Considerations about the weather and different consumer behavior were top of mind for Bottega Veneta creative director Tomas Maier in designing the brand’s cruise collection. “It’s totally changed now. Women like to see clothes in season — when it’s cold they want a coat — and they shop in a different way compared with the past. You see it on daily store results,” said Maier during a walk-through in Milan. “They have different priorities and time is luxury number one for everyone.”
As the months progress, from the early deliveries of the cruise season in October until the later ones in December, so does the weight and colors of clothes change from, say, a ribbed turtleneck sweater in lilac worn with a suede skirt suit in a contrasting rusty color, to lighter tech duchesse skirts or a studded poplin dress with a full circle skirt fit for the festive season, for parties and “going away,” Maier opined. “The darker and shorter the days, women want something uplifting, colorful and appealing, if nature can’t give it to them.”
To wit, Maier opted for unusual combinations and variations of colors and “a bit of eccentricity,” he said, but also monochromatic designs, as in a

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The elegant new wine-country hotel is a divine retreat among the vines…

Built in the 1990s for an art collector, Skycastle—a 12,000-square-foot, nine-bedroom David Lawrence Gray commission in the Hollywood Hills—is as much a work of art as the pieces in the extensive collection it was originally designed to display. Sixty-foot ceilings and massive glass windows converge in the grand entryway, and skylights allow plenty of natural […]

NEW YORK — Jesse Chavez hit before he pitched.

That tells you what kind of start it was for the Angels, who sent nine hitters to the plate and scored five runs in the top of the first inning. They had a nine-run lead by the third, before coasting to a 12-5 victory over the New York Mets on Sunday.

Playing for a third consecutive day without Albert Pujols, who is nursing a sore hamstring, the Angels avoided a sweep by winning the series finale.

Although Pujols’ absence seemed to create a hole in the middle of the order in the first two games, the Angels didn’t seem to miss him on Sunday. They hit a season-high four homers, including the “homer cycle.” They hit one of each kind of homer, from a solo up to a grand slam.

C.J. Cron’s grand slam in the first inning, his first homer of the season, was the game’s defining blast. Mike Trout homered in the second inning, immediately followed by a Jefry Marte homer that made it 8-0 before they had made their fifth out.

Trout nearly hit two homers, but instead knocked a line drive off the top of the fence in center field, settling for a double. In his two other trips, the Mets walked him.

Every Angels starting position player had reached safely — by the second inning.

After Trout’s double knocked in Cameron Maybin in the third, the Angels had a 9-0 lead, their biggest lead at any point this season.

Chavez then did what a pitcher is supposed to do with a big lead … to a point.

He cruised through the Mets’ lineup for five innings. He gave up a couple solo homers, but he didn’t walk anyone.

In the sixth, though, Chavez made things a little too interesting. Starting his third time through the Mets’ order, Chavez gave up a double, a single and a three-run homer to Jay Bruce, cutting the lead to 9-5.

Just when it seemed the Angels might have to sweat a bit, Andrelton Simmons restored the comfortable lead with a three-run homer in the seventh, pushing the lead to seven.

More to come on this story.

At 5-foot-8, Tavon Austin casts a relatively small shadow, but it’s one that will loom over Rams practice this week as the team enters the final phase of its offseason work.

Austin won’t be on the field. The Rams’ top returning receiver had wrist surgery this month and, presumably, will be ready to return when training camp opens in late July. But these are complicated times for Austin and the Rams’ receivers, and no void goes unfilled in the NFL.

The Rams will hold 10 full-team practices at Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks over the next three weeks, with the initial one scheduled for Monday afternoon. Will the Rams figure out how much they need Austin? Or will they see a path toward a future without him?

New coach Sean McVay and General Manager Les Snead have revamped the Rams’ group of receivers. Kenny Britt and Brian Quick departed via free agency. The Rams signed Robert Woods and used two of their first four draft picks on receivers Cooper Kupp and Josh Reynolds.

Kupp, a third-round pick, was the star of this month’s Rams rookie mini-camp, while Reynolds displayed good length, hands and speed. It’s reasonable to think both receivers could play roles in 2017.

“I think the idea is that we’re expecting some of these guys to contribute,” McVay said, “and they certainly have to earn it and we know that we’re always looking to create competition at all spots. Whoever we think is the best player to give us the best chance to have success, that’s who is going to play.”

