Sandra‘s Closet

London is having a moment. Galleries are unveiling new exhibitions, restaurant terraces are buzzing with an international crowd, and the city’s royal parks are drawing the global it-set like nowhere else this season. At the centre of it all sits The Lanesborough Summer Picnic, a collaboration with Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé that turns an afternoon in Hyde Park into a masterclass in effortless luxury.

Forget the beach. The most stylish escape this summer comes in a picnic basket from one of London’s most storied addresses. Perched at the edge of Hyde Park in Knightsbridge, The Lanesborough has long been synonymous with Regency grandeur and impeccable service. Its 93 rooms, 48 suites, and signature butler service set the tone before you even step outside.

Executive Chef Shay Cooper has designed a menu that feels as considered as a couture look: smoked London Cure salmon with blinis and capers, burrata with Marinda tomatoes and pomegranate, wild mushroom and truffle filo parcels, and a Sutton Hoo chicken terrine. Scones with clotted cream and fresh English strawberries with vanilla Chantilly cream bring things to a deliciously classic close. Every course finds its match in a perfectly chilled bottle of Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé.

Available daily until 6 September 2026, priced at £295 for two with champagne included. Summer in London, done right.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of The Lanesborough
DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise.

London has a way of making you feel anything is possible. Standing in front of the Corinthia Hotel, one of the city’s most iconic addresses, I chose to show up in full bloom: a floral dress, an oversized studded denim jacket, and zero apologies.

Yes, it is a young look. And why ever not? Age is not a dress code. The only rule that matters is whether you feel alive in what you wear. Wear the dress. Add the jacket. Own it completely.

My look: Grizzo oversized studded denim jacket by Khaite, floral dress with white collar by Miu Miu, Cherry leather platform ankle boots, and Niki mini studded quilted textured-leather shoulder bag, both by Saint Laurent, Aquanaut Luce in khaki green by Patek Philippe, and My Monogram square sunglasses by Louis Vuitton.

Stay wild. Stay free.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht / @georgiashane
DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise.

Tbilisi, the city that stole my heart, calls for colour, so I showed up in a full rainbow. I rode the funicular up to the Mother of Georgia statue, lost myself in the colourful Old Town, and walked every inch of Rustaveli Avenue where Georgian fashion proves it belongs on the global stage. The Bridge of Peace over the Kura River is simply spectacular, the sulphur baths of Abanotubani utterly iconic, and a sunset boat ride along the Kura sealed the deal.
Tbilisi is non-negotiable. Put it on the list!

My look: Cardigan in GG multicolor, Ultrapace mid-top sneaker, GG Marmont Multicolour small shoulder bag, and aviator-style metal sunglasses, all by Gucci, Felix sweatpants in storm grey by Alice + Olivia,  Oyster Perpetual 36 Celebration by Rolex, and «Look at Me» tank top by JW Anderson.

LoL, Sandra

 Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht
DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise. 

Between covering the new Art in the Park edition and the beautiful Assouline book dedicated to this iconic house, I found myself feeling wonderfully nostalgic. So consider this post a small homage, one that has been quietly waiting to be written for some time.

My Look: Must-Have

The Baur au Lac is not simply a hotel to me. Having had the privilege of knowing the Kracht family over the years, I have witnessed firsthand the extraordinary care, vision and quiet dedication that goes into everything this house represents. That connection makes every visit feel personal in a way that is difficult to put into words.

My Look: Magic Weekend

Over the years, some of my most memorable moments on the Zurich social calendar have unfolded here. Art in the Park is one of them. The Kispi Ball, that most glamorous of charitable evenings, was another, along with the annual Rive Gauche Summer Party. And then there is Street Parade, when Zurich transforms into something wonderfully wild and the Baur au Lac somehow remains the most elegant spot in the city.

My Look: Kispi

The garden terrace holds a particularly special place in my heart. There is nowhere quite like it on a warm Zurich days, and I have spent many of those evenings there, dressed up and grateful to be exactly where I am.

My Look: Beauty Sleep

And yes, I have stayed the night more than once. Because sometimes the only right thing to do is not to leave.

My Look: Roman Studs

Come winter, the magic shifts indoors and into the park in an entirely different way. The Chalet au Lac, a charming rustic retreat tucked into the hotel grounds, is one of Zurich’s most enchanting seasonal secrets, perfect for an unhurried fondue evening when the city slows down and candlelight feels like the only appropriate light source.

