All stories about "Gear"

Recently featured on Gadling, the Travelkleen is a "personal headrest protector" or, to the layman, an antimacassar. Now, this product deserves scorn for myriad reasons. Uh, helloooo? Airplanes already have antimacassars. Also, who the fuck uses these things other than Bill Murray from What about Bob? and fanny-packed balding dudes with a maroon polo shirt tucked into pleated khakis? But the real question is if we are so anti antimacassars, does that make us promacassar and if so, what does that even mean? Our lines are open.

Travelkleen

Previously: The Pillow That Could Have Saved Otherwise Ruined Relationships, Shyno Shirts: SMS-ual Intercoursetra

UPDATE: This venue has closed
Vancouver's Discollection is a vintage clothing store run by an incredibly hot Asia Argento look-a-like named Kim and a sometimes set for Suicide Girls photo shoots. In short, Discollection presents itself to the ideal form of a store. The store has been around a year but most of the inventory comes from long before that. When we called, a woman who wasn't the owner answered who sounded exactly like Sarah Jessica Parker's character in LA Story, SanDeE*. She informed us, "We carry everything vintage as well as some local designers. We also have faerie hats." Us: Huh? , "You know, wool cap things, like faeries wear." Vintage fur, faeries, sometimes nudie shots. Discollection is tits!

Discollection [Official site]

[Photo: kk+/Flickr]

Previously: Auld Lang Swine: Year of the Pig, Beginner's Guide to Vancouver, South of the Border, North of the Border, Bourgeois Speakeasy: Is there any other kind?

Though this may fall slightly outside of the purview of either urbanity or travel, Architectonic's project Hosting a Guest proves to be a useful exercise, I imagine, for many of our readers who frequently, by dint of their breadth of knowledge and all-round friendliness, find themselves playing host. Architectonic basically worked with a number of designers to solve problems commonly associated with having a guest in a small space. Our favorite is this pillow designed by Debra Clark called the "Sharing Pillow" for use when there's only one bed and two people. I can't tell you how handy this pillow would have been in the past. I mean, so you're in bed with some girl/platonic friend in the middle of the night, your head next to hers. And then you know you start kind of spooning, and then you know, maybe a couple of kisses and the next thing you know, your friendship's ruined. With the Sharing Pillow, you don't even need self-control. It's like a friendship preserver/night erection prophylactic. And this, I imagine, must be quite helpful for nearly all of you 25-34 year olds out there.

Hosting a Guest [via Design Spotter]

Previously: Amsterdam's Boutique: Bland Name, Bling Stock, Shyno Shirts: SMS-ual Intercourse, Adidas's Of the World: UntieGridskipper Gift Guide: For Those Who Value Hygeine

Whilst wandering aimlessly through the streets of Amsterdam, blogger maven Joshua Spear stumbled upon Boutique, a ummmm boutique. According to Senor Spear, Boutique is a "nerd meets design shop." A paradise for the well-heeled hipster-nerd, the shops sleekly designed shelves are filled with cell phones and iPods made in various shades of precious metals, from a silver iPod to the D&G Gold phone. Inexplicably, there's also an all-white guitar.

Boutique [via Josh Spear]

Previously: Amsterdam Duck House, Multatuli: Too Cool For Schooly, UTrechtsedwarstafel Restaurant: As Delicious As It Sounds

Cintra, my cohort in life and crime, once told me a story I will never forget--of being goosed in Rome by a man who was riding on a scooter while speaking on a cell phone. Now that's a forward and dextrous dude (or at least a guy with three hands). And yet it appears that there are timid fellows in Rome as well. Happily for them, Shyno is now selling t-shirts each emblazoned with unique SMS codes. So if you see someone you fancy, you go to Shyno SMS site and shoot off your timid little missive of love to your bella Italiana (or Italiano) of choice. They run $50 each.