It’s reasonable to look down the line and see Woods as a consistent, good-hands, good-blocking receiver, Reynolds as the deep threat and Kupp as the tough inside receiver. So, what about Austin?

Austin, the Rams’ No. 8 overall draft pick in 2013, signed a four-year, $42-million contract extension before last season. In four seasons, though, Austin has never topped 58 receptions or 509 yards.

It’s time for Austin to show something, particularly to a new coach who won’t be shy about making changes. It’s noteworthy that after the 2017 season, Austin can be traded for a salary-cap hit of only $1 million. On the other hand, Austin deserves a chance to show his skills in a better-designed offense.

Former coach Jeff Fisher and his lengthy list of offensive coordinators seemed to prefer Austin as something of a “gadget” player. They used him on short passes and reverses and even put him in the backfield. The idea seemed to be, let Austin use his great speed to turn small plays into big plays.

McVay has a different idea. The Rams now are more likely to line up Austin on the outside and use him as more of a deep threat, similar to the way McVay used DeSean Jackson in Washington and the way new Rams offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur used Taylor Gabriel in Atlanta.

It’s worth a shot. There are questions about whether Austin has the size, and even the skill set, to thrive in an expanded role, but the Rams need to find out.

“He’s got great hands,” LaFleur said. “When we judge receivers, it’s more about their ability to separate. The size is not as big of a concern. … (Gabriel) could get open and he was electric with the ball in his hands. So hopefully we can get Tavon going the same way.”

That’s down the line, though. Austin won’t participate in these offseason practices, which will open the door for Kupp, Reynolds and second-year receiver Pharoh Cooper to make an impact.

Kupp already has become something of a folk hero. He put up dynamic statistics in college, albeit at Eastern Washington, mostly against smaller-school competition.

The natural question, one Kupp has heard for years, is whether he can create separation and effectively win battles for balls, against NFL defensive backs. Kupp will get his first, internal test this week in scrimmages against the Rams’ defense.

“If you’re trying to prove something, you’ve got a weight on your chest,” Kupp said. “There’s no room for error. I’m just trying to come out and be who I am. I’m just going to play football. I know I’m a great player. So I’m going to come out and just let that show. That should be enough.”

First it was just a tiny crack. Then a small green shoot appeared, pushing its way through the restraining earth.  Anyone who knew about plants would know that there were roots beneath the surface impelling their way through the underlying soil. Growth was happening, some of it visible and some unseen.

It is the same with our lives.  As we grow, mature, unfold throughout our years, disruption happens. Some is celebrated; graduations, weddings, new jobs, retirement, anticipated and visible changes. Internally, just out of sight, we may be reaching deeper into our depth of being to find our way through resistance, fear, love, learning and loss. Change can be anticipated with eagerness or it can catch us by surprise.  With any interruption in our lives comes a choice, a question we can ask ourselves. Will we use our thoughts and words to nurture the emergence of wholeness and well-being, or will we let negativity and fear break down what peace and vitality we have?

Our minds are fertile grounds and will grow what we nurture. William Wordsworth wrote, “Your mind is the garden, your thoughts are the seeds, the harvest can either be flowers or weeds.”  Knowing we can grow will assist us in changing the direction of our thoughts.  It may seem as if negative or dramatic thoughts hold our attention more strongly than positive, life-affirming ones, but we can let them go. It is the life-affirming attitude that is the sun and the rain on our mental and emotional garden. Just as we return to watering our garden again and again to bring new growth, so can we use our life-affirming thoughts to grow stronger and wiser through the tough times.

Only you can tell what is a weed or a flower in your personal garden. Tend the garden well, it is your life.

The Rev. Linda McNamar is a Village resident.

Floods and ice storms notwithstanding, there is never a bad time to go to Nashville.

The fact that the city’s hospitality has extended itself so spectacularly to hockey is just another reason.

Bridgestone Arena sits downtown, within a slap shot of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Ryman Auditorium and Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge

It is hopping with concert and convention action all year long, but it is really the home of the Predators, one of the city’s two major league teams and the one that exudes stability, daring and consistency.

They seemed to mortgage their future when they traded for Peter Forsberg, and then they traded homegrown defensemen Shea Weber and Seth Jones for P.K. Subban and Ryan Johansen, respectively.

The fans went along. They dress in yellow T-shirts and jerseys, they sing and they chant  (sometimes with the same language that cost Ryan Getzlaf $10,000) and now they’re within a win of a trip to the Stanley Cup Final.