My Look: Denim & Brocade

And then there is Baur’s, one of my absolute favourite restaurants in the city. Designed by the internationally acclaimed Martin Brudnizki , the same visionary behind Annabel’s in London – where I am part of the membership committee – , the interior is simply a dream. That particular alchemy of warmth, glamour and timeless elegance that Brudnizki conjures so effortlessly feels entirely at home here.

My Look: Modern Marie Antoinette

What you will find in this post is a collection of outfits photographed at the Baur au Lac across all of these occasions and all of these years. Fashion and place are inseparable for me, and this hotel has been one of the most beautiful backdrops my wardrobe has ever known. Consider this a love letter in looks.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

LoL, Sandra

My Look: Chill

My Look: Girls’ Night

My Look: My Funny Valentine

My Look: Kispi 2018

My Look: Rive Gauche Summer Party 2016

My Look: New Style

My Look: Art in the Park

My Look: Street Parade

My Look: Street Parade 2024

My Look: Baby It’s Cold Outside

My Look: Lesage

My Look: Fab

 Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht / David Biedert Photography and André Hengst
DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise. 

Few hotels carry a story quite like the Baur au Lac. Since opening its doors in 1844, Zurich’s most legendary address has been shaped by seven generations of the same family, a thread of continuity rare in the world of luxury hospitality. Now, that story has been immortalised in A Legacy by the Lake, a new coffee table book published by Assouline as part of its Hospitality Collection.

Andrea Kracht and his daughter, Marguita «Muki» Kracht, are the 6th and 7th-generation owners and operators of the legendary five-star luxury hotel.

Written by James Reginato, Writer-at-Large at Vanity Fair, contributor to Sotheby’s Magazine, and the author behind The Carlyle, the book traces the vision of founder Johannes Baur through to the family Kracht, who own and run the hotel to this day. What began as one man’s idea has grown into one of Europe’s most revered hotel addresses, without ever losing the spirit of deeply personal service and attention to detail that defined it from the start.

Set within a private park at the heart of historic Zurich, with the Swiss Alps and the lake as a backdrop, Baur au Lac has long been a discreet refuge for the world’s most notable guests, from Empress Elisabeth of Austria to Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren and Elton John. Its culinary landmarks, Brasserie Baur’s and the Mediterranean inspired Marguita, and the beloved outdoor sculpture exhibition Art in the Park, complete a picture of a house where culture and hospitality have always been inseparable.

The book brings all of this to life through archival and contemporary imagery, with the people at its heart, guests, staff and the Kracht family, as its true protagonists.

A Legacy by the Lake is available from May 2026, priced at CHF 135 / EUR 120.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Baur au Lac
DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise.

Pink Paradise: My Visit to the Malibu Barbie Café in Boston

If you follow me on social media, you already know I have a soft spot for immersive experiences and anything that comes wrapped in a generous shade of pink. So when the Malibu Barbie Café landed in Boston, a visit was absolutely non-negotiable. Though honestly, it was not even planned. My daughter spotted it on a spontaneous walk past Faneuil Hall, and within seconds we looked at each other and the decision was made. We are going to make a reservation.

The pop-up has taken over a space at 101 South Market Street, right in the heart of the Faneuil Hall neighbourhood, one of Boston’s most historic and lively corners. Cobblestone streets, a buzzing marketplace, the waterfront just steps away, and that unmistakable New England energy all around. It is an area where centuries of history meet a very current, very vibrant city scene, which makes it the perfect backdrop for something as boldly out-of-time as this.

The moment you step inside, you are transported to 1970s Malibu California. Every corner is drenched in that iconic Barbie pink, layered with beachy motifs, retro details, and a whole lot of glam. It is the kind of space that makes you reach for your phone before you have even sat down.

And that, honestly, is the main event. For anyone who loves photography, fashion content, or simply living their best Barbie life for an afternoon, this place truly delivers. There is a life-size Barbie Box made for stepping into with your best pose, a scenic lifeguard chair, a wave arch, and several other photo moments scattered throughout. Every corner has been considered with the perfect shot in mind.

Now, a word of honesty about the food and drinks: it is not the reason to go. The menu leans heavily into the aesthetic rather than the culinary. Everything felt a little artificial and very calorie-laden without a lot to show for it in terms of actual taste. We ordered drinks, but truly just for the photo. The menu simply did not tempt us beyond that.

Every ticket does include a ten dollar food credit and a five dollar merchandise credit, which is a nice touch. Just be aware that the food credit applies only to food, not to drinks. The gift store is worth a browse, though I personally did not find anything I could not live without.

