Golia said of his work, “I wanted to learn the sign language of L.A.  It’s a city where signs are very powerful, where the Hollywood sign came before what we think of as Hollywood."  The only sign we give is a finger pointing to our empty martini glass.  We thank our lucky Stans that most bartenders know what that means!

If you're in Los Angeles any time soon, make sure you drive by the hotel to see whether Golia is in town or not.  Your next order of business is to actually find him should the orb be glowing brightly.  

xoxo
Stan

WINTER MUSIC MADNESS!

Oh, Kids!  Our thighs are KILLING us.  Why you may ask?  Well, it's not because of what you think.  Don't get crazy now.  We just spent the past week down in Miami dancing to the beat of the rhythm of the night for the Winter Music Conference where The Standard, Miami took center stage.

The weekend started off with Vinyl Collective which brought with it 5 DJs who lugged all of their vinyl collections in full to share with our favorite Stan D'elovelies.  DJ Elle, Induce, Manuvers, Tom LaRoc and Mr. Brown each took a turn on the decks.  Our people came in droves for the music and the Red Stripe beer.  We like Red Stripe, but we don't like feeling bloated, so we stuck to our martinis.

Are you ready for this?  Our favorite part of the weekend was the Silent Sunset party at the hotel.  How can a party be silent you ask?  Wireless headphones.  That's how.  The massess gathered at The Standard, Miami and picked up a pair of headphones....the DJ turned on their simple stylings and the party took off in silence.  Sometimes we wish we could use these headphones when some of our friends are around, but we digress...  To the outsider looking in, it was just a bunch of kids dancing aimlessly, but to the headphone wearer, it was the party to end all parties.  DJs Alex from Tokyo, Karl Injex and Mia Moretti turned it out....but no one heard them....almost.

If partying in silence wasn't enough for you, the end of the weekend found its way into The Standard Hammam for the WMC's Secret closing party.  Where else did you think it was going to be?  Thanks to  Karelle Levy of KrelWear for bringing her DayGlo world into ours for an unparalleled fashion show and party in the chicest of hidden venues in the south of Florida.  If we hadn't been in a corner holding court with a bottle of MOET, we probably would have walked in the show as well.  We love glowing in the dark....(maybe we shouldn't have vacationed in Chernobyl back in the 90s).

Needless to say, the weekend was epic as always.  For those of you who met me for a martini, we loved feeding you our olives.  For those of you who didn't make it, we'll see you next year.  Love you.  Mean it.

xoxo
Stan

W MAGAZINE TAKES OVER THE (MEATPACKING) WORLD!

As we told you before in the post below about The Shop @ The Standard, New York, we really don't like to shop.  But it seems like everyone else in the world just LOVES to do it!  We don't understand, but we're just going to go with it.  Supermodel Raquel Zimmermann in the picture is above seems to be staring at us with disgust for even saying such sacreligious things.....but we don't care, Raquel Zimmermann!

This Saturday, W Magazine is hosting a massive shopping day in the meatpacking district celebrating their new shopping issue.  Shop W Style is bringing its own personal sense of style to our little neck of the woods with in-store events, personal appearances by W editors and special offers by almost EVERY single retail operation in the area.  It's like a fashion takeover!  RUN FOR THE HILLS!!!  Wait.  Manhattan doesn't have any hills, but we digress...

Where do you all start?  Where else?  AT THE STANDARD, NEW YORK! We have been chosen the only one worthy of calling W Magazine home away from home.  If you can't find me at one of te 40 boutiques in the area, you'll definiteily see me at The Standard Grill, martini in hand, slurping an oyster.  Come say hi.

xoxo
Stan

DOWNWARD STAN!

In our late teens, we trekked all over Southern India in search of our inner child.  All we found was our inner supermodel, but we digress...  We trekked through the back waters of Kerala.  We danced on the beaches of Goa while the sun rose over the Arabian Sea.  We even visited a man who had our entire lives mapped out on a banana leaf written over 2000 years before.  It was the most incredible thing we had ever seen!  How did they know about our Stan D'elicious lives over two millenia ago?

AnyStan...One of the most amazing discoveries we made on that trip was the art of Yoga.  We spent three months twisting and thwarting our bodies into unnatural positions....wait, that wasn't yoga...that was last weekend.  Hold on.  In India, we mirrored trees and warriors and downward facing dogs.  It was centering and empowering.  We came back a whole new Stan.  

We miss those days of nourishing our bodies and minds, so we've started an intense yoga program at The Standard, New York. Six days a week, once a day, you'll also be able to connect mind and body in our third floor High Line Room.  The madness doesn't end.  Classes are only $20, and all our Stan D'oga masters are welcomed.  Click here for a full schedule of classes, and we'll see you with your legs behind your head really soon.  And if this isn't enough for you, maybe you should book a trip down to The Standard, Miami where a holistic heaven awaits.

xoxo
Stan

STANDARD CREATIVE TIMING!

We don't normally watch television because we end up watching absolutely NOTHING for hours on end. We know you know what we're talking about.  We do own a flat screen TV, but nothing plays on it cuz we don't have cable, but we digress, yet again....

So whenever we're feeling the need to catch a bit of The History Channel or reruns of The Golden Girls on Lifetime Television, we check into one of The Standards and just lay in bed all weekend with the remote in one hand and a dirty martini in the other.  But now, that whole process is going to get just a little bit better!

Starting March 5th, The Standard Hotels along with Creative Time are proud to present an in-room video art exhibit featuring the work of 10 renowned international video artists.  The StandART Channel debuts at The Standard, New York this Friday and continues doling out its viewing pleasures at the three other properties in Los Angeles and Miami.

The StandART channel is the realization of both organization's ongoing commitment to presenting innovative art in the public realm.  (Wait!  We did we just say that?  We sound like a press release waiting to happen.)  Each video, handpicked for the installation, is a visual orgasm culminating in the pure emotion of what it's like to live in the city.

Marilyn Minter's Green Pink Caviar focuses on the representations and ramifications of glamour while Marco Brambilla never ceases to amaze us with his internationally acclaimed work in video.  Our most favorite is by Lee Walton entitled F'Book, What My Friends Are Doing On Facebook.  This piece uses Facebook status updates of Walton's friends as scripts for video re-enactments depicting scenarios that are taken to absurdly literal extremes.  

There are six more videos that will tantalize and titillate, but you're going to have to check in to the one of The Standards to check them out.  Don't ask us to send you bootleg versions.  That's one thing we just can't make happen.

xoxo
Stan

HOPE, HELP & RELIEF HAITI!

A little over a month ago, the world came together in support of the people Haiti after they suffered a devastating blow.  We don't need to go into details because you already know them all.  In response to this disaster, our main man, André Balazs, along with Mary J. Blige, Donna Karan and music producer, Andre Harrell began Hope Help & Relief Haiti.

HHRH is a "call to action" for the fashion, entertainment, arts, business and music industries to come together as a community to help rebuild and revitalize devastated communities in Haiti.  Its immediate mission, "Tents Today, Home Tomorrow" is to provide up to 50,000 tents for homeless families in Haiti, while its long term goal is to help re-build homes and create permanent sustainable communities.

On Monday, February 8, 2010, launched with "A Night of Humanity" and "The Relief Party" at Urban Zen and The Standard, New York with a live performances by Mary J. Blige and Wyclef Jean at both locations, respectively.  It was an inclredible night which raised over $1,000,000, with all funds going straight to Partners In Health, Habitat for Humanity and Yele Haiti.

The official tent of our efforts is Shelterbox Tents, as pictured above.  For just $1,000, you can provide food, water, supplies and shelter to 10 people for up to 3 months.  The tents will be on display at all Standard locations including Los Angeles and Miami in the upcoming months.  To buy a tent click here.  You can also buy a t-shirt to help or make a donation.

Whatever it is you do, please make sure you do something. 

xo
Stan

SHOP TIL YOU STOP DROP & ROLL!

We don't really love to shop.  When we need something, we just go out and get it.  Wandering around aimlessly on Rodeo Drive or the Rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré in Paris while fingering fine cashmeres is not at the top of our list of favorite pastimes.  We're sure you understand.  Shopping for us is about necessity, and this is exactly why our lives just became so much easier.

The Shop at The Standard, New York opened its doors a couple of days ago to the masses, and when we tell you the masses came in droves, we're not lying.  The lines snaked all the way into the lobby with those who were clamouring for our goods.  it's a feeling we know all too well, but we digress...

The shop is the brainchild of our very own Creative Director, Claire Darrow, and her righthand retail reconaissance woman, Denise Downing.  The Shop sells sundries, amenities, necessities, Standard branded items, small gifts and accessories from NYC and around the world, with works by The Standard’s favorite artists especially featured. 

Currently, a limited edition installation by artist Julia Chiang entitled "All For You" is on display and exclusively available at The Standard, New York.  Fifty palm-sized apples, each handmande of delicate porcelain, are glazed in a rich glossy red.  The apple is Chiang's symbol of desire and serves as an icon for her home, New York City.  In addition, Chiang has created a site specific installation along an interior wall at The Shop where she has written the title of the work using Ring Pop candy.  The candy is left to melt over time, constantly transforming, slowing disappearing, while leaving a trace of history with every single drip.  Sounds a little like our social life!

If porcelain apples aren't your thing, The Shop also caters to your every day needs supplying everything from Bliss Lau jewelry, Brixton hats, Bableand sex toys, Dita sunglasses, Gik hotebooks, Mimoco USB drives, magazines, chocolates and lastly Wool & the Gang knitting kits!

There is so much more The Shop has to offer and we can't cover it in full here, so you're going to have to stop by and check it out for yourself.  Tell them that Stan sent you.  

The Shop at The Standard, New York
442 West 13th Street
Monday - Friday from 7am - 9pm
Saturday and Sunday from 9am - 9pm
212-784-5520

A + R + STAN = CHICNESS!

A few years back, we received word that our good friend Rose Apodaca was leaving her post as West Coast Editor of Women's Wear Daily to open up a small store in Silverlake, California with Andy Griffith focusing on all things design.  As saddened as we were with her departure from what most of our friends consider their bible, we were happy for Rose and her new venture.  Little did we know though that her new venture would culminate into one of the most influential design boutiques celebrating design found and curated the world over.

Ladies and Stan D'entlemen, we would like to introduce you to A + R, one of the world's most foremost mecca's for global design....edited.

This brightly lit shop brings to design aficionados the most precious objets d'art for the home organized into the most simple of categories.  Cooking, dining, drinking , furnishing, kidding, playing, reading, sleeping.  Does it get an easier than this?

How about Yuen'to Design's Ballon USB Speaker to start?  We never picnic without Romain Gauthrot's Double Walled Thermo Bottle.  People reel in jealousy when they see us pouring our green tea from it.  But our ultimate favorite dining accessory?  Studio Pirsc's Zepplin Seasoning Shakers.  We own all three.  One is for salt.  One is for pepper, and the third is for our seasoning du jour. We always leave our dinner guests wondering what they're going to get when they shake our zepplin.  And you know how much we like to shake our zepplin on the daily!

