Air Mail

08/24/2026

A few weeks ago, an 80-pound tarte tropézienne—three feet and three inches in diameter—arrived at a wedding on Nantucket. It had been flown by private jet from St. Tropez, strapped into its own leather seat, and stored in a neighbor's wine cellar. William D. Cohan had never heard of it. Now he can't stop thinking about it.

The cream-filled brioche was created in 1955 by a Polish baker in St. Tropez (the recipe has been locked in a safe ever since) and baptized by Brigitte Bardot. Cohan reports on the extraordinary lengths people have gone to get their hands on it ever since. Link in bio.

Photos: Marina Germain (tartes, both); Kingsley-International Pictures/Photofest (Bardot)

https://airmail.news/sh/kOhRVA/fb

08/24/2026

Travel agents were supposed to be extinct. Now, in 2026, they have risen from the dead, ranking fifth on LinkedIn’s list of hottest professions. ⁠
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“Travel specialists”—the preferred term these days— are now fixers for the super-rich, retrieving forgotten jewelry, staging $80,000 scavenger hunts, chartering emergency jets, and ensuring that no is never the final answer.⁠
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reports.
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Photo: Sante Forlano/Condé Nast/Getty Images

https://airmail.news/sh/REh8PK/fb

08/22/2026

Caroline Calloway missed her flight to Florida, showed up to a Chinatown reading straight from the airport with her cat in tow. Naturally. https://airmail.news/sh/5khPEN

Calloway misses a flight and turns up at a Chinatown reading in travel clothes, meets a personal hero, and brings the house down in front of her latest fling.

08/22/2026

René Lalique closed the door on the Belle Époque's precious formality and opened Art Nouveau instead. A new Dutch exhibition traces nearly 130 of his pieces. https://airmail.news/sh/GBh5KQ

An exhibition at the Lalique Museum honors the French jeweler renowned for transforming the craft with his stunning Art Nouveau creations.

08/22/2026

This week, don’t miss “Everybody Came to Tana’s” by Dan Tana, “The Case for Quitting” by Lindsay Crouse, and “The Emergency Playbook” by Amy Edelman and Chris Begley.

This week, don't miss "Everybody Came to Tana’s" by Dan Tana, "The Case for Quitting" by Lindsay Crouse, and "The Emergency Playbook" by Amy Edelman and Chris Begley.

08/22/2026

Inspired by real events, “Facing El Chapo” follows two police officers who find themselves face-to-face with the infamous drug lord at a routine traffic stop.

Netflix presents the film "Facing El Chapo."

08/21/2026

Ahead of the U.S. Open, American tennis star Frances Tiafoe talks personal style, his close-knit circle of fellow players, giving back, and what it takes to stay at the top of his game.

Ahead of the U.S. Open, the American tennis star talks personal style, his close-knit circle of fellow players, and what it takes to stay at the top of his game.

08/21/2026

Dancing bears! Steal Your Face skulls! How the Grateful Dead’s iconography went from counterculture to country clubs—and became American fashion’s longest and strangest trip.

Appearing on everything from country-club needlepoint belts to designer dresses, the Grateful Dead’s iconography has become an unlikely staple of American style.

08/21/2026

Our men’s-wear advice columnist champions dressing like Tom Brady—yes, really—warns against trying too hard to look edgy, and settles other pressing matters of style.

In the third installment of his men’s-wear column, "Rock of Eye," Michael Hainey gives us shares his rules for dressing on a plane and explains why trying to look edgy is never a good idea.

08/21/2026

How the legendary Ivy League tailor dressed everyone from J.F.K. to Andy Warhol—and brought color, wit, and a little anarchy to the button-down look.