None of that took away from the experience. We had a genuinely wonderful time, and the atmosphere is joyful and immersive in a way that is hard not to smile at.

One tip I would give anyone planning a visit: we went on a Tuesday morning, and it made all the difference. The space was calm, relaxed, and the photo moments were completely free to enjoy without crowds or waiting. If beautiful, uncluttered shots are your goal, I would strongly recommend choosing a weekday and an early time slot. Weekends and peak hours will be a very different story.

The Boston pop-up runs until July 19, 2026, so there is still time to plan your visit if you are in the city this summer. And the Malibu Barbie Café has already toured quite a number of cities across the US, including New York, Miami, Chicago, Austin, and Las Vegas, before recently making its very first stop outside of America in Melbourne, Australia. As for Europe, there is nothing announced yet, and as someone based in Switzerland, I will be the first to say: we would absolutely be ready for it. Fingers crossed that Mattel is listening.

Tickets start at 25 dollars per person and include a 90-minute seated experience. All ages are welcome, and children under two do not need a ticket.

As for what I wore, I had not planned the visit at all, so I put together a fitting look entirely from what I already had with me that trip. I will be sharing the outfit details very soon, so stay tuned.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht
DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise.

The Best Gift You Can Give a Mother? This.
There are days that ask nothing of you. No deadlines, no decisions, no notifications. Just the quiet luxury of being somewhere beautiful with someone you love.

On one of our recent days in Boston, Anouk and I did exactly that. We gave ourselves over to a full day at the Guerlain Spa at the Raffles Boston, and I have been thinking about it ever since.

The Raffles Boston has become my favorite hotel in the city, and for good reason. There is a level of care here that is hard to articulate but impossible to miss. Everything feels considered, generous, and effortlessly refined. It is the kind of place that makes you want to stay longer than planned.

The spa occupies the entire fourth floor, and it shows. Three private treatment suites with hydrotherapy baths and showers, a dedicated couples suite, separate saunas for women and men, a steam room, invigorating experience showers, a 20 meter vitality pool, and a fitness center equipped with Technogym. It is a world unto itself.

You sink into the spa the moment you arrive. The duvets are impossibly soft, the light is warm, the whole space has that rare quality of feeling genuinely unhurried. We had a couples massage, side by side in the same room, and were offered a choice between two oils: one with a gardenia note, the other a deeper, warmer blend of patchouli, tonka bean and vanilla.

We chose the latter. Both of us, without hesitation. The massage was exceptional, the therapists precise and intuitive, and the Guerlain products throughout were simply extraordinary. The scents alone are worth the trip.

Afterwards we swam, sat in the sauna, let the steam room do its work. One of those days you want to press pause on.

On a day like today, it feels worth saying: if you are still looking for a way to celebrate the mother in your life, an experience like this is the answer. Not a thing. Time, beautifully held.

And for those of us in Switzerland: Guerlain Spas are closer than you think. In Geneva at The Woodward, in Lausanne at the Beau-Rivage Palace. Both are destinations in their own right.

Happy Mother’s Day!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht
DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise.

A Retreat for the Overwhelmed Soul: Four Seasons The Nam Hai Brings Back Its «Inner Peace & Wisdom Programme»

If you have ever felt like the noise of modern life simply will not let up, a small stretch of coastline in central Vietnam might be exactly what your nervous system is asking for.

From 7 to 9 August 2026, Four Seasons The Nam Hai returns with its «Inner Peace & Wisdom» Retreat, held within the celebrated Heart of the Earth Spa on the pristine shores of Ha My Beach. The programme is co-led by guest expert Judy Xu, founder of Balance Health Hong Kong and co-founder of Manifest Co-Pilot, alongside Sudha Nair, the resort’s own wellness manager and resident healer, who brings over two decades of experience in naturopathy and yoga across India, Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam.

The retreat is built around three interlocking ideas: returning the nervous system to calm, cultivating emotional resilience in the face of difficulty, and accessing a deeper state of stillness where clarity and inspired action naturally arise. Over three days, guests move through a layered programme of breathwork, somatic practices, energy healing, yoga and meditation, each session designed to build on the last.

What makes this edition particularly compelling is the collaboration between Judy and Sudha, who will co-facilitate every session rather than dividing the programme between them. General Manager Marcel Oostenbrink describes the guest response to last year’s programme as remarkable, with participants reporting shifts that continued long after they returned home.