You can visit A+R's online store for immediate consumption, but if you had to be in the fair city of Los Angeles, you MUST visit the shop that changed the face of design.  They've moved stores from Silverlake to Venice because everyone LOVES a seaside design store.

A + R is located at  1121-1 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, California.  310-392-9128.

xoxo
Stan

THE RETURN OF SASHA LAZARD!

Last month, we invited famed chanteuse Sasha Lazard to serenade us with her operatic stylings on the infamously exclusive 18th Floor of The Standard, New York.  Not only did she leave us breathlessly shocked and awed, but she had the room screaming "Brava!  Brava! Brava, Sasha!" by the end of her show.  It was a moment in time that was not to be missed.

Next month, Sasha returns to us with a new show based in love and romance in honor of The day of Saint Valentine.  On February 2, 2010, the 18th floor once again welcomes Sasha, along with her stellar line up of special guest performers, to serenade the masses in her truly inimitable style.

Standing room tickets start at $25, but if you opt for one of our sought after tables, you have the option of ordering from the prix fixe menu created by our celebrated Chef Dan Silverman.  The menu includes grilled maya shrimp with rosemary and lime, seared filet mignon au poivre in a bordelais sauce and herb roasted lamb chops with braised artichokes and mint.  Stan D'elicious!

Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.  Doors open at 9pm for cocktails and supper, and the performance begins promptly at 10:30pm.  Make sure to ask for us when you get there, and we'll buy you a martini.

xoxo
Stan

STATUS KUO!

When we were in school, not only did we excel in the arts, but the sciences were also our obsession.  Calculating Pi to the 30th degree was one of our favorite pasttimes.  Balancing chemical equations brought with it the knowledge we needed when mixing the perfect martini later in life.  Even biology proved useful in our late 20s when we were exploring the young nubile bodies of our closest friends.  But nothing came close to our fascination with mathematics and the visual analysis of numbers via charts and graphs.

With the New Year upon us, we wanted our annual New Year's card, which we send out to 12,000 of our nearest and dearest, to reflect that fascination which we held so dear during our pre-pubescent years.  The only way we could accomplish this was to bring on the talent of rising star artist, Andrew Kuo.

This incredible man has been visualizing the industry's latest and greatest musical acts via wildly colorful graphs and charts broken down into insightful and witty commentary.  His vision into and the interpretation of the music industry's hottest acts is a mainstay amongst his fans.  So, it was without question that he was the only one we could bring on board with whom to wish you a Happy New Year as you see with the above card he created exclusively for The Standard Hotels.  The chicness doesn't stop.

For more on Andrew Kuo and his work, click here.  And again, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

xoxo
Stan

HAPPY 2010, STAN D'ELOVELIES!

Oh, our little Stan D'ivas!  Can you believe we've passed through another decade of our lives?  Why do we feel so old and yet look so young all at the same time?  We're in the year 2010.  It feels like only yesterday that today was our future, and director Peter Hayms realized this day with his futuristic film 2010: The Year We Make Contact.  But the only contact we've made thus far is with our made to measure Gucci tuxedo, but we digress...

This year was a whirlwind of all things Standard.  We opened The Standard Grill to much fanfare and chic American dining like New York City has never seen.  We launched The 18th Floor of The Standard, New York with a star studded party that rivaled only our own 21st birthday.  We danced with Madonna.  We practiced our poses with Linda Evangelista.  We celebrated art with Marc Jacobs and Francois Nars during Art Basel at The Standard, Miami.  We even came THIS close to getting a cellphone beat down by Naomi Campbell, but we diverted that scenario quicker than you can scream "HELP!  Supermodel Smackdown!" We couldn't have asked for a more exciting 2009, but with 2010 here, we know it's only going to get better.

We have so much planned for you in this new year, and we want you right by our sides the entire time.  So stick with us, and we'll show you how it's done.  Here's wishing you a prosperous and Stan D'electably memorable 2010.

xoxo
Stan

NEW YEAR'S LOVE!

We never thought then that, over two decades later, we would be back in the Big Stan D'Apple celebrating the new year once again.  But this time, it's a little bit different than the last because one of little thing....COURTNEY LOVE!

Yes, our little Stan D'arlings!  You heard us correctly.  This year, Ms. Love herself will be gracing us with her presence on the 18th Floor of The Standard, New York for a very special performance at midnight. Tickets start from $250, and they're selling faster than we've been known to finish our martini....(lightly dirty, up, one olive!)  There will be a Dom Perignon toast at midnight, and if you haven't yet tried the menu at the top, you're missing out major!

For tickets, you can go to The Standard, New York site and buy away.  There are only a few left, so you have to buy NOW!  See you there, chic ones.

xo
Stan

HOW NOW WOW TOWEL?

One of our favorite moments during Art Basel in Miami Beach is the launch of the season's new artist created Wow Towels by the Art Production Fund.   These everyday items, reimagined by artists, are better known as Works on Whatever, and they turn us out on the daily.  Ever since the inception of these towels a few years back, we find it incredibly difficult to tan our supple bodies on anything else!  Why would you, right?

This year, artists Peter Doig and Yoshitomo Nara created two of the most exciting towels to date.  Nara's depiction of a young sleeping girl on a cotton towel measuring 60" x 70" is the perfect accessory to your bain de soleil on the isle of Mustique.  Too chic.

This season's towels are available for purchase via Shop The Standard, bien sur, and they're this season's must have winter accessory.  If you don't understand how a beach towel could be a winter accessory, then email us and we'll explain the life of jetting and setting which we like to think we lead.

xoxo
Stan

NO BUS LIKE RO-BUS!

Oh, our little Stan D'eliciously delectable darlings!  We can't believe we're here with you right now.  We hardly made it out of Art Basel alive.  As we told you The Standard, Miami was out of control and proved the only place to be during the week!  We were all a twitter with cultural stimulation...not to mention all the other kinds as well, but we're not going to go there in this posting!

It was too much fun playing with Bruce Weber's camera while Roberto Bolle watched in nothing but his trademark black boy shorts.  Francois Nars and Lorenzo Martone ran around the hotel property showing off their oversized prints from the 15x15 Project.  The bayside was blown away with The Whitney Museum's celebration of 75 years of Biennials.  The week drew to a close with The Misshapes licking up The Lido Lounge with Olivier Zahm and crew.  Phew!   

We haven't even gotten to the convention.  When we weren't busy at The Standard, we were over at the convention center trying to recoup our martini hangovers with some fine art.  And do you know how we got over to the center from The Standard?  No, Sillies.  We didn't walk.  So cute of you to think that though.  We took THE ROBUS...this season's Standard Art Mobile by Rostarr, the NYC based artist known the world over for his graphic works of art.

 
Rostarr, who coincidentally also created one of the Standard's highly coveted art scarves which are coming out very soon via Shop The Standard (check back here next week), spent only a couple of days tranforming our shuttle into a mobile work of art.  This was the ride to be in for the week.  You hadn't Baseled if you hadn't ridden the Ro-Bus. 

We're sorry if you missed it, but maybe you'll be able to catch next year?  Who knows?  Maybe we'll even be driving you around?  Don't worry though.  We never drink and drive.  We don't like to spill even a drop!

xo
Stan

STANDART BASEL!

Marc Jacobs as China Machado for Francois Nars' 15x15

We love the last days of November, not only because of Thanksgiving and all the caviar in which we indulge, but because we know that in just a few shorts days, the greatest of all art fairs will descend upon the fair city of Miami Beach.  Yes, our Stan D'arlings, Art Basel Miami Beach is here and now.  We love ourselves some art.  If we had lived in the 15th century, Michaelangelo's "David" would have been called Michaelangelo's "Stan".  You know it's true, but we digress...

The fair which officially opens on December 3rd and runs through the 6th will bring with it the world's top artists, gallerists, media, fashionistas, socialites, collectors and sun worshippers.  Yes, sun worshippers.  Some people just go down to Miami to lay out all day and party all night.  What?  We're not judging.  We've totally done just that in years past.

We don't want to toot our own horn, because if we did, we'd probably never leave the house, but again this year, The Standard, Miami is proving to be the mecca of all things Art Basel.  All the hottest parties, dinners and social functions are calling The Standard their homebase, and they are not apologizing for it.  

We can give you a quick rundown of events to tantalize the senses, but we can't extend you invitations to the parties because that would be uncouth, n'est-ce pas?  It's every man for himself during Basel, but we're sure we'll see you around at some point.

Firstly, Francois Nars and Chandelier Creative are celebrating 15x15, a project celebrating 15 years of iconic beauty by Nars. The exhibition featuring portraits of Marc Jacobs channeling China Machado, Daphne Guinness, Amanda Lepore, Isabella Rossellini, Shalom Harlow and countless otherwise will be on display at the hotel all week long.  You MUST make a pit stop to check it out.  

Next on the calendar is Bruce Weber's Robert Bolle: An Athlete In Tights book launch party.  Known as one of the world's most extraordinary dancers, Bolle spent three years collaborating with Weber to create this book featuring the athletic ability and stylistic grace for which he is famous.  With text by Bolle himself and Elsa Morante in addition to illustrations by Paul Cadmus and Jeremiah Goodman, this party will be as hot as the Hammam.

Finally, the Afterparty with The Misshapes for 101 Exhibit with performances featuring ThreeAsFour, Olivier Zahm of Purple Magazine, Doug Aitken and others, is going to blow the top off the weekend.  If you know what's good for you, make sure to wear a snap button shirt for easy access.  We're just saying...

Don't think we're just about the parties (even though parties are what we do best!)  We also like to nurture the arts in other ways.  "Six-Scents" is the second series of the limited edition perfume project with Philip Lim and many others featured in the hammam.  "Sweatshoppe" will be doing a graffiti performance at 8pm on December 3rd in the lobby.  Art Production Fund's WOW towels are making another comeback this year too while Creative Time is hijacking all the televisions in all The Standard Hotels nationwide with a video installation.  But you'll have to check back in all next week for more details on these fun projects.

As you can see from just this small sprinkling of Stan D'elirious glamour, StandART Basel is going to be one to be reckoned with for 2009.  Should you be in the area and should you want to imbibe in a lightly dirty martini, up, one olive, come find us in The Lido Lounge.  You really won't be able to miss us. 

xoxo
Stan

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

We're pretty thankful most of the time.  We're thankful for our incomparable beauty.  We're thankful for our extensive designer wardrobe.  We're even thankful for how much our friends envy us on the daily.  It's not always right to be thankful for envy, but in our world, it's just part of who we are, so we go with it. 

But in all Stan D'onesty, we are most thankful for YOU, our Stan D'elovely fans who sit at your home computers reading and rereading our words of the ages...loving and adoring our wisdom which are beyond our years.  Without you, we are almost 90% of ourselves!

