Luxe Living

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June 2009
- Campgrounds Add Perks, Redefine 'Roughing It'
  
  New York Times | Jun 18, 09 1:11 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The purer pleasures of the outdoors don’t seem to be enough for some campers anymore, the New York Times reports. Increasingly, campgrounds are offering amenities like pizza delivery, air-conditioning, kiddie rides, and valet service to the delight of families and owners’ balance sheets. “The objective is to maximize dollars,” one campsite manager said. “If I add an amenity, I can charge $15 more a night.” More »
- The Best Hotel Minibars
  
  AskMen.com | Jun 14, 09 8:01 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - If your big summer vacation isn’t complete without raiding the hotel minibar, AskMen.com has a list of the best the industry has to offer. A sampling: The Delano, Miami: If you get lucky on South Beach, you’ll be glad for the condoms and other sex accessories alongside the tiny bottles of booze. W Spa and Retreat, Maldives: Comes with a bikini from high-end designer Heidi Klein in the hotel chain’s signature purple. More »
- High-End Media Strikes Back at 'Luxury Bashing'
  
  Newsweek | Jun 13, 09 7:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Tired of watching its affluent readership attacked, upscale media outfits are striking back at their mainstream press brethren, Johnnie Roberts writes in Newsweek . Brett Andersen, editor of the high-end monthly Robb Report , had led the charge by blasting the “demonization of the wealthy and the industries that cater to them,” citing their economic, cultural, and intellectual contributions to society. More »
- $50K Hermes Bag Is Recession-Proof
  
  ABC News | Jun 10, 09 3:02 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - High-end designers everywhere are closing down storefronts, but somehow Hermes’ sales are up. The iconic brand has managed to beat the recession by ignoring it, continuing to sell $50,000 bags that require years on a waiting list to own. “Hermes’ position is unique; it is at the very top of the pyramid in terms of luxury goods,” one analyst tells ABC News. More »
- Don't Blush—Rosé Is Worthy of Your Wine Dollars
  
  New York Times | Jun 10, 09 12:09 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - America is slowly warming to rosé wines, but for anyone still refusing to take rosé seriously, the time has come, writes Eric Asimov in the New York Times . “Rosé is the quintessential daytime wine, perfect for outdoors, wonderful in the summer”—and it’s surprisingly easy to find varieties “without the soda-pop dollop of sugar that can turn a rosé into a wine cooler.” More »
- Hermes Breeds Crocs to Skin for Handbags
  
  Reuters | Jun 8, 09 4:33 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Fashion mainstay Hermes is now maintaining its own crocodile farms in Australia to provide skins for its handbags, Reuters reports. “The world is not full of crocodiles, except the stock exchange!” the French company’s CEO joked, feebly. Hermes’ leather-accessory line, which accounts for 40% of company business, has been the most successful in the economic downturn and has had to add employees. More »
- Speakeasies Make Secret Comeback
  
  New York Times | Jun 3, 09 12:32 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Across the US, trendy bars are cropping up—but good luck finding them. These homages to the 1920s speakeasy are obscured by wooden slats, hidden behind other stores, accessible only by password. “People have an affection for this period of American history, and they want the mystery,” one owner tells the New York Times —though none of the new speakeasies truly represent the era they’re romanticizing. More »
May 2009
- World's Most Luxe Pools
  
  Woman's Day | May 31, 09 4:23 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - On the lookout for a unique summer vacation experience? Woman’s Day recommends eight stunning pools in some of the world’s most beautiful locations: The hanging pool atop the Joule hotel in Dallas projects 8 feet over the edge of the building. The Homestead Crater at Homestead Resort in Utah is a 55-foot-high dome filled with warm spring water, popular with water skiers and scuba divers. More »
- British MP Billed Taxpayers for 'Servants' Wing'
  
  Times (UK) | May 28, 09 7:49 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Just when the scandal over British MPs' expenses seemed to be petering out comes news that a Conservative legislator charged taxpayers $27,000 to build servants' quarters at his second home, the Times of London reports. Sir John Butterfill told the BBC the suggestion he had servants was a "gross misrepresentation." But then he slipped up when he tried to apologize for failing to separate his own home from "the servants', er, the staff wing." More »
- How to Make a Real Old-Fashioned
  
