No other hotel has as much rock ‘n’ roll history. So, it’s not perfect — or particularly opulent. There is no room service, some of the rooms are more “grunge” than chic, & there is a bullet hole in the door in the 5th floor corridor. But it’s absolutely worth a visit to soak up some atmosphere.
On Wednesday afternoon, I went & did something I have been meaning to do for a long time: I went to an auction at the storage center in my neighborhood. It is an enormous space, 7 floors full of lockers where New Yorkers, who are typically low on closet space, can stash away their valuables or things they haven’t used in years. (Snowboarding gear, anyone?)
If you’re in Manhattan, there’s no better place to go for a sugar hit on a balmy, sticky night. From caramel marshmallow sundaes to chocolate peanut butter malted shakes, Lula’s Sweet Apothecary beckons you in with a saccharine finger. There are all your childhood favorites & flavors: hot fudge sauce, tantalizing maraschino cherries, & chocolate or rainbow sprinkles, but the best thing? Lula’s fare is completely vegan. The entire joint is animal-free, right down to their non-gelatin gummy bears & coconut whipped cream.
(Yes, that’s Bjork!)
Does anyone remember Michael Alig? Oh, come on, you must: legendary club promoter? Leader of the infamous “Club Kids”? Inspiration for the movie Party Monster? Currently imprisoned due to murdering, injecting with Drano, & dismembering Andre “Angel” Melendez, resident drug dealer at The Limelight?
Karl Lagerfeld is many things: a German living in France, a white-headed wonder, a style icon, obsessive curator & head designer of Chanel, Fendi & his own line. The movie Lagerfeld Confidential, released in 2007, followed the prolific designer & gave an insight into his daily life, & in 2006 he starred in Signé Chanel, a reality show about the creation of one of his collections. He is also a photographer, illustrator & world traveler. But it’s as if the man never sleeps, because on Tuesday May 11th of 2010, Karl Lagerfeld makes his directorial debut!
Anna Wintour’s reputation as the feared editrix of Vogue is not undeserved. She was, after all, the inspiration for Lauren Weisberger’s The Devil Wears Prada. Her nickname is the charming epithet ‘Nuclear Wintour’. Her haircut has been exactly the same since she was in her early twenties.
But here are some things you may not known about The Bobbed One.
As a Coachella virgin, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. “100,000 people,” I was told. “Frigging hot,” I was cautioned. “Hipsterfest 2010,” someone declared.
While these tidbits would be enough to put any sane person totally off the idea, the warnings worked like an aphrodisiac. I began to lust over the madness. ‘Yes!’, I thought. ‘Throw me in amongst the ridiculous fray. Let’s experience this in all its frenzied glory.’
So I don’t mean to get all hocus pocus on your ass, but bad things happen when you travel during Mercury retrograde. Life just goes awry. In a big way. From misscommunications to missed flights, it is a time when ideally you should lay low, revise or edit old projects, & generally not be too ambitious. But hey! We’re brave! We care not for astrology! WE ARE CHINASHOP! We’ll give anything a try! & so, on Saturday morning, Barbie (our editor & multi-tasking prodigy), Seth (taciturn & phenomenally gifted videographer & photographer) & I (insert your own adjectives & nouns here) set off towards the desert in a blue Nissan Altima hybrid.
Interstate 10 is an unusual stretch of road. As well as the requisite million different burger joints, & the now-defunct Spanky’s BBQ (RIP Spanky), there are multiple windmill farms (quite a beautiful sight to behold) & some major designer discount shopping. & then, of course, there are the dinosaurs.
When we pulled onto the freeway in Indio, California, you could almost hear a collective exhale from inside the car. It had been a long trip. While the premise sounded idyllic — deserts! Palm trees! Swimming pools & music festivals! — the reality had turned out to be a joyless romp through an artificially lush playground for senior citizens. Harsh, I know, but unfortunately, true.
On our way to Coachella, we had passed signs on the I-10 promising some of the best designer shopping on the West Coast. I had pawed at the window desperately, but my intrepid editor, ever responsible & on-task, had kept her foot firmly on the throttle. (Things to do, places to go, enormous lines of traffic to sit in!) This time, heading in the opposite direction, it wasn’t such a hard sell. We practically left half our tread at the off-ramp, we were so excited.
After all, what could make the transition from the Californian desert to Los Angeles easier than some much-needed retail therapy at http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=6 With a slew of stores ranging from Barneys to Bottega Veneta, Dior to Dolce & Gabbana, & Ralph Lauren to Rock & Republic, we knew it was going to be a good time.