Moving on to more important matters of gratitude and thanks...

The Standard Grill is throwing up its hands in thanksgiving with a special Thanksgiving Prix Fixe meal which is being offered in addition to the delectable standard a la carte menu.  On Thursday, November 26th, Chef Dan Silverman has whipped together a feast for the ages.  To start?  Apple-Fennel Soup served hot with pumpkin seed oil.  As entrée, he is bringing you Roast Turkey with Chestnut-Sausage Stuffing and Cranberry Relish.  Can you say addiction???  Don't even get us started.  We haven't even touched dessert yet.  Mastermind Pastry Chef Frederick Aquino has created the most delectable slice of ecstasy served in the form of Pumpkin Pie topped with fresh Whipped Cream.  The best part?  This three course meal made in Stan D'eaven is only $40!

You're welcome.

The Standard Grill is located at 848 Washington Street @13th Street. 
For reservations, please call 212-645-4100.

GREEN PINK CAVIAR!

Luscious lips and long tongues.  That was the criteria for Marilyn Minter's latest video project entitled Green Pink Caviar where she films women licking bakery products from underneath a glass pane.  Coincidentally, the last time we were filmed licking bakery products, it was in a small bakery on Madison Avenue in NYC and the video was taken by a security camera.  We guess we should have just paid for that cake, but whatever. 

If you attended any of Madonna's concerts this past year, you would have seen the video projected during M's performance of Candy Shop.  If you didn't make it to the concerts....(don't hate us, but we were backstage in Paris)...and if you're going to be in Los Angeles, then you're going to have your chance at viewing the 8 minute work of art.

Starting today through December 5th, the video is going to be on a 24 hour loop in the lobbies, on the balconies and on the in-room channels at The Standard, Hollywood and The Standard, Downtown Los Angeles.  Also, with thanks to For Your Art, the video will be shown on two HD billboards on Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood.  How many cars are going to drive off the road when coming across a long tongue licking up hot molten caramel!  

In addition, Minter worked exclusively with retailer Intermix on creating a Marilyn Minter handbag with a portion of the proceeds going to benefit Bright Pink, an organization which empowers high risk women to take care of their breast and ovarian health.  Art with a conscience.  That's what we're talking about!

INDO-CHIC!

Back in the 1980s, there was only one place in all of New York City to dine, and it was called INDOCHINE.  It's that simple.  Opened up by Brian McNally, and later taken over by the Stan D'eliciously chic Jean-Marc Houmard, Indochine reigned supreme, drawing every major power player in the world.  Do you want names?  Where do we start?  Madonna.  Calvin Klein.  Andy Warhol.  Valentino.  Julian Schnabel. Grace Jones.  Linda Evangelista.  Keith Haring.  Merryl Streep.  Anna Wintour.  Stan D'Arde.  Oh wait...that's us!  Anyway, you get the point.

Today, the restaurant still drives a crowd which is sought after by restaurants the world over.  We were there this past week, and Jean-Marc graced us with his presence at our table.  As we nibbled on Vietnamese Spare Ribs and Spicy Chicken Breast while sipping on our dirty martini, he came bearing gifts.  He graciously handed us a black Indochine tote bag with the new Indochine 25th Anniversary book inside!  The chicness doesn't end!

Jean-Marc told us that to celebrate the 25th anniversary, he decided to do a lmited edition book chronicling the two and a half decades of Indo-chicness, and here it was sitting in front of us at the table.  When we opened the box in which it came, we found the weighty book with an Indochine napkin and a pair of Indochine chopsticks laid out beneath.  The book covers the life of the restaurant and depicts the glamorously debauched history that only a handful have witnessed.

If you haven't been there yet, go there tomorrow!  If you haven't odered your book yet, do it today!  Maybe you'll finally catch a glimpse of Stan within its pages.

SUPERMODEL STAN!

Back in the 90s, we were OBSESSED with the Super Six.  Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Kate Moss, Cindy Crawford and Claudia Schiffer were the supermodels of the moment, with Linda declaring that she would not get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day.  We totally felt her pain, bien sur!  Actually, in our minds, it was the Super Seven, and we were the lone missing supermodel.  All those days spent posing in our designer duds were futile though....until now.

ALL A TWITTER!

Growing up in the French countryside brought with it a certain simplicity.  It was all about fine wines, good food, family, friends, glorious mornings, sunsets that streaked the sky a blood red and a solid community.  Nowadays, we feel like things have sped up to the speed of light and the community has gone from village to worldwide.

Technology is encompassing our lives, and being the chicsters that we are, we've jumped on board full throttle.  Our favorite thing to do is tweet things out on Twitter to our Stan D'elicious fans.  All day long it's about tweeting. Tweet this.  Tweet that.  Tweet.  Tweet.  Tweet.

This past summer, we were introduced to Jack Dorsey who founded this tweeterific online phenomenon, and we've become fast friends.  That's just one of the perks of being Stan.  You get to rub shoulders with your fellow influencers, if we may be so ego-driven to consider ourselves influencers.  J'Adore!

We've also garnered a vast following of fans, and we can't thank you all enough for being so loyal.  But what we really wanted to do is thank our favorite fellow tweeters for keeping it all so fun and deliriously delectable!  So let's get this party started...

FIERCE GRANDMA - One of the wittiest women on the web, Fierce Grandma keeps us in stitches regarding her daily adventures cavorting through New York City.

CHRIS BENZ - The hottest fashion designer on the scene right now.  Keeps it MAJOR by tweeting to his friends instead of picking up the phone.  Check out his label's twitter too!

STEPHEN WATSON - This former Men's Vogue editor has been a long time Stan fan, and we can't love him enough.  Actually, he asked us to model for one of his new clients.  More on that to come soon!

FASHIONISTA - Our good friend Abby Gardner is the editor of this style mecca.  She has been turning it out for years, and now the web is her runway!

We could go on and on with all the peeps we love on Twitter, but we're gonna stop and give you one final command.  You must follow The Standard Hotel family too!  The Standard, Downtown LA.  The Standard, Hollywood.  The Standard, Miami, and last but certainly not least, The Standard, New York.  Ain't no party like a Standard Hotel party!  Just shake yo' rump!

TWEET!

SAUSAGE FEST IN THE GARDEN OF BEERS!

Our friends don't believe us when we tell them that we like beer.  We had one friend call us a liar when we told her of our affinity for malt and hops.  Stan NEVER lies!  Jamais!  We love nothing more than a tall, ice cold, frosty pilsner.  Why must we be imprisoned within the walls of champagne wishes and caviar dreams?!  Life is just not fair sometimes, but we take it one day at a time, remembering that we're Stan D'eliciously gorgeous.

Today is a day of celebration for us because it is on this Monday, the 21st of September in the year 2009 that the Biergarten at The Standard, New York officially opens its doors.  Serving three different types of German beers, it's already become the go to spot for the chic set who are not afraid of carbs. 

My personal favorite is the Bitburger Premium Pilsner.  Drawing on almost 200 years of expertise, the full-bodied, light Bitburger Premium is brewed according to the German Purity Law. It is popular, dry, slightly bitter, with a hoppy taste, which positions this beer as Germany's #1 draft Beer.  There is also the Ayinger Weisse which pulls its flavors from banana and lemon.  Don't ask because we don't know either.  The last one is the Koestritzer Dark Bier which is Germany's most popular dark beer and which is most memorable for its accents of chocolate.  

With all that drinking come the hunger pangs.  We know we've all had them, and we didn't forget about you. That's why we brought on famed Chef Kurt Gutenbrunner to serve up some delectable sausage and pretzels.  Ready for this?  There's Grilled Bratwurst with Sauerkraut and Saltstick OR there's Cheddar Krainer also with Sauerkraut and Saltstick.  If you're not feeling salty, you can order the Weiss-Wurst with Sweet Mustard and Pretzel OR the Frankfurter Wurst with Sauerkraut and Pretzel.  You can also get a GIANT pretzel with mustard for only $7.

We haven't dealt this many Germans since we singlehandedly saved the day during the 1972 Munich Olympics, but again, we digress...

KNITTA PLEASE!

It's fashion week in New York City starting today, kids, and with it comes all types of fashion...couture, ready-to-wear, punk, hipster, goth, Euro and the ever so omnipresent....the FASHION FAUX PAS.  It's an exciting week filled supermodels, designers, furs, tweeds, stilettos, dinners, parties and our favorite part....CHAMPAGNE!  Yes, Stan D'arlings, champagne is our fuel for the week, and it keeps us from getting fashion WEAK, if you know what we mean.

This week, The Standard, New York is engaging in its own fashion statement with the help of yarn artist and pro-knitter, Magda Sayeg, and her fuzzy world entitled, Knitta Please!  Sayeg, known the world over as the knitting graffiti artist, works to redefine a craft that has been relegated to the attic of people's brains and dismissed by a limited vision for knitting's purpose, its function and its practitioners.  She has traveled the globe covering public objects in her yarns...lamp posts, mailboxes, trees, and one time, an entire BUS!

This week, Sayeg has descended upon our beloved Standard hotel and attacked the front plaza by covering all of the steel bollards with colorful cozies!  "Using a soft material like yarn softens the hard edge of typical graffiti and repositions the typical perception of knitting as public art," Sayeg told us when we ran outside to find out who was having her way with our poles!  She was too cute to tell to stop, so we let her on her way, and the graffiti is too Stan D'gorgeous!

The installation will remain up through the 17th of September, so during this crazy week of fashion, swing by and check it out on your way to The Standard Grill for dinner!  Just don't steal the cozies!

TOUR DE STAN!

Once upon a time, when we were 13 years old, we were summering in the South of France, and we had received word that the Tour de France was coming through a neighboring town!  We were ecstatic over this news as we had DREAMED all of our (short-lived) lives to compete in this race of all races!  For weeks, we took our BMX PK Ripper and rode it through the vineyards, training for the big day.

Well, that big day came, and we anxiously awaited on the sidelines for our chance to join in racing against the greats.  The bikers turned the corner, and we braced ourselves. We felt the fierce wind of the bikers flying by us.  We grabbed our handlebars, and pedaled into the swarm of bikes, our feet moving at the speed of light.  We were finally part of the race! 

Our adrenaline was pumping, and our little heart was POUNDING in our throats.  After about 100 yards into the race, we felt a forceful hand grab us by the back of neck and swiftly pull us to the sidelines.  It was security.  We had been caught!  Our dreams had been completely shattered in one fell swoop.  We never really did get over the pain of that fateful day... until now.

This month, SE Racing and DC Shoes debut their third collaboration together with The PK Ripper Fixed Gear bicycle.  Only 1000 were produced for the United States, and out of those, The Standard, New York further customized 20 bikes only for you, our Stan D'elovelies!  These Standard bikes come in matte black with the hotel's signature black and gold color scheme adorning its every detail.  The front rim is gold while the back one is black.  We also added a small anodized gold "The Standard" logo badge on the seat tube letting everyone know how Stan D'elicious you are!