Shyno [Official site]
Shyno blog [Official site]
Ropa con SMS para ligar [ADN Mundo]

[Text: Ian Mount]

Previously: Gary Shteyngart's Roman Absurdistan, Rome, You Got Me Ridin' Bruni Bruni, Big Fat Art Around the World, Italy Tracks train Tardiness online

No sneakerheads us, just lovers of the world, it is with glee that we introduce Adidas's Materials of the World line of sneakers, sportswear and hats. We first noticed the line on Charles and Marie where they happily announced the release of a beflowered Bohemian sneaker but further research revealed a rich atlas of incredibly pricey footwear made from the "essence" of various countries such as Japan, Indonesia and Turkey. Adidas basically uses material of cultural import from each country to craft the shoe. Ergo, the Japan sneaker is made with salvaged denim.

The denim is recognised around the world as some of the finest denim available.Its soft and comfortable qualities are achieved with the use of old style, mechanical shuttle looms. These machines produce a narrow fabric which means that the cloth becomes denser and softer. The denim is also given the selvage finish - a device that prevents fraying or unraveling. Extra value is given to the denim with the sensational dying process which is often overseen by an "aishi", or indigo master. In ode to this technique, adidas have given us the much loved Forum Mid, which has been produced with a full denim upper and traditional Kimono finishing.

The shoes are available most readily, we think, through Triads a British footwear furnisher.

Adidas Materials of the World [Triads]

Previously: Gridskipper Gift Guide: For Those Who Value Hygeine, Plate Tectonics, Show Me the Money! Show me the Metro!

What looks like a lightbulb, feels like a butt plug and is a must have for any traveler? Why Paul Koh's most excellent silicone traveling tubes. Clocking in at just under the 3 oz. TSA maximum fluid allowance, the beauty of this product will be readily apparent to anyone who's had to throw out a tube of Kiehl's facial cleanser (Damn you, Osama!) at airport security or who has arrived in Miami with a thin sheen of SPF 45 covering all your clothes. Two travel tubes: $20. Shipping and Handling: $2. Arriving with moisturized clean skin: Priceless.

PKoh's Silicone Travel Bottle [via Cool Hunting]

Previous Gift Guidage: Gridskipper Guide for the Urban Dioramaist, For the Sad Sap, For the Aesthete, For the Conceptual Graffitist, For the Subway Enthusiast, Gift Guide for the Jilted Lover, For the Subway Slasher

Straight off their run at the AIA convention, these city plates are a must have for, I don't know. I guess they're not a must have. But they are pretty sweet. Depicting the maps of five "gateway cities" [LA, NYC, Cairo, Berlin and these 12" porcelain plates go fro $48 dollars (approx. half the cost of an angorra-covered brick). Brought to our attention by the illustrious Josh Spear, these babies are selling like hotcakes so act quickly. If you're dating a dork, they'd make a great Valentine's Day gift. That and herpes.

Map Plates [via Josh Spear

Previously: Show me the money! Show me the Metro!, Devious Gadget: Knee Defender, Gridskipper Gift Guide

Remember the good old holidays when you'd buy stuff for people in a close approximation of altruism? Well those days are back, briefly. Back then we recommended these Stainless Steel Subway Cards. Recently Suck UK started offering versions of the Paris Metro too which bumps up the cities thusly mapped to New York, London and Paris. They've also concocted these nifty wallets/subway maps that come in two flavors: London and New York. Not only are we totally psyched to use a animated GIF but the actual wallets are pretty cool too. And only £35.00 too.

Tubemap Wallet [Suck UK]

Previously: Devious Gadget: Knee Defender, Gridskipper Gift Guide: For the Psoriasis Safari Sufferer, Gridskipper Gift Guide: For Big Brother, Gridskipper Gift Guide: For the Sad Sap

Gadling picked up the Knee Defender a little product that prevents the seat in front of you on an airplane from reclining. We covered this baby before but now it's got a new design which the website claims, somewhat dubiously, makes it look cool. The tiny device comes in a pair that slips over your tray table and blocks the "faceless, determined seat recliner" in front of you from reclining. Let's clarify though: he's only faceless until he turns around and asks, "What the fuck are you doing?" At that moment, you also transform from that gadget-loving road warrior to a little weiner who may or may not get in a confrontation about your weeniness. Still if you want to risk it, who are we to stop you? The Knee Defender costs US$14.95.