If that happens the rest of the world will cluck-cluck about TV ratings, but Nashville will devote the appropriate amount of concern to that issue, which is zero.

Instead, the NHL should celebrate the Predators. They justify the hard salary cap and the overall leveling that allows a smart, small-market franchise to thrive.

The Predators aren’t there yet. They lead the Ducks, 3-2, with Game 6 at Bridgestone on Monday night.

Last year, Tampa Bay led Pittsburgh, 3-2, with Game 6 at home and did not win again. The Rangers did the same thing to Washington in 2015 and Tampa Bay did the same thing to Detroit. Over the years, the home team has lost 61 closeout Game 6s (per Hockey-Reference.com).

For the Ducks it is a fine time to visit Music City, primarily because it isn’t Anaheim. Saturday’s 3-1 loss in Game 5 reinforced how useless Honda Center is to the Ducks.

Since 2007, the Ducks are 25-20 in home playoff games and they have been eliminated four times at Honda Center.

The fans aren’t the problem. It is not their job to fire up the team. Quite the opposite. Even Bridgestone gets grumpy when the Predators aren’t skating well, as was the case in Game 4 on Wednesday.

The home “advantage” makes no sense anyway. Road teams fly in comfort, stay in opulence, draw together behind enemy lines. They tend to play more simply, rely more on each other. Home games are a petri dish of distraction. This season, home teams are 38-39 in the NHL playoffs.

Three possible reasons: Buildings are standardized and comfortable, officials are evaluated more closely and the league is as competitive as crabs in a pot.

If the Ducks don’t win tonight, the issue will be who, not where.

Rickard Rakell is the only top six forward with a plus-rating. He didn’t play in Game 5, might not play tonight.

The questions that Getzlaf seemed to escape in the first two rounds are gathering again. He has three assists and no goals in five games

But for all of Ryan Kesler’s purple hearts, he has one point in the series and hasn’t scored a goal since Game 3 of the Edmonton series.

Kesler usually compensates with defense, but Nashville’s top line has frolicked without much argument, and did so again Saturday with Johansen injured. In Game 4, Coach Randy Carlyle abandoned his custom of hunting line matchups, at the players’ request.

If all the Ducks had been as effective as 23-year-old Nick Ritchie and 21-year-old Brandon Montour, they’d be prepping for the Final by now.

The Ducks aren’t trailing because of goaltending. John Gibson’s save percentage is higher than Pekka Rinne’s, although Rinne has been his usual self in terms of puck-handling, whether it’s inside or outside the legal boundaries.

It’s Nashville’s bottomless jug of defensemen that is weighing heavily. Its top two pairs, Subban-Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis-Roman Josi, are averaging more than 20 minutes in this series in even-strength play alone. Those four play nearly five-sixths of the minutes and have totaled 11 points.

Considering the Predators used to have Weber, Jones and Ryan Suter, you see why this is hockey’s capital of blueline-dancing.

But the Ducks have won three playoff games in Bridgestone the past two years. They are 5-2 on the road in these playoffs. They are 5-4 at home and needed lightning to strike three times in the same place, in Game 5 against the Oilers, to do that.

Now they can’t wait to get on the road again. If they win Game 6, maybe they’ll ask for asylum.

Thirty years ago “The Joshua Tree” was that one album any group dreams of making: a clear-eyed statement of sweeping sounds and bold visions, the kind of record that in an instant takes a great group, which these four Irishmen already were by 1987, and elevates it to the ranks of legends.

The album and its signature songs — numbers that include “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and “With or Without You” — remain among the band’s best-loved works. And while U2 has released eight studio albums since “The Joshua Tree” arrived, at times it seemed like the music got smaller even as the surrounding tours got bigger.

All of which made the show that U2 delivered at the Rose Bowl on Saturday, in which they celebrated the 30th anniversary of the record by playing it in full, that much more special for fans who snagged tickets to the first of two nights at the stadium in Pasadena.

On this tour U2 dispenses with most of the flash and spectacle of recent tours in favor of a stripped-down simplicity reminiscent of the California desert that inspired “The Joshua Tree,” letting the music they wrote for the record, as well as songs from before and after, shine in stark relief against that beautifully desolate environment.

The night started with subtlety, drummer Larry Mullen Jr. walking down a ramp to a remote stage before many fans even realized he was in the stadium, and there launching into the martial drum patterns of “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” as one by one, singer Bono, guitarist the Edge and bassist Adam Clayton walked out, singing and playing, to join him.

