Scent Notes | Azzaro Couture

The perfumer Aurélien Guichard, the son of the equally talented Jean Guichard (the creator of the immortal l’Interdit for Givenchy), has excellent creative range. He can go from making the chic, retro-rich Baghari for the contemporary incarnation of Robert Piguet to the delicate translucent-flower-in-a-white-space-station cult favorite Chinatown for Bond No. 9 to the brutalist 21st-century chypre (take out the labdanum, put in asphalt and the scorched scent of steel under a welder’s arc) of Sean John’s Unforgivable.

Bagged: Chanel’s Mobile Art Pavilion

Color us Coco-friendly black and white, but don’t color us surprised: the latest victim of these troubled times is the Zaha Hadid-designed Chanel Mobile Art Pavilion. Somewhat inexplicable even in a flush economy, the traveling, snail-shaped guerrilla gallery, built to house interpretations of Chanel’s iconic 2.55 handbag by such artists as Sylvie Fleury, David Levinthal and Fabrice Hybert, has finally deflated after stops in Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York City.

What Gives | Gifting the Creative Type

(Right: William P. O’Donnell/The New York Times)

The editors of T Magazine present What Gives, a guide to holiday gifting.

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When inspiration strikes, Gap’s mittens convert to fingerless gloves allowing for utmost dexterity while operating a Leica, Moleskine or iPhone. In the new LittleBigPlanet video game, there’s no trigger finger required — just the imagination to build cute custom worlds (plus a Sony PlayStation3).

LittleBigPlanet, $59.99. Available at Amazon.com.
Gap mittens, $19.50. Available in dwindling numbers at select Gap stores. Call ahead.

Need more gift ideas? Read previous posts of What Gives.

Now Cooking | More ‘Tiny Kitchen’

Since my first post about “Tiny Kitchen,” which takes you into my small kitchen to demonstrate the Sunday Magazine recipes, we have filmed two more webisodes.
One involved making spelt crackers, and another a Roquefort and walnut salad. Many viewers of the first video, The Normandy cocktail, have said that “Tiny Kitchen” and the published recipes it features are hard to locate on the Web site. We are working on this. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy them and keep the feedback coming. It’s so useful. Thanks.

Read more food coverage on The Moment.

The Post-Materialist | Fashion Grows Up

93 year-old Mimi Weddell in the documentary Hats Off, and a snap by Mister Mort on the Advanced Style blog, launched in August.

A report from our Berlin correspondent on design and society.

One of the more interesting trends in fashion this year has been a vogue for older models. The theme seems to have started in March, with the New York premiere of Hats Off, a documentary about the 93 year-old actress and model Mimi Weddell. As the New York Times reported when it interviewed the effervescent Ms Weddell, her motto is “Rise above it!”, which implies not just the ability to transcend small anxieties, but also the idea that higher things — even ages — are better things.

Wanderlust | The Merchants of Venice

At some point Venice, the longtime epicenter of Los Angeles cool, surrendered its title to other neighborhoods, like Silver Lake and Los Feliz. But some recently opened businesses are beckoning that attention back, particularly along Rose Avenue, thoroughfare to the Pacific Ocean.

 

Big Red Sun
An offshoot from its flagship location in Austin, Tex., Big Red Sun is a garden store as envisioned by Dr. Seuss. The building itself is painted a vibrant green, surely to match its contents. A visit to the store is a passive education in botany and an inspiration for those cursed with a yellow thumb to cultivate a beautiful garden.
564 Rose Avenue

What Gives | Gifting the Jet-Setter

The editors of T Magazine present What Gives, a guide to holiday gifting.

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This slick duffel by Marc Newson for Samsonite was designed with a guy in mind, with separate compartments for shoes and dirty laundry. For hauling cargo more precious, there’s Cole Haan’s pet carrier tote. Terrier not included.

Marc Newson for Samsonite Scope duffel bag, $140. Available at Moss.
Cole Haan pet carrier tote, $159.95. Available at Cole Haan.

Need more gift ideas? Read previous posts of What Gives.

Highlight Reel: Tom Cruise

In case you missed the hoopla, last night we played host to Tom Cruise. He spoke to T Magazine’s Lynn Hirschberg in front of an audience in The TimesCenter. Many of you tuned in to our live video feed, but for those who couldn’t make it we’ve pulled together the highlights above.

Now Screening | ‘Dance of the Golden Axe’

Agyness Deyn: platinum-haired pixie, Kate Moss scion, voodoo goddess? Now, thanks to Gordon Hull, a director and contemporary bricoleur of sorts, the fashion model Deyn can add a new credit to her résumé: Erzulie, goddess of love. In our latest T-commissioned film, Hull, founder of the SoHo-based global creative collective Surface to Air, appropriates elements of Afro-Caribbean culture. What emerges is an atmospheric portrait of a pine grove, and a group of soldier-initiates entranced by an ursine coyote who are pushed to perform what the director terms “the desperate act” — all it takes it one puff of Deyn’s (errr, Erzulie’s) magic dust. We’ll have what they’re having.

The High Low | American Eagle Waffle T-shirt, $14.95, and Long Johns, $11.95

What: American Eagle Waffle T-shirt, $14.95, and Long Johns, $11.95 (on sale)
How much: $14.95 (top) and $11.95 (bottoms) at American Eagle Outfitters.
Who: Melissa Ventosa Martin, T Magazine’s Women’s Fashion Associate

If you’re lucky, by the end of the week you might be packing your bags for a snowy holiday getaway. I always try to throw in some cozy pieces that not only work for the annual Christmas-morning candid photo session — straight out of bed of course, gotta love those even in your late 20s — but also for any number of regularly scheduled outdoor winter activities. These American Eagle long johns are pretty festive with their candy-cane stripes. The henley layers nicely under a ski sweater, and I just might be able to squeeze the bottoms under my grandmother’s bright blue Bogner ski pants from 1957!

Read previous posts of The High Low.