Knee Defender [via Gadling]

Previously: Gridskipper Gift Guide: For the Psoriasis Sufferer, For the Wet Art Lover, For the Dantean Traveler, For the Right-To-Bear-Armer, For Big Brother, Gridskipper Guide for the Urban Dioramaist, For the Sad Sap, For the Aesthete, For the Conceptual Graffitist, For the Subway Enthusiast, Gift Guide for the Jilted Lover, For the Subway Slasher

A debate has been raging in Gridskipper HQ as to whether using tubes of high-end facial lotion and lip balm is an appropriate action for a hetero dude . Jury's still out but in the meantime, honestly, my lips have never felt so supple. This traveling set from L'Occitane contains all the lotions, soaps, conditioners, and balms any one might need. For $35, it's not going to break the bank and it obviates the need to carry tons of toiletries. Not edgy, not incredibly thoughtful but as we noted whomever you're buying gifts for at this late date you don't really love anyway, so what do you care?

L'Occitane Shea Travel Treasures

Previous Gift Guidance: For the Wet Art Lover, For the Dantean Traveler, For the Right-To-Bear-Armer, For Big Brother, Gridskipper Guide for the Urban Dioramaist, For the Sad Sap, For the Aesthete, For the Conceptual Graffitist, For the Subway Enthusiast, Gift Guide for the Jilted Lover, For the Subway Slasher

Today's gift guide is of a more personal nature. I really really want the Hypersonic Sound Beam. This box-like speaker enables you to project your voice, music, basically anything you want, into someone's head. What it does is use the target's skull (or bones) as the sound board, that is as the matter through which the waves resonate. I tried it once at the HQ of International Robotics on Broadway (a small office filled with robots). It is insane. Imagine the havoc you can cause, the tail you can get. Bring the Hypersonic Sound Beam to bar, get your wingman to direct toward a lovely lady. Have her think, "Crikey, that guy looking at me right now with the nosehair visible at 30 ft and the paunch is really attractive." Then enjoy. Amoral? Yes. Awesome? Yes. $950 for a standard model that projects more that 25' away? Yes.

International Robotics

Previous Gift Guidage: Gridskipper Guide for the Urban Dioramaist, For the Sad Sap, For the Aesthete, For the Conceptual Graffitist, For the Subway Enthusiast, Gift Guide for the Jilted Lover, For the Subway Slasher

The fact that it is absurdly cliche does little to ameliorate the fact that spending Christmas alone might be the most depressing situation one might find oneself in. That one has a DVD player makes the tragic tableau a little less cut-your-wristy; that said DVD player is playing a DVD of pre-recorded dinner conversations with an imaginary partner makes the meal almost festive. That the conversation is in Dutch is, for most of us, a downer. That someone else bought this DVD for you instead of actually spending the holidays with you is enough to make you want to end it all. And the possibility, hazy though distinct, that you bought the DVD yourself is cause enough to make this Christmas your last. DVD €7.50.

Tafelgenoten

Previous Gift Guidance: For the Aesthete, For the Conceptual Graffitist, For the Subway Enthusiast, Gift Guide for the Jilted Lover,

DIY Christmas gifts can be a dicey proposition. Who can forget when Gramma gave you some yarn and needles and said, "Here you go, knit your own goddamn socks!" These LED Throwies, which we've mentioned previously, however are unavailable at any store so if you want them, or want someone to have them, they'll have to make them on their own. Luckily, these little globules of light which are meant to be thrown on any metallic surface, where they stick and illuminate, are easily and cheaply made. For complete directions and parts list, visit Instructables. For a video of the fun one can have, see the Throwies in action at Graffiti Research Lab.