  Esquire | May 27, 09 5:16 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Esquire adds to its everything-a-man-must-know lessons with a primer on the Old-Fashioned, which is nothing less than the “Fender Strat of cocktails” because it “embodies the classic American combination of offhand style, swagger, and micrometer engineering,” writes David Wondrich. At its heart is good old American whiskey—at least 4 years old and 100 proof but “not too expensive.” More »
- Recession Pits Luxe Hotels' Owners Vs. Operators
  
  New York Times | May 26, 09 2:13 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The recession is igniting new hotel wars: not battles for customers, but between owners of luxury hotels and the properties’ operators, the New York Times reports. The owners are often struggling to keep up with big debt payments, hindered by a more than 16% average drop in hotel bookings across the sector. But operators are loathe to cut rates or amenities, saying that doing so will diminish a property’s brand. More »
- Designer Shorts Go Long on Price Tag
  
  New York Times | May 21, 09 11:28 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Men’s shorts, once the outfit of choice for working outside or lounging around the house, are the new fancy dress pants—or so designers are trying to convince the world. And the new generation of shorts has the price tag to match, the New York Times reports, with high-end stores charging as much as $775 for drawstring shorts or $1,495 for a man-skort. More »
- Cash-Strapped Country Clubs Welcome the Public
  
  Washington Post | May 21, 09 8:39 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Struggling country clubs have decided to ditch their exclusiveness to stave off extinction, the Washington Post reports, slashing fees and opening facilities to the public. Long-standing members often sniff as dress codes vanish, nachos replace filet mignon on menus, pickup trucks appear in parking spots, and the public floods in—but directors say it's the only way to stay afloat amid tough economic times and changing demographics. More »
- Can It: Wine Industry Goes Aluminum
  
  Times (UK) | May 18, 09 11:16 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - It may lack a certain old-fashioned class, but that’s not stopping the wine industry from embracing aluminum cans, the Times of London reports. A top can-maker said he’d sold 35 million cans to the industry last year, up from 6 million in 2006—and he foresees wine fans chugging, er, sipping, more than a billion cans a year in the future. More »
- Thrift Is Expensive in the Hamptons
  
  New York Times | May 16, 09 2:30 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Keeping up with the Joneses means downplaying wealth in the Hamptons this summer, Allen Salkin writes in the New York Times . Conspicuous consumption is out, conspicuous thrift is in as Hamptonites try very hard to match the economic malaise in the rest of the country. “Low-key” and “beachy” are the buzzwords, but make no mistake: Vacationers still pay top-dollar. More »
- Rich Heirs Boast Money and a Job
  
  Vanity Fair | May 10, 09 5:27 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Wealthy heirs are dropping their silver spoons and getting down to work, it seems. From the Mondavis to Trumps to sons and daughters of royalty, 38 heirs posing for Vanity Fair this month say they're determined not to rest on family laurels. Some are working hard at the family business while others forge personal paths. “We all have to prove ourselves, no matter who we are,” said the cousin of a fashion heir. More »
- Strapped Art Market Preps for Auctions
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 1, 09 10:21 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - After a 7-year boom, art auction houses are struggling as collectors hit hard by the recession close their wallets. Sotheby’s predicts it will pull in $179 million to $256 million at spring sales, compared to $742 million a year ago. As the spring events approach, auctioneers are employing an array of strategies to restore the market, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »
April 2009
- Rich Feel 'Guilty' Spending Now: Poll
  
  USA Today | Apr 30, 09 3:18 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Even the still-rich are unhappy in this economic climate, though their dolor is more likely to come from shame than anything else, USA Today reports. 54% of people who have $100,000 to spend after such mundane things like mortgage payments and taxes “feel guilty purchasing luxury goods” nowadays, according to a survey. But it’s not just because of the disapproving glares of the masses. More »
- Faux Owners Dress Up Luxury Homes for Sale
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 25, 09 10:41 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The slump at the top of the property market has been a bonus for people who can make a mansion look like a happy home but can't afford one of their own, reports the Wall Street Journal . Realtors stuck with empty luxury homes have been seeking the services of resident "home stagers" to give their properties an attractive lived-in look. More »
- 'Poor' TARP Wife Unmasked, Tarred, and Feathered
  
  New York | Apr 22, 09 1:34 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A snooty “confessions of bailout wife” piece has the web’s gossip-mongers in a frenzy, with New York magazine leading the way in divining the anonymous author’s identity. By process of elimination, Jessica Pressler determines, the woman behind the “eye-rolling details” of foregoing birthdays at Michelin-rated restaurants for “small, chic” spots is Liz Peek, a former New York Sun columnist married to CIT Group CEO Jeffrey Peek. More »