So how do you get your hands on one of these beauties?  You have two options.  The first one being checking in to the hotel and taking advantage of 15 of these bikes to use at your disposal.  The other 5 bikes are avaialble for sale at Shop The Standard at the bargain basement price of $1,250!  Okay, well, that's not THAT bargain basement, but they are UBER-limited edition, and these bikes are the Golden Chalice of the bike world.  You know we only want you to have the BEST.  Buy it now because with only 5 on the books, they're going to go fast!  Faster than us in the Tour de France when we were 13 years old.  

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY!

It was during this time that we discovered the guilty pleasures of raw fish, grilled meats and vinegar soaked rice.  We've never been able to find a place in New York which even comes close to the native delights of the land of the rising sun....until now.

A few weeks ago, a friend of ours took us to a place so secret, even HE couldn't remember where it was.  It was called BOHEMIAN. (Even their website is hidden as you'll notice.)  This small living room of a restaurant only seats 25 people and is tucked away in a tiny corner of the NoHo district.  Once you find the hidden door and make your way down the hallway, you'll come across a glass door through which you must enter.  There, beyond that glass door, is a world of Japanese intrigue which will make you believe that you've been transported to a modernist world of Japanese form and function.

The menu is filled with the classics but what you'll want to focus on are the Ice Bucket oof Oysters and Bohemian's Washu-Gyu Mini Burger.  Who knew a Japanese burger would be so good?  While they wait for their liquor license, you'll have to provide your own alcohol, but that's never been a problem for us.  Kirin Ichiban, please!

We'll give you the address, but we're sure you still won't find it.  Let us know.

Bohemian, 57 Great Jones Street, 212-260-2333.

THE END OF SLIDESHOWS!

Back in the day, when we were growing up, the only way we could share our photos of our travels to the far corners of the earth was to take our 35mm film to the photo lab and get little slides made which in turn we had to drop into a projector which displayed our photos on the wall in our living room for all of our friends and family to see.  Yes, kids, it all sounds very archaic, but it's the way it was done.

Today, we share our pics via a multitude of ways, but our favorite thus far is a company which claims itself as "The End of Slideshows".  ANIMOTO!

This site allows you to upload your pictures and video clips, set them to music, create a fun video of your escapades and then share them with all your friends.   We made one after we played around on the roof top of The Standard, Downtown LA at the Quiksilver party.  We'd love to show you that video, but it got an NC-17 rating from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences!  We're kidding.  No, we're not.  Yes, we are.

We urge you to make your own videos shot at The Standards across the nation and send them to us. Lounging the pool.  Sitting at the bar.  Chilling on your balcony overlooking the LA skyline...if you can see the LA skyline through all that smog!  Check out our video from the Quiksilver party a few weeks ago.  We know your videos won't be this cool, but you can at least try!

Animoto is the only way to slidewhow.  Make it work.

QUIKSILVER: BREAKING NEWS!

Stan loves a party more than anyone else we know.  Give us a martini, a pair of Dior Homme sunglasses, a stripper pole and some pulsating beats, and we're good to go.  Although, the one thing we love more than a party is a pool party, and that's exactly what we had last weekend when we celebrated The Standard Hotel's boardshort collaboration with Quiksilver on the rooftop of The Standard, Downtown LA. We wish you could have been there because it was over the top!

All of Los Angeles' Stan D'elovelies showed up to take part in the festivities and to get their hands on a pair of shorts and bikinis being sold through the first ever swimsuit vending machine.  (The machine was also dispensing condoms just in case anyone wanted to "lose" their boardshorts later.  Safety first!)

There were black and red jello shots to match the Standard Downtown's boardshorts.  Performances by Dawes and Warpaint sent some revelers into an aquatic frenzy while the rest of the crew used the Quiksilver water guns to attack the party people contorting their bodies on the the giant Twister board!  

Our favorite part of the festivities was the life size "photobooth" where people were posing for pictures in their new boardshorts with vintage Quiksilver mannequins.  All pics are uploaded to The Standard's Facebook page. Make sure to upload yours if you haven't already.

And what's a party without gifts???  If you were one of the lucky ones to garner an invite, you probably walked away with Quiksilver's mismatched flip flops made in the same graphics as the shorts.  Too chic!  We've been mismatching since we were seven years old.  There was also on-site custom t-shirt screening where you got to pick your print, design your t-shirt and silkscreen a one of a kind tee to take home with you.  We're wearing ours right now!

We don't want to drive you crazy with all the fun details of a party you missed, so we made a video for you which you can watch by clicking here.  And if you haven't bought your limited edition Standard Quiksilver boardshorts yet, visit Shop The Standard to see if they haven't yet run out.  If so, email us and maybe we'll give you ours.....but we probably won't!  Sorry!  

xo
Stan

WALK OF SHAME!

The other morning while we were walking through the lobby of the The Standard, New York, we saw a breathtaking woman in a gorgeous white Calvin Klein dress and Christian Louboutin heels heading towards the front door.  Although we thought it peculiar that she was so dressed up so early in the day, we still complemented her on her ensemble.  She smiled coyly upon receiving our kind words, and replied "The dress looked better last night!"  AH!  It all made sense at that one moment.  This young woman was about to embark on her Walk of Shame.

The Walk of Shame has been ongoing for centuries before us.  This is when you are forced to go home after a night of unbridled passion with a love who you have taken at a place other than your own bedroom.  In the morning, you must don the clothing which you had on the night before and make the trek home, knowing that everyone who sees you knows exactly what you have done.  The feeling of embarassment is crippling.  Your clothes are wrinkled because they were lying on the floor all night long.  Your head is pounding because you indulged in one too many glasses of Dom Perignon.  Your mouth feels like the an ashtray because you didn't have a tootbrush on you.  But now there is a solution to all your problems...

We'd like to introduce to you the Walk of Shame Kit.  This kit is everything a young lady with a highly charged "personal life" will need to indlulge in her nightly excursions.  It comes equipped with a dress for the morning, flip flops to save your feet from those heels, a backpack, sunglasses, pre-pasted toothbrush, wipes, a call/don't call leave behind note card and a breast cancer awareness bracelet....and all of this for only $34.99.  That's worth its weight in kisses if you ask us! 

So no longer do you need to worry when going out on the town.  The only thing you'll need to worry about is fitting the kit in your CHANEL Paris-Moscou bag.

QUIKSILVER IS ANYTHING BUT STANDARD!

THE HIGHLINE GET US HIGH!

Back in the day, before Manhattan's Meatpacking District became overrun with clubs, restaurants, designer boutiques and girls just looking for a good time with Mr. Right Now, it was actually a place for packing meat.  Don't get dirty.  We actually mean packing meat as in beef! 

Back in the late 19th century, the trains that brought the meat down to the meatpacking district were causing so many street level accidents that the city decided to build the Highline, an elevated train track stretching from 34th Street down to Spring Street.  The Highline eliminated the risk of trains crashing into pededstrian traffic, and it allowed the trains to enter buildings directly, effectively depositing their cargo at their desired destinations.

In the 1950s, the growth of interstate trucking led to a decrease in rail service.  In the 1960s, the southernmost section of the Highline was demolished, and finally, in the 1980s, the last train ever ran the Highline carring three car loads of frozen turkeys.  Don't ask us how we know all this.  Maybe we were a train conductor in another.  We do love those little hats they wear.

Well, after having been closed for almost 20 years, a couple of men by the names of Joshua David and Robert Hammond founded The Friends of The Highline, an organization set to preserve the Highline and convert it into a public space.  

Today, after 10 years of hard work, The Highline is open to the public realized through sleek and modern design while staying true to its original make up.  Old train tracks poke through the grass and bushes which were planted by The Friends of The Highline or which were brought here by birds dropping seeds.  Wooden benches curve up from the concrete floor and lounge chairs roll back and forth across the tracks on vintage wheels.  It's an incredible new addition to the Manhattan, and you want to know the best part?  It runs right through The Standard, New York.  Click the link for a live video feed.

THE STANDARD GRILL!

A few years back, whenever we made a quick jaunt over to New York City, we always went to Lever House, a restaurant off of Park Avenue in Midtown, to sit at the bar, to sip a martini (or three) and to indulge in one of our guiltiest pleasures...tempura lobster tails.  They were the most delectable morsels of heaven that ever touched our lips.  Well, that is if we're only talking food here.  Three moist and buttery lobster tails dipped in tempura batter and then fried to a light crisp.  They were beyond anything we had ever tasted.  That kind of genius could only be the work of one man, Chef Dan Silverman.

Now, that culinary mastermind is our personal chef.  Well, he's not our OWN personal chef, per se, but we like to think of him as such.  He's the new executive chef at The Standard Grill at The Standard, New York which opened its doors last week.  Not only has he surpassed our expectations with his new daily changing menu, but he has shown us that traditional meat market chop house staples can be recreated into modern classics.  

On any given day, we like to start our dinner with a dozen oysters.  West coast Fanny Bays are our favorite followed closely by a creamy Malpeque.  Then, we like to indulge in the Charred Spanish Octopus served with sweet potato and chili.  For our main course, we can never decide amongst the Halibut Hollandaise, the Chilled Lobster Louis or the DeBragga & Spitler New York Strip Steak served wtih Duck Fat Smashed Potatoes.  When we're REALLY ravenous, we dive into the Million Dollar Whole Roast Chicked and French Fries for Two.  It's an entire chicken pan roasted in an iron skillet and brought to a brown crisp and served with more Duck Fat Smashed Potatoes.

Currently, the restaurant is only serving dinner and late night from 5pm - 4am, but by the end of the summer, breakfast and lunch will be served as well.  We cannot wait to see what Chef Dan pulls together then.  

The Standard Grill is located at 848 Washington Street.  For reservations, please call 212-645-4100.

WE'VE MISSED YOU!

Oh, our little Stan D'elovelies!   We've missed you, and we know we've been gone for a long time, but we have a good excuse.  We've been sooooo busy helping with the opening of The Standard Grill at The Standard New York, which we'll tell you about shortly. 

Then we left for a couple of weeks chasing rainbows in tropical locales.  Barbados, Costa Rica, Panama, Belize and New Jersey.  Okay, we know New Jersey isn't a tropical locale, but in some parts of downtown Newark, one can find a homeless man sleeping under a palm tree, and that's pretty tropical if you ask us!

So we're back, and we promise not to leave you hanging like that ever again. 

XOXO  Stan

SWIMSUIT SEASON!

The beginning of summer is our favorite time of the year.  We dine al fresco.  We down copious amounts of Andre Balazs Rosé wine.  And we travel travel travel!  But our favorite part of the summer is shopping for swimsuits.  We only wear designer, so clearly, our choices aren't as varied as they are for the rest of you.  Moschino fits us best.  Burberry offers us the most colorful prints.  And Gucci is, well, Gucci.  You just can't go wrong.