Instructables

Previous Gift Guidance: Tender Buttons, Gift Guide for the Jilted Lover,

New Mind Space, a New York and Toronto-based group that hosts massive pillow parties, epic games of capture the flag and other public art "happenings" is hawking these MTA buttons. Get the complete set, which includes 25 buttons and the possibility of spelling F-A-G, F-A-C-E, F-E-C-A-L and more for US$27. Individual buttons for US$1.50. To get your London tube station buttonized, send the name of the station you'd like to KoolBadges. Badges is British for buttons, obvi. Each button is US$2 and is also available through Etsy.com.
You can't spell sophomoric put-downs with these buttons of Toronto's metro stations but you can wear your stop on your lapel or, since it's Christmas, hand them out to everyone at the station. A full set of Toronto stations consists of 73 buttons and will set you back US$49. Alternatively, you can buy stations by geographic locations for less. Stay tuned for more and more cool gifts to get people you mildly care about as part of our absolutely-nothing-to-do-with-the-logo Gridskipper Gift Guide. Have suggestions or comments? Send 'em to tips@gridskipper.com.

New Mind Space
Kool Badges
Toronto Buttons

Previously: Gridskipper Gift Guide: For the Jilted Lover

This weekend, having nothing better to do than dork out, I stopped by the Wired Soho store. The store, open until December 31st, holds numerous cool gadgets one wouldn't be surprised to find gracing the magazine's pages such as the MOTOKRZR, the Nintendo Wii and hi-tech swim goggles. But by far the coolest thing there, and in fact the best thing that happened to me all weekend, is a game they have there called Mindball. Basically the game's point is to get as relaxed as you can. You and your opponent strap on headbands with sensors in them that monitor your alpha and theta brain waves. You sit at opposite ends of a table and, by relaxing your mind, manipulate a small gray ball on a glass track that runs the length of the table. The object is to get the ball onto your opponents side. The game is literally a mindfuck. The closer it gets to their side, the more excited you get and the ball stops its progress and inches towards you, freaking you out even more and ensuring you'll lose. Our advice is to come sooner than later, since it is only a matter of time before rampaging shoppers destroy all the store's gadgets. Mindball: Worth the trip to Soho, hell, worth a trip to New York. Not worth the $19,800 price tag.

Wired Store
Mindball

Previously: Midtown Douchiness Explained, Pizza Party, Ghetto Gourmet Report, Yes But Is It Graffiti?, Parea No Pariah Perhaps A Greek Messiah

For most of us, the flimsy plastic credit card sized subway maps you can buy for a buck or two are good enough. But for a certain breed, nothing but etched stainless steel will suffice. These are probably the same people who opt for the Butterfly Amex and the NEC N908. The maps come from Suck UK, a British design outfit that specializes in tongue-in-cheek products. The cards are available for the London Underground and NY subways. Order directly through the website. £7.50+shipping.

SUCK UK [via WorldHum]

Previously: Tokyo Subway iPod Skin, Transit Sightseeing Guides, NYC Subway Food Directory, Boston Apartment Mashup

With the New Year right around the corner (ok, we have to get through a couple other lame-o holidays first) we were turned on, as Vincent Libretti might say, by the Smut and Hotel Room Calendar featured at our slightly (ever less more slightly) dirtier cousin Fleshbot. But whereas Fleshbot readers will no doubt be glued to the salacious curves (the smut part), we at Gridskipper are magnetically drawn to the bedspread (the hotel part.) In this image, (monthTK) who can overlook the alluring polyester paisley bedspread, the complimentary Yellow Pages and the alluring hint of a rotary telephone (far right)? Calendars are 13.95 and are available through Lulu.com

Smut and Hotel Room 2007 Calendar [Fleshbot]

