To Do: Neil Young at Snap Galleries

Get an up-close-and-personal glimpse at Neil Young’s storied four-decades career with a photo exhibit at London’s Snap Galleries, open until November 10. The show features the work of Joel Bernstein, and dates back to the famous solarized cover of the 1970 record After the Gold Rush. Since then, Joel — whose vast archive also inspired the look of the film Almost Famous — has taken at least 10,000 shots of the music icon. If you can’t make it to London, but still need your Neil fix, the musician also just published his autobiography, Waging Heavy Peace.

Neil Young in Limo, 1970 by Joel Bernstein

Video: The Little [Blank] Dress

Cocktails. Work. Weekend. The classic LBD is the perfect blank canvas — hence our decision to anoint it “The Little Blank Dress.” We styled one simple, versatile silhouette for multiple occasions. Shop the 3 video looks — or all black dresses.

Most Wanted: The Pixie

According to Paul Simon, jeweled shoes are one way to lose the walking blues. We concur! Our Pixie is a gem- and petal-embellished shoe that comes in a classic peep-toe and a wedge, combining height and walkability (paramount while making the holiday party rounds). So go ahead and build your outfit from the bottom up. From little black dresses (and pants) to distressed denim, they’re all a great foundation for showing off these head-turning heels.

Shop the Pixie.

Spotlight On: Talula’s

With the holiday season comes…many a heavy holiday meal. So we spoke to Aimee Olexy of Philadelphia’s farm-to-table restaurants Talula’s Garden (above) and Talula’s Table on how to eat healthy — and still be satisfied. The restaurateur, who named the spots after daughter Annalee Talula Rae, gave us her recommendations on everything from cookbooks to cheeses, the latter of which is a specialty of hers. Yes, you can have your cheese and eat it, too. Aimee even shared her recipe for a caramel apple and cheddar tartlet.

Video: Holiday 2012

For Holiday 2012, it’s all about evening, as our models mingle in classic cocktail dresses and menswear-inspired pieces with jewels and sparkle thrown in. Julia Frauche, Tati Cotliar and Shu Pei gather with Tommy Dunn to the soundtrack of The White Season by London band Still Corner. Our lookbook, photographed by Lachlan Bailey and styled by Ethel Park, was brought to life by filmmaker Max Nova. Shot on location in the former New York Academy of Sciences, a NYC mansion with a long, slightly mysterious history, it sets the mood for the season ahead. As the lyrics go: Dream this winter dream…

Shop all the looks from the video.

Insider’s Guide: Rodman Primack’s Brazil

With all things Brazil on the blog this week, we enlisted Rodman Primack, founder of The Blacklots and RP Miller Design, to break down the culture scene there. Fresh from the São Paulo Art Biennial, he gave us his full list of highlights, from 300-year-old baroque churches to a restaurant with an experimental side.

‪Igreja São Francisco de Assis‬ in Ouro Preto, Brazil

Playlist: Lara Gerin

What gets the crowds moving in São Paulo? DJLara Gerin always knows. This is straight from the rotation at Tory’s recent party to celebrate our São Paulo boutique opening.

Spotlight On: Hinckley

Tory’s hitting the high seas — or rather, her designs are. She recently collaborated with Hinckley, designing the interiors of one of its latest models, the T34 jet boat. See the interior here, plus learn all about this legendary American yacht-builder — it dates back to 1928! — in our Q&A with owner David Howe.

Cristina Cuomo On: A Hamptons Halloween

As a mother of three and an admitted candy corn addict, Cristina Cuomo is the expert on celebrating family-friendly Halloweens — complete with festive petit-fours and apple-bobbing in a barn. Here, the Editor-in-Chief of Manhattan magazine reveals all, from how she decorates her house and where she gets the best pumpkins to the one Halloween she spent with the Bee Gees.

Spotlight On: Stephanie von Watzdorf’s Figue

Some things are worth waiting for. For Stephanie von Watzdorf, her new collection Figue is the culmination of her life’s experience and memories, of childhood summers spent on Isola dei Galli, the Mediterranean island owned by her grandfather Leonide Massine. Massine was the legendary choreographer of the Ballets Russes, and Stephanie watched his dancers rehearse, playing among the troupe’s Picasso-designed costumes. (The island was covered in figs, or figue in French.) Stephanie, who has designed for Giorgio Armani and Ralph Lauren, has been an integral part of our design team since almost Day 1. Here, we asked her about her inspiration.

Congratulations, Steph, we couldn’t be more proud!

Spotlight On: Tara Maria Famiglietti

How’s this for a cocktail of muses: Brigitte Bardot, Ursula Andress and…Grandma? For jewelry designer Tara Maria Famiglietti, that’s the inspirational formula behind her collection of glamorous boho baubles, which she named Nana Fabella after her chic nonna. Here, the New York native, who’s married to musician Matt White and once spent two years living on a sailboat, talks holiday sparkle and Ménage a Trois.

