Book of the Week: New York at Night

They don’t call New York the city that never sleeps for nothing. We kick off fashion week here with an ode to Gotham’s twilight hours. As New York at Night: Photography after Dark shows, the city comes alive when the sun sets. With shots from Richard Avedon, Guy Bourdin, Diane Arbus, Stanley Kubrick, Nan Goldin, Ryan McGinley and more, the book’s a seductive and electrifying slideshow of the city pulsing through the ages. And like New York itself, there’s a little of everything, from the glittering and glamorous to the gritty and deliciously debauched.

Photograph by Larry Fink, George Plimpton at Elaine’s, NYC, January 1999 © Larry Fink

Video: Tory on Spring 2013

From wheat and yellow to the global magpie, see and hear what inspired Tory for Spring 2013.

Best Dressed: Candice Lake

We caught up with street-style photographer Candice Lake as she settled in to her new London apartment after her January wedding back home in Australia. She’s known on the fashion week circuit for her height (a cool 6′) and streamlined style (a lot of color blocking). Here, wearing Tory’s Lacquered Rattan Basket and Daphne Wedges, Candice talked about how she reinvented her own career in fashion, style and how to kick homesickness.

Book of the Week: Hawaii

Curling up with James A. Michener’s 1959 novel Hawaii is the next best thing to jetting off to the sunny islands themselves. The book, a favorite of Tory’s mom Reva, is an epic tale that traces the history of Hawaii from its creation (literally — chapter one begins with volcanic eruptions) to its statehood, as seen through the eyes of various families through the ages. Equal measure fact and fiction, it’s a lush, sweeping narrative, much like Michener’s 1947 account of the South Pacific, which turned into the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. There’s a Hollywood version of Hawaii, too, which starred Julie Andrews. One of the extras was a young as-yet-unknown Bette Midler. Who, it so happens, is a Honolulu native.

Tory’s Playlist: Prelude to the Grammys

While getting ready for the Grammys, we stumbled across this incredible group shot. It’s somehow hard to imagine all of this genius standing together, but there they are. 1975. Stevie Wonder wins album of the year. So we put this playlist together with songs by each of these boys and linger in the past. We miss you madly, John Lennon….

From left: David Bowie, Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon, Yoko Ono and John Lennon at the Grammy Awards, New York, 1975, photographed by Ron Galella

Street Style: Stripe Tease

It’s hot somewhere, right? While it’s winter here in New York, we dream of warmer days ahead. And the kinds of things you get to wear then, like a tank, jeans and gladiators. Photographer Bibi Cornejo Borthwick (shot here by Hanuk) epitomizes the buy-now-wear-later ethos as she pairs our Marlien Denim Leggings in just that kind of sunny-day combination. Her vertical stripes, paired with a heel, add an extra leg-lengthening boost.

Gail Simmons On: Sweets, Stews and Slow-Smoked Brisket

Talking with your mouth full is A-ok in Gail Simmons’ book — actually, that’s the name of her memoir Talking With My Mouth Full, which charts her culinary-curious childhood and career. We spent some time with the author and Top Chef judge at her favorite neighborhood haunt Haven’s Kitchen to chat BBQ, Last Suppers and daily hot chocolate cravings. (Her recipe for Spiked Hot Chocolate is perfectly timed with a recent cold spell here in the Northeast.)

Spotlight On: Fortuny and Venice

The name Fortuny is practically synonymous with Venice, gorgeous pleats and sumptuous fabrics — but how about boat propellers and floor lamps? There’s more to this century-old house, as we learned from co-owners Mickey and Maury Riad. Here, we talked to the brothers about pushing the company forward (while honoring its legacy) — and got their insider travel tips to La Venezia.

Just One Thing: Straw Struck

Straw = beach. Clutch = night? Not so. We love the idea of taking something you wouldn’t expect to see, and putting it into a new context. Why not swap out your day bag with a hand-held clutch, bursting with personality? This pint-sized style transforms even the most basic look: its cheerful pom-poms (which remind us of marigolds) break up an otherwise monochromatic, double-denim outfit — channeling a bohemian, vacation vibe.

Shop the Beachy Norah Flat Clutch now.

To Do: Qui Êtes-Vous, Norma Jean?

If you think you’ve seen every Marilyn Monroe photo available, think again. New York’s Danziger Gallery is holding a special exhibit of never-before-seen stills of the bombshell: Marilyn Monroe (New York, 1955), which comes with an accompanying book. The back story here is as engaging as the images — they were taken by 14-year-old Peter Mangone, who, on a cloudy March day in 1955, played hooky to stalk the actress outside her hotel, with his cardboard Revere movie camera. She invited him along for her afternoon stroll and the resulting five-and-a-half-minute film, which was lost until 2002, depicts Marilyn charmingly au naturale. She’s at ease, unguarded, completely herself and still absolutely hypnotic.