Previously: Homo on the Range in Oslo, Deus Sex Machina, It's Not the Size of the Festival, It's the Motion of the Picture, Airtroductions: Get Your Airhead On

Neckface, the graffiti artist whose pieces are scattered around NY and LA (usually a creepy animal with Neck Face written on it), is pretty savvy for a 23-year-old. It seems like just yesterday that Dana Goodyear was chatting with the nineteen-year-old kid, "little and shy, with black eyes and brows, and fanglike teeth of his own" as she wrote in 2004. But now, as SneakerFreaker reports, the young lad has paired up with Vans to create his own line of trainers. The sneakers come with various sinister Neckface doodlings. His signature Gorey-esque dentally challenged monsters and atavistic stick figures grace the tongues, heels and saddles of two models: the Sk8 HI and the AV Era insole. Though they're not yet available, we'll keep you updated though be prepared for Entourage-esque lines come D-Day.

Sneaker Freaker
Neckface [NewImageGallery]
NeckFace [Wikipedia]

[Photo: SneakerFreaker]

Previously: DPMHI, Toynbee Tiles, : Centipede to Pokemon, The Best Graffiti That Wasn't, Stencils in BA, Laughing All the Way to the Banksy, Barrio Bonito, Minimugging, Arofish's Warzone Stencils, Battle of Berlin: Anti-Ad Activists and the Companies Who Co-Opt Them, Origami: Some Real Street Shit, Where Street Art Thou?

No corporate sycophants us, we're leery to heap praise on the multinationals but, Sony deserves huge kudos for their latest Bravia ad. The first ad in the Bravia series, as all will remember, featured Jose Gonzales singing sweetly as millions of superballs bounced down San Franciscan streets in slo-mo. An ad that spawned various hilarious YouTube spinoffs.The latest, shot in Glasgow, used 70,000 liters of paint and enough cluster bombs to destroy a small village. We posted a lo-fi Youtube preview months ago but now slick finished version is up, complete with vaguely martial classical music.

Sony Bravia Ad

Previously: Bravo Bravia, Sony SF Superball Swarm Shown, SF Superball Swarm, The Cottier Bar, Glasgay Art Fest, That's It For Europe, Glasgow Deep-Fried Pizza

Eagle-eyed Josh Spear spotted this book. The glossy hardcover chronicles in photographs one man's obsession with hotels. The man? None other than Gary Chang, an architect himself who designed the Suitcase house (shown) at the Commune Near the Wall in Beijing. Chang is a hotel-head, obsessing over amenities and noting flaws as well as strengths with an expert's eye. The boutique hotels favored by Chang- Reykjavik's 101 Hotel, New York's Maritime, London's Hotel Hempel-along with Chang's expertise make the book part guide, part hotelporn, part photography tome and both pragmatic and pretty.

Hotel As Home [Joshspear.com]
Hotel As Home [Amazon]

Previously: The Great Minibar Hotel Ripoff, Gratuitous Package of the Day, LA Suite: A Pomeranc Production, Disappearing Amenities, Do&Co Sleek Viennese, Which Came First, The Hotel Or The Restaurant?, Blacket Hotel

The crafty ReadyMade is one of my favorite magazines. Although going all MacGyver on your house and making credenzas and other furniture out of tongue depressors and shale might not necessarily be the sort of thing that goes with travel, being handy and clever and (sometimes) thrifty are definitely all habits you can take with you on the road.

ReadyMade's July/August issue was particularly travel-friendly. In addition to a roundup of what to see in five non-obvious cities (Oakland, Detroit, and Omaha all took a bow) and an interview with perpetual road-food wanderers Jane and Michael Stern, the issue also included a list of travel essentials that actually did seem worth packing.