The one thing that drives us crazy through the process is that the famed French swimwear company, ERES, does not make men's suits.  For over 40 years, ERES has been iconic in the swimwear industry thanks to their creative innovation, their simply chic style and their incomparable fit.  Why don't they make men's suits, we don't know.  The Stans of the world need proper wear for their bain de soleil, n'est-ce pas?

Putting all of our bitterness aside, we're uber-excited for next weekend because ERES is gracing us with their presence on Sunset Beach on Shelter Island for a preview of their 2009 Collection.  Models will be parading all through the property while donning the latest in Parisian swimwear!  We LOVE that.

The presentation will take place on Saturday June 13, 2009 from 3pm - 6pm.  Make sure to RSVP or you'll be brutally shunned from the festivities.  Okay, maybe you won't, but you should RSVP regardless.  See you there!

LOVE DRUNK SUMMER!

Summer has always been our favorite time of year.  From our early childhood spent frolicking on the rocky beaches of the Côte d'Azur to our adolescent years when we learned the pleasures of island hopping in the Caribbean, summer was a fantastical time of leisure, sun, sand and club sandwiches, bien sur! 

But it wasn't until the summer of 1991 that we really learned what the season was all about.  For it was at that time that the sweet nectar known as Rosé wine touched our sumptuous lips.  The dry pink liquid sparkled in our glass and when we brought it close to our lips, its fragrance ovewhelmed us and sent us into a dizzying state of orgasmic bliss.  We were forever hooked.  

So now that the sun is slowly warming up the beaches and darkening our supple bodies, we have been yearning for a glass of crisp rosé, and we found it when Sunset Beach on Shelter Island opened its doors last weekend for the season.  

Ladies and Stan D'entlemen, we'd like to introduce to you the latest vintage of André Balazs' Sunset Beach Rosé.  Produced alongside Wolffer Estates on Long Island's North Shore, this special reserve is filled with elegant hints of peach, pear and gooseberry and overwhelms the palette with vibrant notes of fresh apple and melon.  To say that after only one week, our blood is has been completely diluted in this rosé would be a lie, and we would never lie to you, our Stan D'arlings!

Sunset Beach Rosé is available at select André Balazs hotels and restaurants this summer including: Chateau Marmont, Los Angeles; The Mercer, New York; The Raleigh, Miami Beach; The Standard Miami Beach, The Standard New York and of course Sunset Beach, Shelter Island.

HOLD ON TO YOUR HORSES!

When we were just young Stan D'Adolescents our parents bought us a pony.  We had never really dreamed of owning a pony like most other little kids, but we were excited to have him.  We named him Jean Pierre de Beaumarchand des Chevaux, and we loved him so.  We would take long walks along the river's edge.  We would frolick and roll around with him in the autumn leaves.  We braided his tail every morning and fed him apples which we picked from the orchard behind our petit chateau.

But then one day, it all changed.  Our father was having no more of this frilly equine love affair, and he demanded we put the horse to good use.  So we enrolled in polo lessons.  If we're going to play any sport, it's going to be the sport of KINGS!  To this day, we can still compete with the best of them.

That is we are over the moon with the news that Veuve Clicquot Champagne is sponsoring the second annual Manhattan Polo Classic next weekend in New York City!  The match will take place on Governor's Island and will feature our good friend Prince Harry who is making his first US appearance to date.  The match will be open to the public from noon with free grand picnic areas for the masses, but if you want to watch polo in style, you'll have to buy a ticket.

VIP tickets cost $500 for a picnic for two where a champagne lunch will be served fieldside.  All proceeds from ticket sales will benefit Sentebale,a charity started by Prince Harry to benefit the lives of Lesotho's orphans.

For more information on the event and ticket sales, please visit VC Season or by calling or emailing the Sentebale Benefit Office on 212-763-8596 or sentebale@cmevents.net.

MEATPACKING DESIGN WEEK 2009!

We don't do, wear or say anything if it's not designed. We only wear clothes that are designer, preferably European. Our homes are usually the works of famed architects. Even the chairs we sit in have been carefully thought out to the smallest detail. We just don't see the point in anything that isn't created with the utmost attention to style, form and function. It's just the way we do, our gorgeous Stan D'esigners.

So, where does one go for the latest in design? It's the Meatpacking District, bien sur! This 20 square block area on the west side of Lower Manhattan is home to the most innovative artists, designers and architects who have created an incomparable destination for architecture, fashion and design. This weekend, the district will play host to Meatpacking District Design 09 where the industry's brightest stars will be on display to discuss everything you wanted to know about design.

Of course, and we know you don't have to ask, the epicenter of it all will be The Standard New York, and you know we will be right in the heart of it all. If you can't be with us in the Big Apple this weekend, don't fret, because we'll be coming at you live via our Stan D'Arde Twitter page as well as the above technologically advanced Twitter feed which will give you up to the minute happenings from us and all our of our friends.

For a complete list of the weekend's events, click here.

Don't hate us because we're designer.

675 BAR

Back before the Meatpacking District in New York City became home to The Standard New York, it was a dark and seedy place where raw meat was processed and packed up for delivery to local butchers by day and tranvestite street walkers roamed the dimly lit streets by night.  It was a Stan D'ream!  No one dared cross 9th Avenue and 14th Street....except for the brave and clinically insane.  Yes, Stan D'arlings, we were one of those people.  We still can't figure out whether we were just brave or clinically insane, but we digress...

One of the places we used to frequent was a subterranean lair which was bathed in red light, filled with smoke and overwhelmed you with the smell of cheap grain alcohol.  It was the epitome of trashy CHICNESS if you could find ithe hidden entrance.  Email us if you dare, and we will regale you with stories which are not suitable for print on these pages.

Anyway, those days are long gone.  The district now plays host to the jet set crowd (and a few undesirables) with restaurants, designer boutiques and more.  Last week, we dared to face our demons and went back to that hidden entrance which wasn't so hidden anymore, and we found that the dark bar of our past had been transformed into an uber-pretty little place called 675 Bar. 

The place is filled with cozy little nooks into which you and your special friend my cozy up.  It has a foosball table.  We love us some foosball, and it even comes equipped with a giant horse statue which stands guard over the pool table.  Our favorite part of the bar is all the 1960s vintage pieces of furniture and lighting fixtures found in second hand shops all over the city.  They do wonders for the color coded vintage book wall!

675 Bar is located at 675 Hudson Street.  212-699-2410.

MUSING MODELS!

Inspiration comes in various shapes and sizes, but for the fashion industry that inspiration is usually about six feet tall, 120 pounds and comes with pelvic bones that jut out so sharply that they could tear the haute couture right off the body!  Ladies and Stan D'entlmen, we are talking about The Supermodel.

Ever since Pat Cleveland stormed the runways of Yves Saint Laurent in the 1970s, the supermodel has become a trailblazer for an industry whose ultimate goal is to bring beauty to the masses.  She has been a face for fashion houses across the world.  She has inspired designers to create gowns only goddesses are fit to don.  She has sent phototgraphers reeling into worlds of fantasy only their lenses can bring to life.

Stan D'Lovelies.  We don't have to tell you that we are all supermodels and life is but a runway!

This is why we are beyond ourselves this month when The Metroplitan Museum of Art opens its latest exhibition The Model As Muse: Embodying Fashion. The showing features haute couture, ready-to-wear, photographs and videos of the models who built the foundation of an industry.  Spanning 50 years, from 1947 to 1997, the most influential model of each respective epoch is depicted in all her glorious beauty.

We wonder in which era the museum chose to feature US!  We were big in Japan in the 1980s.

The Model as Muse exhibition runs from May 6 - August 9, 2009.  The Metropolitan Museum of Art is located at 1000 Fifth Avenue @ 82nd Street, New York City.  212-535-7710.

TWEET! TWEET! TWEET!

We are not ones to follow trends or to conform to the beliefs and norms of others, but we have totally fallen in love with Twitter.  We know.  We know.  You totally think that we're Stan D'Predicable, but we are SO not.  We J'Adore being able to tell you what we're doing on the go, and that's why we're doing it.  We're doing it all for you our Stan D'Lovelies!

When we're out with friends in Manhattan, and we just got into the most secret little bar which you would never find without our help, we're gonna send you a tweet.  When walk by Barney's in Beverly Hills, and we see that perfect little Chanel clutch you've been searching for, we'll send you a tweet.  On the beach in Miami, when we need you to swing by and bring us some Bain de Soleil Orange Gelee sunscreen, you know where you'll find us.  Tweeting away on our twitterberry, twitting our twats into a frenzy!

So, there's only one thing for you to do right now.  Go to the Stan D'Arde page on Twitter and FOLLOW US! We're gonna kick Ashton Kutcher's twittering little behind, and by the time we're done, they're going to have to rename the site Stan D'Witter!

NINE FINE LIVES

We are no strangers to the art world.  When Michaelangelo said "I saw the angel in the marble, and I carved to set her free", we like to think that he speaking of us.  (But of course we would.  We're Stan D'Egomaniacs!)  Art is the blood that courses through our veins.  Without art (and the occasional handmade Bottega Veneta men's briefcase), we are absolutely nothing.  

Over the years, Los Angeles has seen its art scene flourish and burgeon in ways unlike anywhere else in the country, and we like to think that it's because of the expanse and privacy which the city affords its artisans.  With small pockets of rolling hills, wide expanses and quiet seclusion, the city of angels affords the artist the freedom to create, to research, and to explore the obsessions which very often mirror the city in which dreams are made.

Currently, UCLA's Hammer Museum is featuring the works of nine local artists in their fifth biannual exhibition entitled Nine Lives: Visionary Artists from LA which focuses on four generations and 125 works by Lisa Anne Auerbach, Julie Becker, Llyn Foulkes, Charles Irvin, Hirsch Perlman, Victoria Reynolds, Kaarl Upson, Jeffrey Vallance and Charlie White.

The Hammer Museum is located at 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA.  310-443-7000.

VIVA CASA VEGA!

When we were teenagers, we were completly obsessed with Clueless the movie.  It was the story of a young girl named Cher who was trying to navigate the treacherous waters of living in Beverly Hills while trying to maintain a proper teenage skincare regimen.  She was living our life.  The mansion in the hills.  The popularity at her school.  The uber-fashions that all of her friends didn't understand but yet completely envied.  We died!

We came to Beverly Hills shortly thereafter, and we made it our life mission to track down Cher and let her know that we totally related.  What else was a Stan D'Teenager to do really?  So one day while frantically combing the streets of Beverly Hills for our blonde nemesis, we received a phone cal on our cell phone telling us that Cher was at a place in the San Fernando Valley called Casa Vega.  We were confused by this casa thing but we didn't ask any questions.  Must.  Find.  Cher.

