Can’t cram enough footwear into your closet? Then you’ll salivate flipping through Nancy MacDonnell’s new shoe lover’s bible, The Shoe Book. The 380-page tome chronicles the compelling history of this functional yet aspirational accessory, tracing its origins from ancient Armenian sandals to Dorothy’s ruby slippers and beyond, and exploring the technologies and design techniques that go behind a truly remarkable pair of shoes. The book is also filled with interviews with influential shoemakers such as Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik, marvelous quotes from fashion icons like Marilyn Monroe and Sara Jessica Parker and, of course, pages and pages of gorgeous shoes, in the form of both colorful photos and original designer sketches. … //READ MORE

This season designers have stretched their wings with fanciful fashions that pay homage to the magnificent and ephemeral butterfly. Fluttering into stores everywhere have been butterfly-print dresses, bags, shoes, jewelry and other gorgeous accessories. These colorful, ultra-feminine designs are the perfect fashion statement for those lighthearted warm-weather months when the Monarchs themselves enjoy their short-lived time with us.

However, like the real creatures, which migrate to warmer climes when the weather cools down, these beautiful butterfly prints won’t stay forever, so catch them while they’re still in flight. What’s waiting in the wings as the next print-of-the-moment? Something equally mesmerizing and captivating, we hope. … //READ MORE

It’s summertime—finally!—and you’re heading out on holiday. The tickets are booked, the car’s in great shape, the cruise plans are sorted or the hiking trails are all mapped out. But, wait! Have you chosen the perfect book to take along on your vacation? If not, no worries, because we have some great suggestions for you. Whether you’ll be road tripping through the U.S. or backpacking around Europe or just sitting on your butt on a white beach somewhere (lucky you), we have some strong opinions about the reading materials you should bring along on your journey. Read on, Macduff.

1. Family Beach Holiday. A lazy vacation on the beach requires a book that doesn’t require you to think too much, but instead entertains and maybe pulls on the heartstrings. Gerald Durrell’s My Family and Other Animals is a perfect beach read. When the unconventional Durrell family can no longer endure the damp, gray English climate, they do what any sensible family would do: sell their house and relocate to the sunny Greek isle of Corfu. What follows is a funny, heartwarming account of the family’s quirky experiences with the other inhabitants of the island—not all of them human. Told with wit, humor and beautiful detail, this book will have you chuckling as you sip your fruity beach drink. … //READ MORE

A pale and rather nondescript girl named Shoshanna sits down in front of a big round mirror. Bowie’s Cat People blares in the background. Shoshanna takes out an eyeliner pencil and lines her upper lash line. Next, she slashes blush onto her cheeks like war paint. And then it happens. She picks up a bright-red lipstick, rolls the color out of its tube and begins to fill in her lips. Instantly, she metamorphoses into a dramatic, full-lipped warrior.

I’ll never forget that scene from Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, nor will I forget the saturated red of the actress Mélanie Laurent’s lips beneath her black veil. It’s a cinematic image that’s indelibly fixed in my mind. And ladies, it was that very image that made me run out and buy my very first red lipstick. Since then, life, as they say, has never been the same. … //READ MORE

It happens so fast. One moment they’re wobbly headed toddlers with an insatiable need to touch every object in a room, and the next they’re heading for Middle School. A few years ago, when our children were tiny, my husband and I tried to avoid amusement parks as much as possible. They were too crowded, we’d argue. The lines to all the rides were too long, and the food was crappy and overpriced. But soon enough, there we were, visiting Sesame Place in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, with my sister and her family. My kids, then 1 and 4, were in the Mini Monster Playhouse with their cousins, attempting to climb a steep, cone-shapped slide. My son, who had just started walking a few months prior, tried his best to make it to the top, but each time he got halfway up he slid right back down. At one point my daughter offered him a hand, but the weight of him only caused the two of them to slip and fall. As they struggled, they began laughing, and before you know it Steve and I were cracking up too. The kids both looked so cute in their bathing suits, sliding down a blue vinyl mountain, limbs spread out like one of those Garfield stuffies people used to suction onto their car windows, that we couldn’t take their eyes off them. When they finally made it to the top, all four of us were cheering. And we decided that maybe amusement parks weren’t so bad after all.

I’ve visited Japan twice, and both times I was mesmerized by the seemingly effortless beauty Japanese women radiate. Their bodies are slim and fit, and their clothes fit so well they appear custom-made just for them. The great majority of ladies—even the women over 60—have flawless porcelain skin that appears lit from within. And their hair—don’t me started on their hair—is always smooth and frizz-free, even in the hottest, most humid weather.

Walking around Tokyo last summer in 99-degree weather, I had to wrestle my wavy hair into a ponytail or bun, or wear it under a hat to prevent that Don King look. And by midday, the little makeup I had on was melting into my face. But there they were, those Japanese girls, walking around the sweltering city in long pants, with their smooth, shiny hair hanging down their backs, not a lock or lash out of place. So one night at dinner, I asked my husband’s gorgeous cousin, who lives in Tokyo and works for a Japanese cosmetics company, what beauty secrets she and other Japanese women were hiding from us Americans. … //READ MORE