If you haven't finished your holiday shopping and live or work near The Mall at Short Hills in New Jersey, you should be sure to check out the Continental VIP Lounge that Chase Card Services and Continental Airlines have opened, providing an exclusive retreat for Continental Chase Cardmembers.

The lounge is providing free bag check, enabling cardmembers to check shopping bags at no charge. Guests can drop off their bags to lighten their loads then continue shopping. You may even choose to drop off your gifts for the complimentary gift wrapping services by professional gift wrappers, provided for at the lounge.

There's even something for spouses or partners who don't feel like shopping but are required to tag along. The VIP Lounge is offering comfortable massage chairs, free WiFi and HDTVs that will broadcast sports games and other popular programming. Guests can also enjoy a caffeine pick-me-up, relaxing hot herbal tea or holiday-themed refreshments.

Luxury shirt maker, Eton of Sweden, has opened its first freestanding store in North America. Located at 625 Madison Avenue and East 58th, the flagship store promises to be a Mecca for anyone in search of the finest quality shirts, ties and men's accessories.

"The opening of this store marks an important milestone for Eton," says Hans Davidson, president of the 82 year old family-owned company and grandson of the its founders, Annie and David Pettersson. "Our loyal New York customers have asked us time and again for a location in the city. We are thrilled to offer them the full breadth of our collection in this fantastic neighborhood."

Eton of Sweden is known around the world for its innovative and classic designs, exclusive colors, a proprietary fabric finishing process, and full range of coordinating accessories. "While fashion seasons come and go, classic pieces that always look good is the key to sustainable clothing," says Sebastian Dollinger, Eton's Creative Manager. "Throw away fashion is not something we believe in."

Lampe Berger, the 110-year old French luxury home fragrance company has opened a pop up store in New York. The boutique features the complete range of Lampe Berger's latest cutting edge technology with products that deodorize, create beautiful scents and decorate the home with exquisite designs.

"This Pop Up Store gives us the perfect opportunity to create an enticing, luxurious environment in which to share the Lampe Berger experience with the people of Manhattan," says Cherry Robinson, Lampe Berger Vice President of Marketing and Sales.

Lampe Berger's beautiful signature lamps, each a work of art in itself, are available for purchase as well as its exquisite home fragrance collection---just in time for anyone searching for a truly unique gift to give a friend of loved one for the holidays. Lampe Berger products create an atmosphere where undesirable odors are banished, leaving an environment that is delicately scented. Its new scent-release system known as "catalysis" provides clean and beautifully scented air at home.

The first Lampe Berger lamp was created in 1898 by Maurice Berger, a pharmacy dispenser, to purify the air in hospital wards. By 1930, as fragrances were skyrocketing in popularity around the world, the company's dispensers, known as "lampes" had become a collector's item. Early collectors included artists Jean Cocteau and Pablo Picasso. Lampe Berger is known for its many innovations, many of which are patented around the world.

Does Art imitate Life, or does Life imitate Art? Replace Art with Architecture, and Life with Nature and you very well might have your answer in Vulcano Buono. The innovative commercial space sits in the heart of Nola – one of Italy's most important industrial centers – and the foothills of Mount Vesuvius. The building imitates the menacing volcano above in its form, and is insulated by acres of sloping vegetation fields in a unique green initiative.

The only thing such a structure might share with a company like Ferrari (aside from the carbon spewing into the atmosphere) might be the country they both call home, but this is also the site that Ferrari chose to open a new kind of retail space. Called the Pit Stop, it's similar to other Ferrari Stores around the world, but is targeted specifically at race fans (as opposed to sportscar owners on the flip-side of the Ferrari coin).

The 900-square meter store is the first of its kind, and is styled after the pit-lane garages used by Ferrari on the grand prix circuit. The decor and furniture are inspired by the industrial-strength travel cases used by the Scuderia, there's a reproduction pit wall where visitors can drive the Ferrari Virtual Academy driving simulator and of course there's plenty of memorabilia on offer. The Vulcano Buono store is the first of what Ferrari plans will be many situated around the world.

If you're a luxury shopper in London, Harrods is your destination for all manner of fashion, accessories, household items and more. Even luxury hybrids, thanks to a new display from Lexus.

