style, design, food, branding – all from the perspective of a modern man.

Posts from the “luxury.” Category

the joy of quiet.

Posted on January 17th, 2012

Its difficult not to be overwhelmed by the universe of information available to us [thank you technology]. Smart phones, tablets, WiFi/MiFi and apps make it utterly impossible to disconnect and as if there weren’t enough news in the world to flood the internet, social media has now made the act of sharing a business. Facebook, Twitter and countless other platforms empower people [all 800+ million active users on Facebook & 100 million active users on Twitter] to be content creators. It certainly does not help that all of this “content” is pushed out to you as texts, emails, status updates and tweets on all your devices. How are we physically and mentally supposed to read, process and organize all of this information? I cannot keep up all day, everyday, 24/7. After a particularly difficult point in my life last year, I made it a goal to disconnect from the online world at least one [full] day a week. That was probably not the most realistic goal since I worked in social media/digital marketing during the week and blogged at night and on the weekends.. but still, I was cognizant of the negative effects and it made me want to change. The Joy of Quiet captures the reality of an overconnected world. It really is a must-read.


I have made a conscious effort to put down my phone more often and really enjoy the company of the people who matter most. Good times:




















[[ scrumptious surprises at 고려당 // dainty fingers // the smile makes me smile // tea break at sanctuary // avocado toast cant be beat // rainy night calls for salmon pot pie // a standard kind of night ]]

Feeling Good-Reefer Twins Mix by The Reefer Twins

the golden touch.

Posted on January 4th, 2012

Everything Tom Ford touches turns to gold. He is, in every sense, a modern day King Midas. And by gold, I don’t mean just $$$ [although I'm sure he made/has bank]. He gives things value and worth. He brought Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent back to life. More recently, he gave life into his first womenswear collection under his own label.

Of course Oprah was given access to Ford’s life in an OWN series called Visionaries. If you haven’t seen it, you’re missing out. See what makes him tick:

Style Forum Special from Music Guy on Vimeo.

city lookbook : a progressive night downtown.

Posted on November 19th, 2011

Having the freedom to do anything and everything at anytime made a week in Paris feel more like a month. Do you ever get that feeling when you’re traveling? Even after returning to New York, I could not stop looking through pictures and reminiscing about the trip.. but of course I had to snap back to reality for my own sake. There were a few things that made the transition easier, one of them being the launch event for the new American Express/Mercedes-Benz card. I don’t own a Benz [yet] but it sure is an item on my ‘to buy’ checklist, although probably a few many years further down the road. The cultural & culinary tour that AMEX/Benz threw to celebrate the launch of…

fashion branding : mulberry.

Posted on August 8th, 2011

Mulberry, the English leatherware and lifestyle brand, has stepped up its game since 2007. I was flipping through the famous/infamous September issue and came across these ads: I’ve written about how advertising campaigns and brand videos can change the perception of a company, sometimes almost instantly [if successful]. In Mulberry’s case, its took a few seasons before it really took off. Compare the mediocre ads above in 2007 with the whimsical campaign below for aw2011: [[ via fashion gone rogue ]] The ‘Alexa‘ and the ‘Bayswater‘ bags have been ‘it’ bags for quite a few years now, thanks to celebrity association and adoption by influencers. Season after season, Mulberry presents improved designs and updates its most popular bags in fun prints like this Alexa.…