Spotlight On: Gucci Westman on the Go

We recently caught up with beauty guru Gucci Westman to find out where she’s been, what she’s up to and what’s inspiring her. Here’s a teaser: Sleepytime tea, TLC with her children Dash and Gray and husband David Neville of Rag & Bone, playing cards in Antigua and loving Caribbean colors for spring.

Spotlight On: Muscle Shoals at Sundance

Nashville, New York, Austin and…Muscle Shoals? Any music buff will tell you that, when it comes to music capitals, the small Alabama town turns out big sound. The film set is discovering just that at Sundance right now with the documentary Muscle Shoals, which features Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Etta James and Aretha Franklin, among many others, talking firsthand about this magic locale. Here, filmmaker Greg “Freddy” Camalier tells us about its legendary recording studios. Imagine if those walls could talk….

Spring 2013: As Seen in Vogue

Good things come in threes. Get a head start on spring and shop the Tory Burch trio seen in the February issue of Vogue: our wheat-print Ninian Skirt, hourglass Emilie Dress and striped iPhone Case.

Look We Love: Slim Shadies

There’s no quicker way to up the fashion ante than with a pair of chic frames. Channel everyone from the Hollywood set to vintage vamps and the ever-elegant Jackie O — or, oh, just your everyday leisure-loving beach babe, 365 days a year.

Shop All Sunglasses

Recipe: Sundance’s Truffle Pizza

When in Sundance, do as the festival goers do — eat at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s J&G Grill, just off the scenic slopes at the St. Regis Deer Crest resort. Here, the chef shares his menu of the week and even gave us the recipe for the restaurant’s famous Black Truffle Pizza.

Book of the Week: The Book of Happiness

For The Book of Happiness, photographer Joseph Peter visited 50 African countries and took 150,000 pictures of people laughing and smiling. It is a singular message of hope. Peter presented Nelson Mandela with a special edition. “His voice was grand,” recalls Peter of meeting the iconic statesman. “And when he smiled the room lit up!”

Editors’ Wish List: Valentine’s Day Gifts

Cupid, step aside. When it comes to matchmaking, we’ve got it down pat — at least when it comes to the gift-giving part. With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we’ve put together our special picks guaranteed to delight and surprise…and then some.

Shop the Valentine’s Day Wish List

Book of the Week: 75 Parisiennes

If you ever doubted that the French owned je-ne-sais-quoi chic, then check out the new book 75 Parisiennes by lensman Baudouin (yes, one word, like Madonna). A freelancer for Elle, Grazia and Le Monde, the Frenchman shot a crew of Parisians in their own environs over a six-year span. And these aren’t your usual oft-photographed It girls; every turn of the page brings a new discovery — not to mention an impressive peek into the City of Light’s kaleidoscopic culture and style. In a world of ubiquitous street-style photography, where every pose melts into the next, Baudouin’s artfully arranged compositions are a breath of fresh air — witty, visually stunning and each one utterly unique.

Alison Brie On: Sundance and Toy’s House

Alison Brie can play an uppity housewife to perfection (Mad Men), not to mention a hilariously hyper-driven, beyond-bubbly coed (Community). Now? She’s tackling the coming-of-age, dark comedy genre with Sundance’s Toy’s House, about a trio of adolescent boys escaping to the woods for a little independence. Here, Alison, who plays big sis in the film, talks to us about the festival, her Park City essentials and co-star couple Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally.

Book of the Week: Sol LeWitt

The Centre Pompidou-Metz in Paris has been holding a major retrospective of Minimal and Conceptual art pioneer Sol LeWitt, complete with 33 of his massive wall drawings. Now Stateside fans can immerse themselves in the artist’s oeuvre with the upcoming U.S. release of Sol LeWitt. An in-depth monograph that covers his career from start to finish, it’s an eye-opener, especially if your LeWitt 411 is limited to those oft-quoted grids and cubes. For instance: Did you know his first gig out of school was manning the photocopy machine at teen glossy Seventeen? Yeah, we didn’t either.

Irregular Grid, 1999, by Sol LeWitt

Tory Entertains: Caviar Blinis

Blinis, blins, blinchikis — whatever you want to call them, these fluffy siblings to the crepe are delicious and a great bite-sized starter to any party. Get Tory’s favorite recipe here, courtesy of Chef Dana Minuta.

10 Minutes with an Entrepreneur: Peek’s Ruzwana Bashir

Impressive doesn’t even begin to describe Ruzwana Bashir’s CV. Not only does the Brit have degrees from Oxford and Harvard Business School — and was a Fulbright Scholar at the latter to boot — but after working at art start-up Artsy, she went on to launch her own travel site: Peek, where you can be inspired by, discover and book awesome vacation plans. Here, Ruzwana shared her advice for the would-be entrepreneur and talked travel with us.