When we arrived, we were told that she had already left.  Maybe we shouldn't have stopped by the Chateau Marmont for that half- caf double latte with foam and a sprinkling of cinnamon powder, but when in Los Angeles, one does as the Angelenos do, but we digress.

After our tears dried on our Hermes ascot, we lifted our head and opened our eyes to find ourselves in a mid-century Mexican wonderland.  Red vinyl booths lined the walls, wrought iron dividers with brass trimmings separated the tables and colorful Christmas lights in dizzying numbers were strung from the low lying ceilings.  All around us, senoritas in traditional Mexican garb were running around bringing freshly fresh tortilla chips and cold salsa to diners who were sipping on frosty margaritas out of salt rimmed glasses.  What was this place?

We learned that Casa Vega has been a landmark institution to the locals for over 50 years.  Enchiladas covered in molten cheese, spicy refried bean nachos and chicken flautas are all a way of life.  Ever since that fateful night, Casa Vega has become a way of our lives as well.  

Casa Vega is located at 13301 Ventura Blvd in Sherman Oaks, CA.  818-788-4868.

U*TIQUE!

Ever since we learned how to crawl, we've been trying to make our way to some of the world's chicest shopping desintations.  Our first words were uttered on the rue Faubourg Saint Honore in Paris.  "Yves Saint Laurent" we said with arms outstretched, and our mother squealed in delight.  It wasn't long thereafter that we learned the ins and outs of Madison Avenue in New York City, and by the time we were five years old, the shopkeepers on Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles were referring to us as Monsieur D'Arde and serving us juice boxes on silver platters.  Destiny has a funny way of working its magic.

Shopping was our religion and the House of Chanel was our basilica.  There is nothing like being waited on hand and foot while curating your next season's wardrobe...but all that is about to change.

Not too long ago, we received word of a revolutionary new way of shopping.  We heard rumors that a luxury retail machine was headed our way.  It was a machine inspired by the future people said.  Shopkeepers will exist no more.  We couldn't believe it.  Who would bring us our champagne while we chose between the chinchilla and mink trimmings on our leather bomber jackets?  We were scared and excited all at the same time.

Ladies and Stan D'Lovelies, we would like to introduce you to U*Tique, the future in luxury retailing.  This sleekly designed automated store offers the finest in beauty, fragrance and fashion with nothing but a touch of your finger and a swipe of your credit card.  A monitor on the "storefront" provides you with invaluable information on the product you're about to purchase and when you're ready to buy, a tiny robot who lives inside swiftly dispenses your purchase to you immediately.  

Each "store" will be customized to the surroundings in which it resides.  Forgot your Fendi lock when going to the gym?  U*Tique.  Need a jasmine candle when checking into the Standard New York?  U*Tique.  Did you lose your bottle of Chanel No. 5 on your way to your date?  U*Tique!

The first "store" opens next week, April 23rd, at the Studio at Fred Segal in Santa Monica, CA. 

U*Tique is the new Boutique.  Retailers beware.

OH, RICKY, YOU'RE SO FINE!

Stan is a Leo.  When you're born in the most powerful of fire signs, you're inevitably narcissitic, incredibly loyal, abnormally funny and obnoxiously narcissistic.  Did we already mention that one?  We can't seem to get passed it because we LOVE ourselves in a way that is illegal in most states. 

Also, because we're Kings of the Kingdom, we have a gorgeous head of hair that is silky, shiny and perfectly set at any hour of the day.  Of course the only thing that could make our hair even better than it is already is if it were as long and golden as The Amanda pictured above, but it's not, so we're moving on.

It's not that easy to keep our hair looking as supremely sumptuous as it does on the daily, and that's why we need some help.  The only place to go for that kind of help is Ricky's in New York City.  It's a beauty aficionado's mecca of sorts.  One which finds everyone including men, women, children and some long-haired Brussels Griffons flocking to its 21 locations all over the city.  The stores offer everything from hairsprays, gels, blow dryers, makeup, wigs, hair extensions, tanning oils, hair accessories and an infinite spectrum of dyes.  We once lost our mother in the concrete jungle known as Manhattan, and we went to the Ricky's in SoHo and found her in aisle 8!  We're not lying when we tell you they have EVERYTHING there.

Do not despair oh South Beach Sun Worshipers.  There's also a Ricky's in Miami Beach on Lincoln Road.  Stock up on suntan lotion now.

Don't hate us because we're beautiful.

TOP SHOP!

New Yok City has been all a twitter this week.  Yes, partly because we came back into town...thank you to those of you who were kind of enough to call and to send flowers.  But the real reason the city had a semi-meltdown was because we brought back with us from London the UK's most favorite supermodel, Kate Moss. 

When she told us over lunch that she was considering heading over to New York City for the launch of TopShop next month but she wasn't yet sure, we grab her by the wrist, threw her in a cab, took her to Heathrow and dropped her in a seat in coach.  What?  We couldn't have her in Business class with us.  There's only enough champagne for one of us, if you know what we mean.

Anyway, for those of you who don't know, Topshop is the UK's greatest fashion gift to the United States since Sweden gave us H&M.  They've got the trendiest fashions for women including shoes and bags!  And what's better?  They've also got TopMan for all you boys who are too embarrassed to admit to loving to shop!  Don't be scared.

TopShop and TopMan are located at 478 Broadway, New York City.

VOICE OVER!

We travel the world more than anyone we know.  We've been to places on this green earth that even God probably doesn't know about.  Wherever we go, we always three very close friends with us...Madonna, Edith Piaf and George Michael.  Yes, we know.  Edith Piaf is dead, but we never said that she herself was with us on our trips.  We live La Vie En Rose through her music.  And while Madonna is too busy adopting African babies and George Michael is overwhelmed trying to find new ways in which to lewdly conduct himself, we still send them postcards because we're constantly thinking of our friends.

The last time we climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to watch the sunrise over the African lowlands, we were blasting George's Freedom 90 on our new iPod shuffle.  And that's the truth!  You want to know what else is the truth?  When we pushed play on the iPod, that damn thing said outloud to us "George Michael...Freedom '90"!  We thought we were hallucinating from the lack of oxygen at 19,340 feet up.  Did this little thing just speak to us?!?!

We had to make sure we weren't losing it, so we went to the next song, and the thing said to us "Madonna....Express Yourself".  Turns out this little gadget has a new feature called VoiceOver which enables it to tell you what song is playing and who is singing it.  It can also tell you the names of your playlists opening up a whole new way to navigate your music.  And when you're beginning to hallucinate on the top of heighest point in Africa, you'll need all the help you can get.  

Now, we never leave home without it, and for only $79, you probably shouldn't either.

PILLOW TALK!

There are nights when we go to bed, and we lay there all alone wondering why we are laying there all alone.  Is it that people are too intimidated by us?  Is it our perfect hair?  Maybe it's our flawless skin?  Or it could be the gorgeous five o'clock shadow that helps to accentuate the perfect slope of our nose which many people have said reminds them of the marble statues of the Roman gods as created by the masters during the Renaissance?  We don't know anymore, and we're a little bit tired of our cold 800 thread count Egyptian cotton Sferra sheets.

But this month, our favorite group of art curators, Art Production Fund, in conjunction with their Works On Whatever, are bringing us Pillow Talk Cases by Jonathan Horowitz. These cases are pairs of pillowcases silk-screened with the names of iconic pop couples and are currently on view in his survey exhibition at PS1/ MoMA through September 14.

So if you're feeling a little taboo, you can sleep with Lindsay & Sam or Jack & Ennis.  Or if you want a little presidential action, you can snuggle up with Barack & Michelle.  Personally, we have a robot fetish, so we're gonna sizzle our circuits with R2-D2 and C3-PO....but don't tell our Macbook Air.  It might get jealous.

CIAO, BELLA!

 

Once upon a time, when we were just wee little Stan D'Babies, we remember visiting a small town in the Italian countryside where the air was sweet, the rolling hills were covered in tall blades of glass and lunch was served al fresco under a sprawling trellis covered in a lush grapevine.  It was just us and our parents indulging in spaghetti carbonara, fresh mozzarella, vine ripe tomatoes and overwhelming chalices of vintage Valpolicella from the local vineyards.  Okay.  Okay.  We were drinking milk out a bottle, but don't think that luscious red wine went unnoticed by our still developing taste buds!

We never forgot that magical afternoon, and just last week, we were able to relive it for a night when we visited Scuderia, the latest addition to the Marchetto family's collection of trattoria's which include the famous Da Silvano and Da Silvano Bistecca. 

The menu is a light and simple nod to the comfort food of the old country.  Our personal favorites are the Polpette, meatballs served in a rich tomato sauce, the Arancini, balls of fluffy risotto fried to a golden crisp and the Pizza al'Occhio di Bue which has a fresh egg baked right into the center and is served covered in a thin bed of spinach.

Should you have room left after you've devoured your weight in meatballs, the Nutella pizza for dessert is why the word sinful was created!

Scuderia is located at 10 Downing Street.  For reservations, call 212-206-9111.

STAN! OVER HERE! STAN! STAN!

We love our photo to be taken just as much as the next person, but whenever we're in New York City, we seem to get harassed by the paparazzi more than in any other city.  We're not sure what it is about the American media that makes them so aggressive.  Maybe it's our slicked back tresses or maybe it's our fresh off the runway men's fashions?  But whenever we leave our pied a terre on the East 65th Street, we get hit by a barrage of flashes and screams of "Stan!  Stan!  Over Here!  Stan!  Just one photo!  PLEEEEEASE!  STAAAAAAAAAAN!"

Needless to say, even with the guerilla style tactics of some lensmen, photography is one of the greatest and purest art forms ever created, and one of the greatest meccas in all of the world for the indulgence and reverence of this celluloid magic is the International Center of Photography in New York.

Currently, the center has four concurrent exhibitions, but the most exciting of them all is Munkacsi's Lost Archive. Hngarian born Martin Munkasci was a pioneer of the medium with his works inspiring the likes of Henri Cartier-Besson and Richard Avedon.  After his death in 1963, Munkasci's entire library of glass photo templates went missing, but just recently, it was found in the attic of a house in Connecticut!  We love that story.

The exhibition runs through May 4, 2009.

SIX FEET UNDER HOLLYWOOD!

One of the only celebrity sightings we've ever had was when we were using the men's restroom in the Marais district of Paris.  We were just coming out of a small boulangerie when we accidentally bumped into a young gentleman.  When we looked up to apologize, we realized that that the gentleman was none other than famed actor of television and film, Mr. Dan Akroyd!  We know.  We couldn't believe it either.

Well, when you get to Los Angeles, you're going to be fending off celebrities left and right.  They come at you in swarms out there.  Believe us!  But if they don't, and you want to see a celebrity, we've got one sure fire way to do so. Visit them at their final resting place.  We just J'ADORE celebrity cemetaries.