Taking cues from Aston Martin, which displayed the Cygnet (another luxed-up Toyota) in the department store's window last month, Lexus has taken a four-window ground-level storefront display. The first window features the new CT 200h luxury hybrid, the second the RX 450h luxury hybrid crossover, the third highlights the Mark Levinson sound systems found in their cars, and the fourth is a branded lounge space.

Shoppers stopping by can check out the new cars, arrange a test drive or even place their order right there in the store. If you don't live in England, though, you can have a look in our high-resolution image gallery below.

A little bright spot of news in the department store world this week. Crain's is reporting that Lord & Taylor will open its first new department store in nearly a decade. It last opened a store in Alexandra, Virginia in 2001. The company is planning an 80,000-square-foot bi-level location debuting in 2012, as part of the Ridge Hill complex in Yonkers, New York.

The Ridge Hill center will also be home to a Whole Foods grocery store, L.L. Bean, Sephora and The Cheesecake Factory. The shopping center in Westchester County is designed like many others recently to have a main street/small town feel. In addition to shopping and dining, there will be a village green that will have entertainment, fountains and a firepit. The complex will also include office and research facilities as well as up to 1,000 apartments some of which are earmarked or over-55 active adults and others which will be low-income affordable units

Lord & Taylor, which is owned by Hudson's Bay Trading Co., also recently announced that it is entering the competitive world of outlet shopping.

Louis Vuitton has received a number of inquiries encouraging them to open a travel retail outlet, but the French luxury brand has rejected each and every one of them. Until now, that is, as incoming reports state that the iconic marque will open its first airport location at Korea's Incheon International Airport in the second half of 2011.

The decision to green-light the landmark location was reportedly made after LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault personally visiting Incheon to see its signature Airstar Avenue duty-free mall. The South Korean market remains a vital one for Louis Vuitton, which continues to out-sell rivals such as Gucci and Coach in the northeast Asian country. The store at Incheon is expected to attract travelers with an appetite for luxury from Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China as well.

Dashing designer Duncan Quinn, known for his roguish take on Savile Row style, is giving Miami's Art Basel a glamour injection courtesy of an ultra-cool pop-up boutique (above) opening today. Following the success of his lavish space at last year's festival complete with an indoor croquet pitch, this year's digs in the Design District's Moore Building are a veritable dandy's den of stylish iniquity, complete with a full-fledged casino, vintage sports cars, cocktails, a screening room showing classic Michael Caine films, and of course plenty of razor sharp threads.

Designed with a Casino Royale theme that would make James Bond himself hot under the collar, guests can take advantage of a bespoke lounge with Dormeuil fabrics, an installation of Ruby couture motorcycle helmets from France, cocktails from the mixologists at the Florida Room, and several limited edition items including the new line of Duncan Quinn sunglasses, polo shirts, jackets and more. Classic cars and motorbikes on display in the space include a 1954 Jaguar XK120, vintage Ducatis and Triumphs and Dime City Cycles' "Brass Café" Racer.

Gallery: Duncan Quinn Miami 2010

Moms are the glue that holds the world together. They work hard all year to keep us happy and healthy, sacrifice their own well-being for ours on a regular basis, and just generally smooth over the rough edges of life to make it all a little more bearable. Celebrate your mom this holiday season and show her how much you love and appreciate her with one of our luxe and pampered holiday gift ideas.


Spring Street Design Group 'Garden Critters' Handbag Hanger, $32
Handbag hangers are one of those little luxuries that women love to have but never think to buy themselves. This one, depicting a pretty bejeweled dragonfly, brings a cheerful dose of sparkle to any table along with a reminder of warmer spring days to come.

Legendary luxe New York department store Bergdorf Goodman, founded in 1901, is famous for its amazing, elaborate holiday windows which dazzle shoppers and passersby alike. This year is no exception, with the added attraction of some high-tech features debuting for the very first time. The 2010 windows, entitled "Wish You Were Here," take their inspiration from fantasy travel to far-flung places involving some rather unusual ways of getting there. The displays feature an array of "wild mash-ups of unexpected arrivals and departures", each with visual influences as diverse as Roman mythology, 1940s Hollywood musicals, the city's original Penn Station, and the very first science fiction film.