A quartet of opening songs drawn from “War” and “The Unforgettable Fire,” the two albums that preceded the one in the spotlight this night, included such fan favorites as “New Year’s Day” and “Pride (In the Name of Love),” big anthems that pulled the crowd to its feet to sing along with the band.

The remote stage was shaped like the desert tree the album was named for, and as the band played there surrounded by fans, the massive video screens behind the main stage remained dark. For a moment it was almost as if U2 were playing a club gig, just four musicians and their music, in the center of a stadium.

At the end of “Pride,” the band moved to the main stage, where again, just the four of them and their gear were all that filled the broad expanse before a high-def LED screen that, at 245 feet wide and 45 feet high, towered over them.

“The Joshua Tree” opens with those three well-known songs mentioned above, and from the opening swell of music that leads into the shimmering guitar riffs of “Where the Streets Have No Names” you could practically feel the emotions of the crowd rising up.

That song and the two that followed are, of course, huge hits that often get played in any U2 show. But starting with “Bullet the Blue Sky,” the fourth track on the album, things got a little more varied, a bit more special. That song, which opens with grinding guitar and heavy drums, kicked things into a harder rock feel, and also — eight songs into the show — introduced video of Bono, the Edge, Clayton and Mullen into the film footage shot for the this tour by Anton Corbijn, whose dramatic black-and-white shots of the band in the desert are also part of what made “The Joshua Tree” album so striking.

Other highlights of the album set included “Running to Stand Still,” which Bono dedicated to the late Chris Cornell, the singer from Soundgarden who died Wednesday, an apparent suicide, and “Red Hill Mining Town,” which until this tour kicked off in Vancouver, British Columbia, on May 12 had never been performed live by the band.

“Welcome to side two,” Bono said at its conclusion. “We’ve been blowing a little fluff off the needle the last few days and wondering why we never played that song before.

“The next one is about the landscape of this country,” he continued by way of introducing “In God’s Country.” “Not just physical. Psychological. Spiritual.”

Highlights over the course of side two included “One Tree Hill,” which featured some of the Edge’s best guitar work of the night, and “Exit,” which saw Bono dancing manically down the ramp to the remote stage before the gentle elegy of “Mothers of the Disappeared” closed out the record and the main set.

For the encore, U2 featured songs primarily from after “The Joshua Tree,” more upbeat and pop than the sometimes somber sounds that came earlier. “Beautiful Day” kicked off the final run of seven songs, Bono slipping in a few lines from “City of Stars” from the movie “La La Land” in tribute to Los Angeles.

For “Ultraviolet (Light My Way)” the band dedicated the song to women and women’s movements past and present, using the screens to flash images of female figures of note. (Photos of Michelle Obama, the Russian punk band Pussy Riot and Hillary Clinton drew the biggest cheers from the crowd.)

Clayton joined Bono on the remote stage for the bass-heavy “One” before “Miss Sarajevo” — retooled here as “Miss Syria (Sarajevo)” — followed with a video that emphasized the suffering of today’s refugees and the need to reach out and help them.

As that last song started, the full band now on the small stage surrounded by fans on the stadium floor, some in the seats started filtering out. So far on tour, U2 had typically followed up with a final song, the new and yet-unreleased “The Little Things That Give You Away.”

At the Rose Bowl, though, they wrapped up with “Bad,” seemed to say their final farewells, and then seemed to almost spontaneously decide to play one more, the wonderful “I Will Follow” from the band’s 1980 debut, “Boy.”

Maybe some of you got to your cars and out of the mess that is parking at the Rose Bowl early, but the rest of us got to hear and see U2 singing as they had as teenagers, just starting out on the journey that brought them to this place nearly four decades later.

U2

Where: The Rose Bowl, Pasadena

When: May 20

Main set: Sunday Bloody Sunday / New Year’s Day / A Sort Of Homecoming / Pride (In The Name Of Love) / Where The Streets Have No Name / I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For / With Or Without You / Bullet The Blue Sky / Running To Stand Still / Red Hill Mining Town / In God’s Country / Trip Through Your Wires / One Tree Hill / Exit / Mothers Of The Disappeared

Encore: Beautiful Day / Elevation / Ultraviolet (Light My Way) / One / Miss Sarajevo / Bad / I Will Follow