At Westwood Memorial Park, you can visit Truman Capote, Rodney Dangerfield, Burt Lancaster and Peggy Lee.  If you want to see John Candy, Bing Crosby, Rita Hayworth and Bela Lugosi, you'll have to go to Holy Cross Cemetary in Culver City.

It is argued that the coolest, strangest and most high-tech cemetry in the world is the Hollywood Forever Cemetary where film royalty such as Cecil B. DeMille, Douglas Fairbanks, Johnny Ramone and Rudolph Valentino find their home.  The funeral chapel is equipped for live worldwide webcasts.  Touch screen consoles throughout the grounds allow family and friends of the deceased to watch video clips of their loved ones.

When we finally move on to the Standard hotel in the sky, we're gonna be buried in Lausanne, Switzerland.....right next to Coco Chanel.

STUDIO TOUR DE FORCE!

Los Angeles is Hollywood and Hollywood is Los Angeles.  They're one in the same, and when we say Hollywood, we mean the movie industry in general, not the town in specific, because any Stan re-D'Arde knows that Hollywood is part of Los Angeles and not the other way around.  Wait.  Is anyone else totally confused or is it just us?  Moving on and to the point...

Since the city of Los Angeles completely embodies the movie industry, you can't go anywhere in town without finding something to tickle your movie going fancy, but there is nowhere more exciting to go than directly to the film factories themselves, or in this case, the movie studios.

All studios offer the general public tours of their lots.  You can visit Paramount Studios where Nip/Tuck and Dr. Phil are filmed for only $35 dollars a person.  For a relatively cheaper ($8.50 a person) and shorter (70 minutes) experience, you can take the NBC Studio Tour to see where The Tonight Show with Jay Leno or Days of Our Lives are filmed.

But the MOTHER of all tours still remains the Universal Studios Hollywood Tour which features actual sets from Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds, Wysteria Lane from Desperate Housewives and most famously the mechanical shark from JAWS.  Tickets prices vary depending on how many days you stay, but no matter how long it is, it will be unlike anything you've seen before.

FASHION INSTITUE OF DESIGN AND MAJORNESS!

When we go to the movies, there are times when we can't keep up with the action only because we're so enthralled by the spectacular costume design being paraded on screen.  From the tiny details in the stitching on a top coat to the brightly colored feathers adorning the headdresses from Apocalypto, every little piece fascinates us.

So if any of you are anything like us, you have to visit FIDM's 17th annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design exhibit where approximately 125 costumes from more than 20 films released in 2008 are on display.  The free exhibit includes a slew of current best costume design Oscar nominees like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Australia, Milk and The Duchess.

The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising is located at 919 South Grand Avenue (800-624-1200), and the exhibit runs from now until March 29th.

AMPAS!

The home to Oscar is the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science headquarters in Beverly Hills.  It is this building that is the epicenter to all of Hollywood and it's inner workings.  The Margaret Herrick Library, the world's most recognized research facility for cinema, is located here.  Also in the building is the Academy Film Archive which houses over 60,000 individual titles for research purposes alone.

The Academy headquarters are the only place to go for everything relatiing to film, and during the last five days leading up to the Awards, the Academy offers various events there which range from free to $5.00.  The evets include symposiums with the current crop of makeup and hairstylist Osar nominees, plus nominees in the feature animation and foreign language film categories.  Film clips will also be screenings.

For more information on these events visit Oscar Week Events.

OSCAR WILD!

February is one of our most favorite months because somehow we always end up in beautiful Los Angeles where it's always warm, the sun always shines and we're always looking gorgeous poolside at Standard Hollywood....but we digress.  We also love Los Angeles in February because it's Oscar season, and the city is buzzing with all things Academy Awards.

Stylists are running around trying to procure the most perfect dress for their clients, Sunset Plaza is packed with publicists, agents, studio executives and mangagers all trying to sway the vote in their direction and the crazed fans are already lining up outside The Kodak Theater trying to stake their spot for the big night, which this years falls on the 22nd of February.

This month, we're dedicating ourselves to the City of Angels and everything Oscar!  We refuse to put on that Oscar de la Renta ballgown and just stay confined to our living rooms drinking Dom Perignon and screaming at our television sets.  So stick with us while we traverse the city and dissect its inner academy.

FLIGHT 001!

One of our favorite one-stop travel shops is located in New York City, and it's called Flight 001.  (That's pronounced Flight One).  This little non-descript store is the brainchild of John Sencion and Brad John, and it's name after Pan Am's first flight ever.  We love ingenuity!

Anyway, while on a business flight between Paris and New York, John & Brad, realized that they had spent way too much time prepping for their constant travels and envisioned a store that made travel shopping as streamlined as streamlined as traveling itself.  Clearly, this thought had occurred to them prior to 2001 when air travel went into a downward sprial, but we digress...

This travel mecca has everything you need to make your next trip the most comfortable it can be.  For boredom, you can look into their Games & Camera department.  If you're worried about you're well being while flying, check out their Amenity Kits.  They also carry Luggage Tags, Toiletry Bags, Aerotherapy products, Carry On Luggage, Books & Guides and Laptop Cases!

Safe travels and Bon Voyage!

CLEAR!

If you've have flown at all in the past 8 years, you know how incredibly annoying it can be.  Take off your shoes!  Take your laptop out of its case!  Please place all liquids in a plastic baggie!  Please remove your jacket!  Please make sure you have your boarding pass in your hand!  The TSA might be one of the most maddening organizations on the face of the earth.

We've always sworn that one day we're going to strip down to our Giiorgio Armani bikini briefs while in line at security just to prove a point!  We haven't yet, but WE WILL!  So, if you see someone in their underwear at airport security, it's your beloved Stan.  Make sure to say hello!

As of late though, we haven't had to deal with the TSA at all, and that's all in thanks to the most genius little invention to hit the travel industry since, well, the airplane!  It's called CLEAR.

This little card is an airport's equivalent to an all access pass at a George Michael concert!  After receiving your card, you just show up to any selected airport, swipe your card, scan your fingerprint or iris in the kiosk and then a Clear concierge will show up, escort you through security without a hitch, avoiding all the lines and getting you right to your gate in no time at all!

An annual membership will cost you $199, but with all the heartache and headaches you save, it's totally worth it.  Clear is the only way to fly!

PATCHES FOR THE WEARY!

We don't know about you, but there are times after we've been traveling for more than 18 hours at a time, (those Los Angeles-Sydney flights are not for the faint of heart), we come off the Airbus 380 looking a little....pekid, maybe?  We hate to admit it, but it's true!  The lack of sleep!  The recycled air!  The restlessness!  The wear and tear begins to show.

So whenever we travel, we always have Klorane Eye Patches on hand to clean us up right before landing.  They're made with cornflower extract to sooth and soften, chamomille to relax and arnica to smooth and to relax. 

We slap these babies on about 30 minutes before we touch down, and we're good to go.  Sometimes, a Stan's gotta do what a Stan's gotta do.

ROLLING WITH THE HOMIES!

We have Elite status on every major airline.  That means we board the plane first, we drink champagne in First Class first and we get our luggage at baggage claim first.  Well, actually, our driver gets our luggage for us at baggage claim first, but you know what we mean.  It's really a great way to fly when one is not flying privately.  We've been cutting down on using private jets as part our global eco-initiative.  We love the earth too you know!

What we have found to make our travels even easier than they already are is to not check in your bags altogether.  Now this is difficult when you're traveling for extended periods of time, but when if it's just a short jaunt you're looking to do, you can not do it without the best kept secret in travel, Muji's  black nylon roller.

This easy suitcase fits EVERYTHING you need for that perfect weekend trip to Los Angeles.  It has sturdy 360-degree ball-bearing wheels, a tough nylon shell and it fits perfectly in the overhead compartment.  The best part you may ask?  It's only $124 and available via all Muji stores worldwide.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!

We can only think of one way to bid adieu to 2008 and to ring in 2009.  It is the moment you have all been waiting for.  It is the time to call your travel agent and tell them that you want to visit the city of lights.  Wait.  We think the city of lighs is Paris.  The city that does not sleep?  Or is that Las Vegas?  Whatever.  Just tell your travel agent that you want to go to the Big Apple. 

New York City!!!

Why do you want to go to New York, you ask?  Because!  After years of much anticipation, the Standard New York is finally taking reservations!!!  You heard us right!  The Standard Hotel in New York City is NOW taking reservations!  We thought this day would never come.  To add to the excitement, from now until February, the preview rate for rooms is only $195.

You will know where we will be if you want to stop by and say hello.  The beer garden sipping on a Heifferveisen? Maybe.  The penthouse bar sipping on a martini, lightly dirty, up, one olive?  Definitely!

Just tell them Stan sent for you, and they'll lead you right to us...

For reservations, call 212-645-4646 or toll free on 877-550-4646.

FREE DESIGNER!

Two of our most favorite words in the English language are FREE and DESIGNER, so you can only imagine our extreme jubilation when we found out that our most favorite DESIGNER was doling out his artwork for FREE on the internet!  Do you see how that works?  Free.  Designer.  FREE DESIGNER!!!  J'Adore!

Lang, in conjunction with our most favorite purveyor of spirits, Absolut Vodka, has brought his latest art project to the masses via the web in an exhibition entitled Alles Gleich Schwer.  We have no idea what that means, but we can only imagine it to mean FABULOUS!

Through the end of the month, you can log on to Absolut.com/HelmutLang and download your very own limited edition high resolution print of Lang's genius, which in turn you can take to any color lab and have printed out to 24x36 inches!  We've already printed ours, have you?  

FREE DESIGNER!  (We can't seem to say that enough.)

GRAFFITEE!

We love art, and one could feasibly argue that graffiti IS art.  Actually, we know it is art.  It is a renegade art.  One which breaks the confines of civic regulation and frees the creator of the ties that bind him to societal norms and values.  We have no idea what we're talking about because the only graffiti we create is the illegible scribble of our name on a credit card slip at the Gucci Men's Store, but we digress...

The Standard Hotels, on the otherhand, are quite the purveyors of fine graffiti and that is why they have commissioned three of the most prominent graffiti artists and designers from New York City, Los Angeles and Miami to create tee-shirts emblazoned with their respective city names.  New York was found by Eric Haze.  Los Angeles was reimagined by Natas Kaupas, and Miami found it's savior in Jose Parla.  

The graffiTEES are only $55 a pop, and are available via Shop The Standard. 

HERMES SMART CAR!

You should know by now that no matter where we go in the world, we always have a driver.  We cannot be bothered with paying attention to "pedestrians" crossing the road and with those ridiculously annoying blind spots.  We detest blind spots!  Actually, we don't think we actually know what a blind spot is, but we DO know that it has something to do with driving, so we are just going to go with it and hope we make sense.

So we do not drive, but not too long ago, we were given the most perfect reason to go out and get ourselves a driver's license.  The Hermes SmartCar ForTwo. Can you just die?  Our favorite luxury leather monger is celebrating the vehicle's 10 year anniversary by outfitting the cars in custom leather detailing available in 10 colors including gold, indigo and the luxury house’s signature orange. Each is fitted with Hermès leather-covered steering wheels and gear levers, with colors including fuchsia and lime, along with the brand’s original canvas toile H. 

