Keep Your Head in the Clouds

January 09, 2014

BIG SUR, California ? Design can leave an equally stunning mark by either defying its environment or acquiescing to the nature that surrounds it. Delicately balancing elements of both through considerations of form, function, nature, and manmade technology is the remarkable Post Ranch Inn, which literally clings to California's Big Sur coast. All photos courtesy of Post Ranch Inn.   BIG SUR, California ? Design can leave an equally stunning...

New Year's Eve Around the World

December 23, 2013

Regardless of whether it's to see or be seen, the world's Glitterati all come out on New Year's Eve when the clock strikes twelve. As you well know, the most coveted parties around the world are not that easily found. For this reason, we scoured the globe for hot clubs and cool outdoor venues promising to deliver that little extra magic that only seems to happens at the start of...

Paradise in Marrakech: La Mamounia

December 05, 2013

Whenever Shoplatitude founder Alisa Ng and I are dreaming about vacation spots, there always seems to be one destination that is top of mind ? La Mamounia in Marrakesh, Morocco. If ever a hotel can hold the essence of a fantasy it is this one. Whenever Shoplatitude founder Alisa Ng and I are dreaming about vacation spots, there always seems to be one destination that is top of mind ?...

A Lover's Guide to Bargaining

December 04, 2013

Some of my best relationships have occurred while I have been shopping in a souk. Like dating, the art of bargaining can be a wonderful or horrendous experience -- one that has left me with my fair share of both disappointments and marriage proposals. Good bargaining is like good flirting: it's a game where the winner can potentially take all.

Main image courtesy of Billy Farrel, Billy Farrel, Assouline

Your goal is to buy whatever you are lusting after for half of the opening price. If this means you also have to agree to drink a cup of tea while hearing about the merchant's unmarried brother in New Jersey, so be it. In all my years of shopping I have never met a souk I did not love for at least a few hours. Just remember to keep an open mind and an open heart; after all, this is not just skipping off to the mall. You are about to perform an ancient ritual whose principles are deeply entrenched in the local culture. So go ahead and relax, be polite, and remember: regardless of what happens, never pay more than half of the opening price. Enjoy!

City Secrets | Mexico City

November 14, 2013

There is a ?new cool? permeating Mexico City. Neighborhoods like La Roma and Condesa offer safe and trendy places to hang out (think Soho and Nolita in NYC), while hip exclusive nightspots, such as M.N. Roy make Paris? Le Baron seem provincial. Experience MC?s foodie palaces and must see museums like Frida Kahlo?s recently opened home. Read below to learn about L-atitude?s must-see places in Mexico city. There is a...

City Secrets | Mexico City Shopping

November 12, 2013

Every time we visit Mexico City we are amazed by the new and eclectic shopping culture that seems to be spreading through the city. Cool multi-concept boutiques like Celeste House offer a full lifestyle experience while the weekend flea market and artisanal bazaar offer goods with a decidedly more old school pedigree. Our guide below offers the best shopping tips for both the old and the new. Every time we...

Touching the Roof of the World in Ladakh

October 15, 2013

When everyone else is beating the path from Delhi to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, you?ll be heading north to Ladakh, near the border of Tibet, for an altogether different side of India. High up here in the Himalayas, life really slows down, and your days are reduced to gorgeous walks, mountain greenery, impossibly fresh air, and a cup of tea with a monk. Shahrookh Cambata, from Greaves Tours,...

The Insider's Guide to Paris

September 25, 2013

Once again, it's time for the whirlwind known as the Paris ready-to-wear collections. This is a time when the fashion cognoscenti descend on the City Of Light in droves. With party after party being thrown at the latest boutiques, restaurants, and museum shows, we thought it would be nice to ask our insider fashion friends for some of their favorite low key haunts -- the places the A-listers meet without...

Boho Breaks: Paris

September 24, 2013

Paris Fashion Week has arrived and with it comes a whirlwind of fashion shows, happening, parties, and dinners. For those fashionistas with slightly more bohemian taste, we have scoured the city to find some zen places for you to escape to. Paris Fashion Week has arrived and with it comes a whirlwind of fashion shows, happening, parties, and dinners. For those fashionistas with slightly more bohemian taste, we have scoured...

Boho Breaks: Milan

September 17, 2013

Milan Fashion week begins today, and we know you will be hopping from show to party to hotel to restaurant. We perused the city for a hit-list of caf?s, boutiques and bonafide hot-spots that will help the inner gypsy in you find a true moment of zen. Milan Fashion week begins today, and we know you will be hopping from show to party to hotel to restaurant. We perused the...