The list, by Zachary Borawitz, includes heavy-duty paperclips (handy as clothespins), clear packing tape (take it off the roll to save space), and, my favorite, a decoy wallet for thieves to focus on. As a footnote makes clear, you can fill it with "someone else's family photos, old library cards, and supermarket coupons." (It's that last detail that reminds you that you're into a craft magazine -- I'd probably just jam some old newspapers in there and call it a day.)

[John Rambow]

Previously: Cute Lil' Travel Packs, Universal Packing List, The Travel Store, Flashpacking Light

Strewing the entrails of Sunday's Travel section in the NYT across this whole week, we thought we'd mention the Bangkok shopper's guide by Ann Coulter lookalike Sheridan Prasso (thankfully, that's where the resemblance ends). Prasso, who won a Human Rights Press Award for coverage of Cambodian land mine victims, takes on Bangkok shopping with all the enthusiasm it demands. Which is to say, she explores one square block of Bangkok, a fact handily demonstrated by the Times' mildly tech savvy map shown above. Here are some of Prasso's picks that you won't have to walk more than 5 feet for (good thing too as you'll be laden by bags and sloth).

Grey Boutique Usually when a label's name gets halved, the shorter title is down-market (for example, Marc by Marc Jacobs or Lauren by Ralph Lauren) but Grey is the high-end line of Greyhound, the Thai version of H&M.

Tube Gallery: Dramatic colors and "cowboy chic." The founders have added larger sizes for the fat tourists who visit the Siam Center mall wherein they're located.

Boudoir: St. Martin's grad and former Galliano worker, Disaya Prakobsantisukh makes sexy lingerie for sexy women or as Prasso calls them "lacy underpinnings."

Inspired By Inner Complexity: Our vote for most pretentious store name goes to this boutique whose latest collection is called "Inspired By Christ" and includes "T-shirts with 'Jesus' written on them in Hebrew." WWJD? I dunno, not shop here?

Previously: Bangkok Coverage You Won't See in the Times, The Hilariously Depressing Life of a Hotel Band, Jim Thompson House: Art and Breadpudding, Morally Diminished blog, I Dream (Hotel) of Bangkok, Bangkok's Quirkiest Online City Guide, Chatuchak Weekend Market

For this weekend's Tokyo Game Show, sister site Kotaku's master gamer Brian Ashcraft (he makes me call him that) has convinced me -- alongside Michael McWhertor -- to go cover the event with him in a crazy two days (well, that's all I'm signing on for) of games, games, booth babes, cosplayers, and then maybe some more games. Expect a steady stream of coverage direct from the game show throughout the weekend (and don't forget to read up on what's already happened over the past few days days leading up to the show) as the team tries to keep up with all the announcements and games on show, while hopefully ending up not losing complete sense of reality. I'm just hoping I'll make it out alive, which Ashcraft has not been able to deny or confirm...

The TGS Show Coverage List [Kotaku]

[Jean Snow]

Previously: World's Most Fetish Friendly City: Amsterdam v. Tokyo, Hysteric Glamour in Roppongi Hills, Arcade Card Battles, Killer Waves in Tokyo, Brah, Jet Set Leger, Shaven Ice, Oh So Nice, mYwaY by Trico

Who can deny that Hugo Chavez isn't adorable? With squinty eyes, a disarming smile and a full head of raven black hair, the Venezuelan leader has endeared himself to many a government (Syria, Vietnam, Cuba etc.) Seeking perhaps to capitalize on his good looks, Chavez dolls have popped up in Caracas and are selling like hotcakes, or rather arepas since Christmas. The 60 cm high Chavez is made of hard plastic and, like Teddy Rupskin before him, talks. His rhetoric however, is slightly more bombastic than Rupskin's. Press a button and doll Chavez says: I arrived here to do all humanly possible to help all the Venezuelan people realize their dreams and their desire to be free and equal. Catchy!

