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The duo of José Manuel St-Jacques and Simon Bélanger is made in heaven. They design graceful, luxurious clothes for the modern woman who aims at Marlene Dietrich elegance in her every gesture. From crisp white crêpe suits to flowing pleated lamé skirts, their designs are the sort that make you walk taller and feel like you’ve arrived, whether it’s on the red carpet or at a soirée among friends. UNTTLD are masters at blending textures, like see-through evanescent silk worn with a structured cotton pencil pant, and they are known for their unique prints. They sell directly out of their Mile End loft (upon appointment), or through exclusive stores such as Ogilvy.

Among the neighborhood’s art-minded hotels, the Gladstone is the most interactive, with shows, classes, and ongoing events. The 37 rooms, all designed by local artists, have breathed new life into the 128-year-old icon, which filmmaker Christina Zeidler took over in 2003 and revitalized in 2005. The Victorian landmark, named for its avenue (in turn named after four-time Canadian Prime Minister William Gladstone), has been a gathering spot for over a century. And it was home to legendary Toronto characters like cowboy Hank Young, who became a fixture at the hotel as a country singer in 1961 and manned the hand-operated elevator from 2005 to 2009, and Peter Styles, former host of Karaoke Night, with applause sign in hand. The legend of Hank lives on in a framed photo in the stairwell en route to the second floor.

The Gladstone continues to push the boundaries of community and culture with creative events like its educational workshop series, Get School’d, and its annual alternative design event, Come Up to My Room (CUTMR), which runs alongside the city’s Interior Design Show. Begin your stay in this architectural gem with a drink at the Café or Melody Bar (that is, if you’re not first thrust into Fameless Karaoke Night).

Translated as “beautiful bamboo,” Bambu Indah is the regenerative passion project of jewelry designers and husband-wife pair John and Cynthia Hardy. The Canadian and American expats who have lived in Bali for decades bought a collection of teakwood bridal houses in 2005 and moved them 15 minutes west of Ubud Village before restoring and individually decorating them for visiting guests.




Today, the antique residences on Sayan Ridge are surrounded by cutting-edge bamboo houses and tree houses designed by two of the couple’s daughters, including Elora Hardy, as well as organic dining and lounging structures, a permaculture garden, Edenic swimming holes, and green rice paddies. The 11 singular accommodations—filled with vintage furnishings, Indonesian textiles, and local curiosities—are truly one with nature. The resort is filled with whimsical surprises, including a boat-shaped tree house 30 feet in the sky and a rope swing that drops guests into the natural rock pool.





The open-air River Warung is where guests—and day-pass visitors—congregate for three meals a day of organically grown and locally sourced fare. The new-in-2023 Elevator Sunset Bar is another collaboration with the couple’s daughters where arak-spiked cocktails are paired with views across the river valley. On-demand massages are available, as well as early morning walks—more like hikes—throughout the jungle surrounding the resort. From $350

The Singita Mara River Tented Camp sits amidst the 98,000 acres of northern Tanzania’s Lamai. It is one of the few permanent sites for travelers in this triangle of land sandwiched between the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya and the Mara River in the south. Singita, however, still mimics the adventurous vibe of a mobile safari: Its tents are outfitted with everyday African objects that have been reimagined by local craftspeople. For example, decorative wire baskets mimic the shape and design of the ones traditionally used for sorting grain, and textiles with Maasai-inspired patterns in red, black, and blue add interest to the predominantly neutral interiors. And everything, from the pool pump to the cordless hair dryers, runs on the latest renewable-energy technology (the camp is completely off the grid).

Are there any nobler or more beautiful horses in the world than the gray-white Lipizzans who wow audiences with their high stepping at the Spanish Riding School? In the 16th century, the Hapsburg empire used Andalusian horses to create the breed in Lipizza (located in Slovenia). As they have for centuries, the Lipizzans perform their acrobatic haute école dressage in the Hofburg Palace’s Winter Riding School arena, an all-white baroque hall designed by Fischer von Erlach. Riders still wear the traditional uniform of bicorne hats and tailcoats, part of the reason UNESCO granted the Riding School its Intangible Cultural Heritage status. In addition to watching the performances, visitors can also tour the stables and sit in on morning training sessions set to classical music.

In other cities, Schloss Belvedere would be the grand attraction: The baroque palace turned museum is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and its French-style gardens, enormous pools, and upper and lower pavilions are stunning. But in Vienna, a city that’s chockablock with majestic palaces and marvelous art institutions, the Belvedere winds up being underappreciated by visitors. Formerly the summer palace of the French-born military commander Prince Eugene of Savoy, the early-18th-century palace was designed by Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt, one of the most celebrated architects of his day. Works in the building’s collection range from baroque masterpieces to 20th-century treasures such as Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss as well as pieces by Oskar Kokoschka and Egon Schiele.