This year, for the first time, QR codes on several of the windows enable people to view an online Bergdorf Holiday Gift Finder and a video depicting the making of the holiday displays (above) simply by scanning the codes with their smartphone or handheld digital device. Produced entirely in-house by Bergdorf, the video features the song "Follow Me" by 17-year old emerging Sony artist Audrianna Cole. "We are in the surprise business," notes David Hoey, Bergdorf Goodman's Senior Director of Visual Presentation and Window Design. "This job is part architect and part cake decorator." Each of the landmark store's five main Fifth Avenue windows represents a different destination and a special method of conveyance:

One of my favorite things to shop for at Christmastime is beautiful new holiday cards to send out to my friends and family (although finding time to write in and stamp them all is another matter). Vera Wang has captured the spirit of the holidays with a combination of traditional and contemporary images created with classic letterpress and engraving techniques that bring out the rich detailing, colors, and textures that she's known for. And in addition to the ready-to-send Christmas designs there are also several versions with slots for inserting family photos and other personalizations. $254-$456/box of 50

Helena Bonham Carter turned on the Burlington Arcade Christmas Lights in Mayfair, on November 18 in association with The King's Speech and Save the Children. She plays Queen Elizabeth in the new film The King's Speech, alongside Colin Firth as George VI. Bonham Carter arrived in a sweet ride, the 1937 Alvis Vanden Plus Tourer, one of only twelve ever built. The car was provided by the Royal Automobile Club. She turned on the Christmas lights on behalf of Save the Children, the world's largest independent children's charity. The ceremony had her pulling on the golden rope, heralded by a trumpet fanfare by the Household Cavalry.

The shopping arcade first opened back in 1819 and is decked out for the season with frosted windows showcasing holiday gifts. All shoppers in the Arcade until December 6 will have the opportunity to enter a competition to win a pair of tickets to an exclusive preview screening of The King's Speech.

Love Truffles? If so, then be sure to visit Eataly, one of the largest high quality food halls in the world, on Sunday, November 21, when the food hall celebrates "White Truffle Day".

Eataly is throwing a storewide celebration as part of their month-long celebration of the Italian region of Piedmont (a region well known for its truffles).

White truffles are in season from October through the end of December, and at their absolute peak flavor-wise in November. They are found almost exclusively in the mountains and foothills of Northern Italy. Italian White Piedmont Truffles are among the most expensive and prized of all the truffles varieties (see "What are Truffles" and "Knowing Your Truffles: A Guide to Colors, Regions and Flavors"). A member of the fungi family, truffles are typically extremely expensive because of their scarcity.

If you're going to sell something luxurious in London, it had better be on display at Harrods. A veritable landmark of the English capital, Harrods has been around since 1849 and boasts over 360 departments on seven floors of upscale retail space.

Little wonder, then, that Aston Martin chose the department store to unveil the production-ready version of its upcoming Cygnet city car. Based on the Toyota iQ, the Cygnet upgrades with features that only Aston Martin could apply. The car goes into production in the new year, but is on display in a ground level window at Harrods until December 11.

On November 10 Ralph Lauren used advanced video mapping technology projected onto the façade of the designer's flagships in New York and London to create an enormous "four dimensional" display celebrating the 10th anniversary of RalphLauren.com. The groundbreaking Ralph Lauren 4D extravaganza, which mesmerized thousands of onlookers, combined technology, art, fashion, music and fragrance into a truly innovative experience, and also celebrated the launch of Ralph Lauren e-commerce in the UK. Fifteen vignettes unfolded into a seven minute visual journey through the world of Ralph Lauren.

Viewers experienced a montage of flashing larger-than-life sized images including four-story tall models and polo players, and iconic Ralph Lauren fashion accessories such as the Ricky Bag, ties and belts that wrapped the length of the new women's flagship on Madison Avenue. The projection gave the illusion that images were extending beyond the building and floating out into space toward the audience. Music, illusions of blowing breezes, and even light mists of the new Big Pony Collection Fragrances were infused into the night's air creating a truly extra-sensory adventure.