The Hugo Doll: Venezuela's Cult Phenomenon [Der Spiegel]

Previously: Ambassadors of Rock Contest, Carrying On In Caracas, Caracas Arepas Bar: Half of Dangerous and 5 Times As Expensive, World's First Museum Joke

In 2003 (the last year information is available), the LA coroner's office dealt with 9,592 deaths (though 19,039 were reported) which makes them a pretty lively coroners. So it comes as a suprise to see they've also had time to develop their own line of "quality souvenir" items for morbid tourists. Among the "better" items in the "Skeletons in the Closet" boutique are the BBQ apron (it reads LA County Coroner Has Heart, then has two pockets, one for Spare Hands, one with Spare Ribs); magnets with a corpse that read "Stay Cool!", garment bags labeled "Body Bag." So if you're still hungry for death kitsch after your murder victim inspired gelato, stop by the Coroner's office and let the desecration begin!

Skeletons in the Closet [LA County Coroners via Los Anjealous]

Previously: Bar 107: Because Hollywood Is So Fucking Vapid, Man, Los Angeles Pee Zones, Art Season Hits LA, A Free Ride to Disneyland

Either you like those pricey but feel-so-nice Moleskine notebooks (Hemingway used 'em!) or you don't (he also shot himself). Either way, the arrival of their new line of City Notebooks is unlikely to change your opinion. A book of maps bundled with a tabbed record section, removable sheets, and other gizmos, the City Notebooks are meant to be filled in as you travel. Write you own damn hotel review, in other words, and create a unique souvenir in the bargain.

Brooklyn's Smith Street corridor, already known as New York's homeland of Gallic lovin', is landing the newest location of quirky travel store Flight 001. The chain's mission statement is to make "travel shopping as streamlined as flight itself" and goods include high-end luggage by the likes of Comme des Garcons, travel tech, quirky travel books and a full line of Pan Am nostalgia products. Flight 001's Brooklyn location is scheduled for opening in early October; other branches of the store are already open in Manhattan, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Dubai.

Flight 101 Comes to Brooklyn [A Brooklyn Life]
Nabe is a soupcon of home for French [NY Daily News]
Flight 001 [Official Site]

[Neal Ungerleider Photo: A Brooklyn Life]

Previously: Brooklyn By Design, The Future Perfect, Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company, Apt 138 in Cobble Hill, Free Pizza Renders Leaving Bar Pointless

Luxe City Guides, the small pithy witty and useful guides to 16 Asian cities, have recently gone West, young man. The result? 3 new guides for Paris, Madrid and Istanbul. As we've noted in the past, Luxe guides are authoritative, accurate and urbane. Updated twice yearly, you won't show up at a defunct club with 10 of your friends if you follow these guides but you will probably end up at some designery boutiques and boutique hotels. Most guides claim to be sleek and smart (in fact, I've never seen one claiming obesity and stupidity) but in this case, these claims are well-founded. The guides manage to fit almost a whole city into a "handy concertina format" that can slip into your pocket.

Luxe City Guides

Previously: Luxe City Guides, Wallpaper* Does Barcelona, Bangkok's Quirkiest Online City Guide, Toronto Tours for the Untourist, Escape Is Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Read, Travel Like a Drunken Hipster

Arrive calls itself, modestly, "the art of travel design & life." The South Beach boutique, featured recently on Coolhunting.com, is a study in both sleekness and excess. Sleek? Smooth white surfaces that remind one of a Kubrick interior or a freshly-shorn albino. Excess? $350.00 Gold-plated Air Jordans, $450 Evisu jeans and Nicole Farhi's $378 midnight zip-up. But art, as any aesthete knows, is priceless and artifice doubly so in Miami. Dressing like a dandy in a Rod Keenan porkpie may well set you back $475 (with $290 more for a pair of Y-3 sneaks) but it may well gain you entry into Nicky O's inner sanctum.

Arrive Miami

Previously: Nicky O Hotels, Miami Sagamore Hotel, Eating In America, Adam Curry's Miami Podcast, Esquire's Best Bars in America, Most Expensive American Hotel Rooms