Fondazione Prada reopens its Milan exhibition space in a 205,000 square foot space designed by OMA (by Rem Koolhaas). Prada always has the most engaging shows-- getting the best of contemporary art.

We visited a special playground designed for children with disabilities run by Familias Especiales. It’s the only playground of its kind in Nicaragua.

This is a cool clothing store in the Pearl featuring gear and fashion from a variety of mainstream and boutique brands. The Lizard collections coalesce into a catalog of functional apparel with style and sustainability at the heart of their designs. While the Lounge has a great selection of brands, the real draw for me is the Nau gear. From natural and recycled materials in the fabrics, to the cut and fit of clothes designed for people who move, Nau is an essential part of my packing routine. Their designers once told me they want their clothes to be comfortable—whether the wearer is reaching for a hand hold in a 5-9 pitch or reaching for the top shelf tequila behind the bar. The Nau down shirt was the first of what’s become a ubiquitous piece of all-season gear. The Lounge is also known for its own style of events, supporting local, social and environmental causes with food, drink, music, and mingling. Nau also donates a small percentage of each sale to select nonprofits fighting the good fight at the local and global levels. The Lizard Lounge is not just about retail. It’s about wearing your way into a better world and so Portland in the process.

Behind these buttery walls, the most fashionable tailors are ready to help you design a gorgeous new wardrobe. Yaly may take an extra day or two for your items to be perfect, but it’s worth the extra appointments... and the price. Sure, you can go to any number of tailors in Hoi An to get a blazer made in less than 24 hours, but as with most things, you get what you pay for. Eighteen months later and the items I designed here are still most coveted pieces in my closet. Don’t know where to start? Take a stroll through thousands of fabric bolts in everything from wool to the finest locally made silks, or sift through pages of designer books as you sip on cucumber juice. And, be sure to bring photos of your desired item...Yes, even that DVF dress you swooned over in Vouge Italia last month!

Prague is one of Europe’s centers of culture, but it was without a proper contemporary art center for far too long. In 2008 the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art opened, with exhibits of provoking art, educational and cultural events, and a mission to encourage critical reflection and dialogue through the presentation of works that speak to social issues of the day. The 32,000 square foot building, converted from a former factory by architect Ivan Kroupa, is a work of art in itself. And even if you tried to, you can’t miss Gulliver, a wooden zephyr-like airship that appears to have landed on the roof (it is used for literature-focused events.). Back inside, DOX also boasts one of the city’s best design shops and a cafe.

Martinique’s Route Des Rhums is something of the ultimate single island rum tour. The big reason for this being there are 10 different distilleries spread across Martinique’s 425 square miles! TEN! Two of the best are Distillerie Neisson and Plantations Saint James Martinique. All of them produce what’s called rhum agricole, but all you need to know is Martinique rums are the only rums in the world that have been granted the prestigious Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) designation. Awarded by the French government agency Institut National des Appellations d’Origine (INAO) in recognition of the finest agricultural products (wines, cheeses, butters, etc), the AOC designation is an incomparable stamp of excellence in the culinary and spirits world.

This Upper East Side legend opened its doors in 1930 and, since then, has offered big-city accommodations to a legion of luminaries, from John F. Kennedy and Ingrid Bergman to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The hotel’s famed restaurant Café Carlyle is where much of the action—and longstanding history—exists, having consistently hosted top talent like Woody Allen, Alan Cumming, and Rita Wilson since opening in 1955.

Though the Pigalle neighborhood has mostly shaken off its red-light reputation, the bon vivant spirit of the area’s past has been elegantly revived at Maison Souquet. The owners gave carte blanche to Jacques Garcia, the venerated French designer with a passion for Belle Époque interiors, who masterfully reworked the early 1900s design codes to bring to life the space, itself a former pleasure house. As during the heyday of these maison closes, which brought together artists and socialites, Garcia created an intimate, multi-room layout, meant to take guests from one stage of the experience to the next. It begins in the entrance lounge bedecked in Moorish tiles and Cordovan leather, leads into the Salon des Petits Bonheurs (Little Delights), where you’ll find the bar, and ends under the glass canopy of the Jardin d’Hiver (Winter Garden), which also doubles as the breakfast lounge.

Casas del Bosque is an award-winning boutique winery just outside Casablanca where, besides tasting the vintages, you can also learn how to prune grapevines or even the basics of wine-making in one-day workshops. You can also tour the estate on bicycle, along with a picnic lunch. If you just want to walk through the vines, you’ll find everything at its prettiest in December and January. Tanino, the Casas del Bosque’s excellent restaurant, has a menu designed to showcase the wine.