Tory Entertains: Caipirinha de Tangerina

When in Brazil, drink as the Brazilians drink — and that means plenty of cachaça. Here’s a recipe for a tangerine caipirinha that Tory picked up while in São Paulo.

Spotlight On: Amalia Spinardi

Amalia Spinardi is a self-professed bikini addict. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t appreciate a good maillot. Her tenure as an editor at Brazil’s top fashion magazines — and working with the likes of Gisele Bündchen, Isabeli Fontana and Raquel Zimmermann — informed her own swim collection, Jo de Mer. We caught up with Spinardi on Tory’s recent trip to São Paulo and asked about all things Brazilian and beach-bound.

Tory On: São Paulo

As the Paulistanos would say, “Bem-vindo!” This week, we’re celebrating all things São Paulo, as Tory and the team just returned from the Southern Hemisphere. They were there to celebrate our first boutiques in Brazil and present the Spring 2013 collection to customers and friends. Here, Tory talks about highlights from her trip, and all this week we’ll be featuring São Paulo tastemakers and entrepreneurs on the Tory Blog.

Word of Mouth: Aperture at Sixty

Photo-philes, you’re going to love this. To celebrate its 60th anniversary, nonprofit publisher and photo organization Aperture Foundation is holding a major auction Tuesday evening at Gotham Hall in New York, from 6-9:30 PM. There are 60 lots in all, everything from Chuck Close’s famous portrait of Kate Moss to a breathtaking shot of Grace Kelly by Elliott Erwitt. Also going under the gavel: works by Robert Mapplethorpe, Diane Arbus, Sally Mann, Paul Strand, Dawoud Bey and Aperture co-founders Ansel Adams and Dorothea Lange. Not in town? No problem; absentee bidding is available.

A Boy in Front of the Loew’s 125th Street Movie Theater, 1976. Courtesy and © Dawoud Bey and Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago.

To See: Mario Testino

Photographer Mario Testino counts Gisele and Kate Moss among his closest friends, is a confidante of Gwyneth Paltrow and was chosen by the Royal Family to capture the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for their first official portrait as a couple. Just imagine what a day in his shoes is like.

Starting this week at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, you can be the voyeur with the first-ever U.S. exhibit to cover his impressive 30-year career. Consider it your front-row seat to glamour, beauty and star-studded decadence — with plenty of elusive Red Carpet Royalty in action, from Lady Gaga to Lady Di.

Kate Moss, London, 2006. Photograph by Mario Testino. Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Jordana Brewster On: Holiday Style

With the Holiday season around the corner, we asked the ever-chic Jordana Brewster to give us a few tips on cocktail dressing. But the Dallas star also opened up about destination getaways — and why instant oatmeal is a travel must — as well as her childhood growing up in her mother’s native Rio de Janeiro.

What’s Your Sign? Scorpio

Curious about what this month has in store for you? Then keep reading. As we move into the air sign of Scorpio (October 22nd – November 21st), astrology expert Susie Cox reveals all.

Dr. Sam On: Pioneers of the Breast Cancer Fight,

As we celebrate National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Samantha Boardman tips her hat to women who pioneered the cause — Evelyn Lauder, Betty Ford and countless women across the country and world who are doing something extraordinary this October.

Ask Barbara: Work-Life Balance

Q: I love my job. I love my friends. What’s the secret to a work-life balance? — Anjelica, Phoenix

A: As best as possible, try to focus on work while at work and your friends during social situations. Texting and emailing friends while at work or texting work issues during dinner with loved ones can throw everyone off balance.

Insider’s Guide: Imran Amed’s Calgary

Canada’s more than hockey and maple leaves. To fete our new outpost in Calgary, The Business of Fashion’s Imran Amed clued us in on what makes the country tick. Expect a few surprises, like the world’s biggest rodeo and a spicy something called the Bloody Caesar.

Tory’s Playlist: Cocktails, Anyone?

Shaken or stirred? These tunes are for holiday evenings with friends, starting with a bowl of cherries courtesy of The Mills Brothers and ending with Regina Spektor’s Ne Me Quitte Pas.

Best Dressed: Francesca DiMattio

Rising art star Francesca DiMattio is a deft mix master both in the studio — she’s famous for her coolly spliced sculptures and paintings — and the dressing room. She’s not afraid of playing with proportions (as in this version of Tory’s Elise dress) or going super-tailored one day and dressing “like a six-year-old girl in striped leggings, clogs and short cotton dresses” another. Though busy with shows in London, Manhattan and Clinton, New York, the artist took some time off to talk inspiration and her go-to gallery style.

Spotlight On: Nate Berkus

Rather than serve up another book about decorating how-tos, Nate Berkus shares a more intimate story in The Things That Matter. In it, he reveals his backstory and spotlights his favorite interiors that echo with the owner’s personality, whether it’s Fabiola Beracasa or Dr. Ruth. “There’s so much out there — in shelter magazines, on television — that it gets confusing,” he says. “The goal of the book is to clear that up. People’s homes should tell the story of who they are.” Here, Nate continues the tale — and shares his advice on home entertaining and décor.