The spa itself sets a fitting stage. Rooted in the teachings of Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, the Heart of the Earth Spa weaves crystal singing bowls, overwater treatment villas and tropical lotus lagoons into a philosophy that moves with the rhythms of nature rather than against them. The retreat is further supported by the resort’s Balance Menu, a mindful eating programme centred on fresh, unprocessed ingredients that encourages guests to reconnect with the body’s own natural signals.

For anyone ready to trade overstimulation for genuine stillness, Ha My Beach in August is a quietly compelling invitation.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Four Season The Nam Hai
DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise.

Where Wine Meets Performance: L’oscar London Launches Cabaret & Cabernet

Some evenings are simply dinner. This is not one of them.
L’oscar London, the discreet five-star boutique hotel housed in a former Baptist church off Holborn, has created something genuinely hard to categorise. Cabaret & Cabernet is a monthly experience series launching this summer, held on the first Friday of each month in the hotel’s extraordinary Committee Room. Just 25 guests per evening, no exceptions.

The premise is seductive: each wine is not merely poured but performed. Working with Crowd Pleaser Events, a collective with over two decades of theatre production experience, L’oscar has choreographed bespoke cabaret performances for every pour. Movements mirror tannins, rhythm follows acidity, gesture tells the story of origin and vintage. The table becomes a stage. The glass becomes a prop. The sommelier, armed with expertise and a flair for dramaturgy, guides the room through it all.

Executive Chef Arturas Kondratjevas completes the picture with a multi-course menu designed not to accompany the wines but to meet them as equals. Textures, temperatures and flavours are calibrated with precision, always leaving space for the real conversation happening between glass and stage.

The setting feels almost inevitable for this format. Teal walls, peacock motifs, bespoke chairs and a sweeping 19-foot table create a room that sits beautifully between opulence and intimacy. Jacques Garcia’s baroque reinvention of the original church interior is the kind of backdrop that makes everything feel slightly theatrical already.

Cabaret & Cabernet runs on the following Fridays in 2026: 5 June, 3 July, 7 August, 4 September, 2 October and 6 November. More at loscarlondon.com.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

L’oscar London, 2-6 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4AA
+44 20 7405 5555

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © L’oscar London
DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise.

May 1st is not just a date on the calendar. In France, it is la Fête du Muguet, a centuries-old tradition of gifting lily of the valley to those you love as a token of luck and happiness. The custom is said to trace back to 1561, when King Charles IX received a sprig of the delicate, bell-shaped white flowers and, enchanted, decided to offer them to every lady of his court each spring. The tradition has never really stopped since.

For Christian Dior, the muguet was nothing short of a religion. He was never without a sprig in his buttonhole, his florist grew lily of the valley year-round in a specially heated greenhouse just to ensure that. He also kept some in a finely-wrought box in his pocket, and during preparations for his fashion shows, he would ask his petites mains to sew sprigs into the hem of a sleeve or a dress. A man who understood that good luck, like good style, requires daily commitment.

Anouk and I with Carlos Bueno, General Manager at Raffles Boston, a hotel I can highly recommend.

So what better flower to wear on a day like this? My dress and jacket are embellished with lily of the valley, which felt entirely right, not just seasonally, but spiritually. We were celebrating Anouk’s graduation, and if ever a moment called for a little extra luck and a lot of elegance, this was it.

The evening unfolded in the only way it should: drinks at the Raffles, my favorite hotel in the city, followed by dinner at the French restaurant Bistro du Midi where the night gently dissolved into laughter, good wine, and the kind of conversation that makes you feel like time is standing still in the very best way.

The Long Bar & Terrace is amazing place to enjoy drinks before dinner …

… with spectacular views over the Boston skyline during sunset. I recommend the Boston Sling.

Graduation dinner at Bistro du Midi, that has the best bouillabaisse.

And my bag? A frog. A little sculptural frog clutch that caused more commentary than any It-bag ever has. Let me be clear: this is the only frog I kiss. Because when you’ve spent enough time in fashion, you learn quickly, better a frog bag than the wrong prince.

Bonne chance à tous. And to Anouk, the luckiest thing about this day was you.

My look: Addison bow jacket, and Velia floral appliqué bandeau minidress, both by Alice + Olivia, silver-tone crystal necklace, and heart shaped earrings with pearls, both by Alessandra Rich, Aevitas leather platform boots in black by Versace, floral tights by Calzedonia, and frog resin clutch by JW Anderson.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht
DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise.