Sometimes a compliment runs deep inside of you. For me, this is one. Thank You BASTA! I’m incredibly thrilled (and genuinely honored) to have Va Bene Style recognized by BASTA!, an Italian Lifestyle Newspaper. Any recognition is gratifying, especially when you’ve poured your personality, opinions, time and probably too much espresso into building something. But when that recognition comes from Italy, it carries a little extra weight for me. I am enormously proud of my Italian

It's taken a while, but the turnaround is happening Starbucks,Meet Your Customers For a few years, Starbucks seemed determined to prove it could destroy one of the greatest consumer concepts ever created. It had coffee. Comfortable chairs. Good music. Friendly baristas. That wonderful smell. And millions of customers happily paying six bucks for something that costs roughly eleven cents to make. Naturally, they screwed with it. Under a hand-picked CEO. who told staff that his

I Feel Better But I Miss The Martini! The Standard Let me start with this: I didn’t quit drinking because I had a drinking problem. I quit because I wanted to see what would happen. I like drinking. Not getting drunk (haven’t done that since high school) but just drinking. There’s a difference. I love an ice-cold, (Grey Goose please) very dirty martini before we head out for Friday-night dinner not only because it sets up the evening, but because martini’s in Palm Beach ar

The Snobs, Pageantry and Pony Moms of the Hamptons Classic The Pony Mom Illustration by Trivia Draws Every summer, as August burns itself out and Labor Day looms like a threat to linen pants, the Hamptons Classic Horse Show gallops into Bridgehampton, and with it comes an elite stampede of high-society posers, passive-aggressive riders, champagne-sipping nouveau snobs, Pony Moms and influencers Wouldn’t know a crop from a crop top. Some will tell you the Classic is one of the

When Your Guy Starts Losing You A Lost Legacy? I voted for Donald Trump twice. I supported him, defended plenty of what he did and still believe his presidency challenged a Washington establishment that desperately needed challenging. It still does. I’m still in his favor, but I'm tired, and I suspect a lot of conservatives are tired too. Tired of Trump, Trump, Trump. Every issue becomes about him. Every criticism becomes disloyalty. Every setback is somebody else's fault. At

A New Money Gathering in The Hamptons Ah, the Hamptons. That magical stretch of Long Island where a $38 lobster roll is considered casual dining, a rented Range Rover qualifies as generational wealth, and everyone you meet is either launching a magazine, hosting a “private” party or desperately trying to get invited to one. Welcome to summer in the Hamptons…America’s most expensive high school cafeteria. Once upon a time, the Hamptons were genuinely understated. Old families.

The Late, Great Titles There was a glorious, extravagant, economically irrational period when magazines didn't merely report on culture, they dictated it. Children born after 2005 think Vanity Fair is a website with a paywall. They have absolutely no concept of the institution it once was. A 300-page issue wasn't an event. It was every 15th of the month.. Under Graydon Carter, Vanity Fair wasn't run like a publication. It was run like a benevolent monarchy with an unlimited

Some of the Best Luxury is about choosing objects that improve the way you live, travel, entertain and experience the world. The finest products become companions rather than possessions. They are pieces that earn their place through exceptional design, flawless craftsmanship and everyday usefulness. These are the items I continually return to because they represent exactly that philosophy. GUCCI The Gucci x FPM Bank Cabin is, in my opinion, one of the most desirable pieces o

Two Ends Of The Luxury Spectrum. The Louis Vuitton Horizon and Carl Freidrik Aluminum Carl Freidrik/Louis Vuitton A carry-on is more than just luggage. It’s a companion that rolls beside you through marble hotel lobbies, waits patiently in airport lounges, slides effortlessly into overhead bins, and reflects your appreciation for craftsmanship, design, and quality. Let’s face it…you don’t want to look like a shlub while traveling. Interestingly, two of the finest luxury rolle

It's not what you think, and not from who you think either Fast At Idle There is a moment in every luxury market when someone mistakes more for better. More horsepower. More screens. More carbon fiber. More square footage. More places to put drinks you'll never finish. The boating industry has become particularly guilty of this disease. Every year another builder unveils a floating condominium with enough outdoor kitchens, LED mood lighting and hydraulic beach clubs to qualif

How Everyone Got Into The "Exclusive Club" Food Hall Lines At DFW There was a time when flashing an American Express Platinum Card felt like you had joined a private club. It whispered success. It suggested airport lounges, quiet corners, a glass of champagne before takeoff, and a little separation from the chaos of modern travel. Then something happened: everyone got one. The Platinum Card went from being a symbol of “I’ve arrived” to something closer to a membership card fo

Smart Hacks For Living Better After 60 Face the sun. Everyday Growing older is inevitable. Looking and feeling old? That's increasingly optional. Today's healthiest men and women over 60 aren't chasing youth. They're investing in longevity (the science of extending lifespan) but the real goal should be healthspan: the number of years you remain active, energetic, mentally sharp, and independent. The answer lies with consistent habits backed by solid research. Here are some of

Ninety Minutes Of Waiting For Something To Happen Typical Soccer Crowd Every four years, the world collectively loses its mind over soccer. Intelligent adults paint their faces, wave flags, and insist that a sport where a single goal is considered an offensive explosion is somehow the pinnacle of athletic competition. Let’s be honest. Soccer is the only game where you can invest an hour and a half of your life only to be rewarded with a thrilling… 0-0 tie. Imagine buying conc

Friday nights in Palm Beach require planning the right look Friday Night Lights There are Friday nights, and then there are Friday nights in Palm Beach. The difference, of course, is that in Palm Beach the room is watching, even if everyone pretends they are not. That means showing up in gym clothes and a quarter zip should be punishable by deportation. Start with the foundation: a pair of crisp white jeans. Why white? Because it's Palm Beach. White jeans signal confidence, o

An iPhone with tires? Ferrari has spent nearly 80 years convincing people that internal combustion is romance. The noise. The vibration. The smell of fuel. The absurdity of a V12 screaming toward irrelevance while wearing hand-stitched leather with your butt on fire and 7” from the ground. They baited buyers with “in order to buy” mandates like, “…we would be happy to order you a new Roma, should you take delivery of this beautiful SF90 first” Allocations became sacred and th

High Maintenance or Necessary? Plan Your Trip Traveling to Aspen for the summer is an odd sport. You’re up at 4AM and it’s a Florida 80° out before the sun shines and by noon, you’re drinking coffee in an airport lounge wearing cashmere. Nine hours later, you’re on your balcony at 8,000+ feet wondering why your lips resemble drywall and you have a headache. This pile of gear is less “packing” and more “survival kit for someone with standards.” Lets dig in. Start with the Zeg

A two-day trip to the city essentials A two-day spring trip to New York City is a game of contrasts. There is sun one minute, wind tunnels the next, endless Uber’s and just enough pushiness to remind you why you moved to Florida. Packing smart isn’t about volume; it’s about precision and readiness. You’re moving between neighborhoods, meetings, drinks, and whatever the city throws at you next. This setup is clean, mobile, and lightly polished. (cigars not included) The Carry:

A Clown Show on a Couture Budget Katy Perry Hanging Around The Met Gala is what happens when fashion stuffs itself up an ass and everyone calls it culture. It’s not the Oscars of fashion, it’s Halloween for ideologs who think they matter. Every year, Anna Wintour anoints a theme that sounds like it was lifted from a rejected grad school thesis, and the industry nods along like its gospel. Then the parade begins. Not of style. Not of elegance, but of desperation. Pure, unfilte

Designer Luxury For The Soul Palazzo Portrait Milano If Milan had a backstage, Portrait Milano would be it, except this backstage comes with Carrara marble, espresso on arrival, and the kind of courtyard that makes even seasoned fashion editors stop mid-strut. Let’s start with the address: Corso Venezia 11, planted firmly in Milan’s golden triangle of excess (the Quadrilatero della Moda.) You’re a short, dangerously tempting stroll from Via Montenapoleone, where restraint go

900 Degrees in 90 Seconds There are many signs that one has reached a certain stage of adulthood. You start caring about lawn irrigation. You know the difference between a good olive oil and one that tastes suspiciously like motor lubricant, and eventually you become obsessed with a pizza oven. Not just any pizza oven, mind you. We’re talking about the kind of oven that arrives on a pallet and weighs roughly the same as a small Fiat. An oven that requires a brief consultation