The cars, starting at 38,000 euros, or $48,564 at current exchange rates, are at the top of our Christmas list.  When you buy us one, make sure to pick yourselves up a driving cap as well, because you know we're going to make you our driver!  J'Adore!

WOW! TOWELS!

We have already told you how much we love attending Art Basel in Miami Beach, but what we have not told you is our favorite part of Art Basel....the oversized towels that are commissioned from the art world's hottest artists.  These towels measure 60"x70", and this year, they are designed by Julian Schnabel, Ed Ruscha, Raymond Pettibon and Karen Kilimnik.

Originally conceived two years ago by Yvonne Force Villareal and the Art Production Fund, these towels have become one of the main reasons for the art crowd to trek half way around the world!  Between you and us, we would travel around the world TWICE to get our hands on one of these towels, and we know that would be ridiculous to do but we ARE making a point here, so just go with it, okay?

Luckily for you, you will not have to travel half way around the world for a towel.  If you happen to be in the Miami in the next month or so, they will be available at the Standard Miami boutique and the Raleigh Hotel boutique.  If you live in cyberspace like we do, you can buy the towels online at the Standard Shop and Target.com.

The towels are only $50, so there is absolutely no reason you cannot get one for yourself or your best friend.  Just do not get the Julian Schnabel towel because that one is ours!

ART BASEL 2008!

It’s that time of year again, Folks!  Yes, you know what we’re talking about!  ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH!   Yeah, we know, we didn’t get quite the response we were looking for either, but we’re still excited.

If you don’t already know, we’re about to tell you.  Art Basel MB is the most important art show in the United States.  It’s the sister show to Switzerland’s Art Basel, which for the past 39 years, has been the most prestigious show in the world with all the most influential artists, dealers and collectors in attendance.

This year the show boasts over 220 leading art galleries from all over the world exhibiting artworks by over 2,000 artists.  It’s art world mayhem!

We’re reminding you of the show early this year because it’s almost close to impossible to get a hotel room if you wait too long, and we don’t really have to tell you where you have to stay….ahem, The Standard Miami maybe?  

Again, tell them Stan sent you…

POUR! FILL! BOOST!

On our most recent trip to Rio de Janeiro, we were introduced to most the miraculous little gem of a pick us up!  We had been flying for almost two and  a half weeks straight.  New York to London.  London to Paris.  Paris to Milan.  Milan to Miami.  And then finally, Miami to Rio.  By the time we got there, we were almost on our death bed until the concierge at our hotel had a packet of eBoost sent up to our room.

This stuff was pure magic in powder form.  We poured it into a glass, filled the glass with water, watched it fizzle and then we gulped it down faster than you can say…well, uh, we don’t really know what you can say at the moment.  Sounds like we need an eBoost!

eBoost is a daily vitamin supplement that helps increase your energy, your immunity, your recovery (after one too many martinis, we presume) and your focus.  It contains green tea extract, Vitamin B-12, Vitamin C, Zinc, Selenium, Copper and Grape Seed Extract!

And now it’s also available in Pink Lemonade with a portion of the sales going to support breast cancer awareness.

Get eBoosted here.

THE GETTY CENTER!

When we were in our late teens, we lived in Los Angeles for a very short while.  We had been trying our hand at acting, but all we achieved instead was incredible credit card debt.  We had no idea it would be so hard to shop Rodeo Drive on an actor’s salary.  So we quickly jumped ship and headed back to the gorgeous City of Lights….PARIS!

But during our short time in the City of Angels, we fell in love with a little Villa on the cliffs of Malibu overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  This was, at the time,  The Getty Museum, which housed incredible works of Greek, Roman and Etrurian art.  Now, it’s called The Getty Villa because not very long ago on a hilltop looking over all of Los Angeles, The Getty Center opened its doors.

The new center is an incredible structure designed by famed architect Frank Gehry, and it houses one of the most incomparable collections of European paintings, drawings, sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, decorative arts, and European and American photographs.

When you get to the museum, tell them that Stan sent you.  We’re not sure that will get you anywhere but you should do it anyway.  Email us and let us know what they say.

For more information on the museums, click here.

MADAME BUTTERFLY!

When we first heard our grandfather tell the tale of when he first saw Puccini’s Madame Butterfly at La Scala in Milan on February 17, 1904, we were mesmerized.  He told the story of a young Japanese geisha marrying this naval officer with such vivid attention to detail that we almost heard its legendary operatic notes engulf us and transport us to Nagasaki Harbor, the scene of tale.

It wasn’t until later in life when we had learned more about this quintessential opera that we understood what a failure that night in February actually was.  Our dear grandfather didn’t want to disappoint us.

Although Madame Butterfly is the most performed opera in America, we still have not had a chance to see it.  This will not be the case for long though.  This month, The Metropolitan Opera brings back Madame Butterfly for five nights only, and we can hardly contain ourselves.

Click here for tickets and schedule.

OBAMANATION!

VOTE VOTE VOTE!

This month has been Stan D’elirious for us!  This election has gotten us all stirred up with emotion, adulation, speculation, reverberation and a whole lot of other –tions that we can’t write about here due to our personal code of journalistic integrity!

We have been all over the United States of America rallying people to vote!  No, not for CHANEL vs FENDI, but rather, for OBAMA vs MCCAIN!  We have visited backcountry log cabins in the Appalachian Montains to skyscraping penthouses on the Chicago’s Gold Coast.  We have crossed the fruited plains, we have made our way through amber waves of grain and we have scaled the purple mountains majesty!  From sea to shining sea, we have rallied people by the thousands and sent them to register themselves to vote.

Now, it’s your turn!  Election day is November 4, 2008, and if you haven’t registered to vote you and can do so by visiting Rock The Vote.  Do it now!

CHANEL MOBILE ART!

We don’t always have the time to run to a museum to enrich our souls with the aestheticism we desire on the daily, so when the kids over at CHANEL called us a year or so back to inform us that they were building a mobile museum that would travel the world, we weren’t sure whether to sit and wait for it to find us or whether we had to jet off in its search.  

We’ve been all over Asia as of late, and we always seem to have just missed this masterpiece.  But this time, the stars have aligned and we’re coming face to face with in greatest city in the world, New York!  It’s already been in Hong Kong and Tokyo, and once it leaves New York, it will find its way to London, Moscow and then Paris.

For this mobile art pavilion, famed architect Zaha Hadid built a futuristic building that will showcase the works of 20 international contemporary artists, all of whom have been given the elements that make up the identity of Chanel’s quilted bag as their inspiration.  

SHOP SHOP SHOP!

We LOVE to spend money!  We love to spend it on clothes, on food, on shoes, on cars, on art, on books, on furniture, on lavender scented bubble bath!  That last one was a secret.  Don’t tell anyone, okay???

When the powers that be sent us an email letting us know that they were putting up an online store where merchandise from all the hotels would be on sale, we had a total Stan D’Panic Attack!  We were all over it, and immediately put in our orders for one of everything.  Don’t be jealous.  That’s just how we do it over here.  Shop til we drop, pop and whatever else rhymes with op.

The Shop has everything from our favorite Mercer Hotel purple cashmere throw to The Raleigh Beachball to various Standard Hotel collectible works of art.  (We’re using collectible in the loosest form of the word.)

Christmas is around the corner, and we already told you that the purple cashmere throw is our most favorite.  Please don’t make us drop any more hints…

FINALLY!

 We honestly thought this day would never come…

Ladies & Gentlemen, we would like to introduce to you First Blush, the world’s first juices made from varietal grapes grown in the vineyards of California!  You know how much we love our wine.  Come to think of it, wine is almost like our very own grape juice, but we know we can’t have it with breakfast, but now we can.

Don’t get too excited.  These juices are just that.  Juice.  They have no alcohol content, but they’re loaded with antioxidants which we already know are key in suppressing aging, preventing cancer, reducing fatigue and aiding the health of our heart.  And if fancy grape juice isn’t your cup of tea, then try the First Blush Tea in cabernet and chardonnay white.

There is one down side though.  These juices are only available in a limited number of states for the moment but keep checking in to the store locator and see if yours pops up.

BURN, BABY, BURN!

When Tom Ford first released his 12 unisex fragrances, The Private Blend Collection earlier this year, our inner loins didn’t stop quivering for months!  Noir de noir, Tobacco Vanille, Velvet Garndenia, Tuscan Leather…every scent made us shudder with unadulterated excitement!  What is it about him that just OOZES sex?  We’re not sure, but whatever it is, we’re sure he learned it from us!  

We’d tell you a little story about the night Tom and us hung until the wee hours of the evening, but we have a friend who claims he’s heard that more times than he’s seen Huey Lewis & The News in concert, but we digress…

In any case, next month, Tom is adding a limited edition line of candles in all of the same ridiculously erotic Private Blend scents with which he nearly killed us before.  The candles will be sold exclusively at Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. 

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.

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!)

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!

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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!

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.

ABSINTHE POPS!

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!

CLIFTON'S CAFETERIA!

FASHION EMERGENCY!

BEVERLY HOT SPRINGS!

MALIN + GOETZ!

HEAVY METAL!

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.

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.

STAN D'ARDE, LE VANGUARD

Bonjour, Nos Amis!!!  We are so excited to have you join us in what is now our maiden voyage into all things Standardly Seductive! 

We’re going to be bringing you the latest in what’s hot and what’s not in New York City, Los Angeles and Miami. Fashion, Art, Music, Entertainment, Business, Fine Dining?  We know it all, and we’re here to fill you in!

Do you want to know where you can dress up like a pirate and have a chic sushi dinner?  Stan will tell you.  

Who does one ask where the most gorgeous people convene while on a weekend getaway to Miami Beach?  We’ll give you a hint…his name rhymes with Who’s-the-Man?

Are you in the market for a limited edition Gucci crocodile bag which can only be acquired through Anna Wintour’s personal assistant?  Well, guess who’s Anna’s best friend?  Okay, we’re not actually her best friend, but you get the picture.

We know.  We know. Right about now you want to know why we’re trying to make you think that we’re a certain celebrity known for his alien baby and his platform shoes! Well, when we’re being chased down the street by hoards of paparazzi while we’re simply trying to get our morning paper and coffee, we totally know what he has to go through on the daily, so there you go and here we are.

If you want to stalk us too, we’re usually poolside at The Standard Miami around 12:00pm EST, and then, later that evening, we’re in The Purple Lounge at The Standard Hollywood by 11:00pm PST imbibing a martini...light dirtly, up, one olive…  Too chic!

So check in with us regularly for the scoop on what the most fashionable are setting their eyes, and if you have any insider tips, questions, rants or raves, email us at Stan@StandardHotel.com or just click the email link above!