The holidays are in the air. Everywhere you look you can see it. The holidays in St. Louis are as electric as the lights that dot the cityscape. Neiman’s and Saks are decked in gay apparel. Keyboards are clicking rapidly ordering from Amazon. Thanksgiving feasts are being planned. Travel arrangements are made. And you want to do it right. You want to do it with style. We can help. Here, we present our annual Sophisticated Guide to the Holidays. We’ve assembled a curated collection of places to eat. Places to go. Things to give. Things to do. And Things to see. From A-Z, there’s a virtual charcuterie of board goodies to select from in St. Louis.
More than 100 guests attended a special fundraiser on the Opening Night of Broadway's sensational hit "The Notebook, The Musical" at the Fabulous Fox. The event raised more than $30,000 benefiting three nonprofits - Memory Home Care Solutions, The Caregiver Club and Alzheimer's Association of Greater Missouri - to help raise awareness and vital funding to find a cure for dementia. See highlights from the evening here.
Hearth & Soul kicked off the holidays with the reveal of its fourth annual holiday window. The debut of a life-size advent calendar happens every year and brings to life a different theme bringing the community together to take part. Reminiscent of the iconic New York style window displays, Peace on Earth came to life sending an important message of the importance of community, unity, and harmony. Daily drawings each day will bring joy throughout the month of December.
Hearth & Soul St. Louis CEO and Founder Susie Busch-Transou will unveil her fourth annual window on Monday, November 3rd from 5:00-7:00pm. Entitled Peace on Earth, the window isinspired by the universally embraced sentiment during the holidays - symbolizing unity, goodwill, reflection and hope. It reminds us to pause, reflect and experience the season’s deeper meaning.
Soon we will be singing Auld Lang Syne as we say farewell to 2025. Throughout 2025, we’ve shared with you the good life, both near and far. We are the region’s leading luxury lifestyle omnichannel publication. From print, to digital, to social media, we make sure that you have your finger on the pulse. Let’s take a look back at 2025 through the lens of our issues of the last 10 months, and say hello to our newly-minted November/December issue, which will be available soon.
The 22nd annual Art of PAWS & People, presented by Purina, returns Saturday, November 1 at The Gatsby Ballroom at The Alverne. The beloved fundraiser pairs art, pets, and purpose to raise critical funds for Vivent Health’s Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS) program, ensuring that people living with HIV in St. Louis never have to choose between caring for their own health and keeping their beloved pets. Learn more and see pics of past PAWS galas here. Tickets now on sale at artofpawsandpeople.com.
Tower Grove Park’s 21st Annual Martinis at the Mansion was a tremendous success! Held on Friday, October 10, the event brought together more than 180 guests for an unforgettable evening celebrating and supporting the Park’s mission to preserve its beauty and history for generations to come. Thanks to the generosity of their sponsors, attendees, and donors, the event raised over $52,000 to support Tower Grove Park’s ongoing preservation and community programs.
Few photographers have shaped the visual language of celebrity and style quite like Stephanie Pfriender Stylander. A defining force behind some of the most iconic fashion and portrait imagery of the 1990s and 2000s, Pfriender Stylander helped launch the careers of cultural figures we now consider legends, most famously photographing a then-unknown Kate Moss on the streets of New York in 1992, capturing a raw, cinematic energy that would help catapult her into superstardom. See who else this trailblazer captured here.
The 21st annual Martinis at the Mansion is an evening of celebration, camaraderie, and community support for one of St. Louis’ most treasured green spaces, Tower Grove Park. This year’s event will take place on Friday, October 10, 2025 at 6 p.m., at the stunning Central West End home of Tower Grove Park Board Commissioner Robert Epperson and Jennifer Kingston.
There are 68 million dog owners in the U.S. and 560,000 of them live in the St. Louis metro area. One in four people own a dog, followed closely by cats. We love our dogs and cats. We treat them as we would want to be treated –- we try to give them the best. Jessica Cooke, owner of Yuppy Puppy, has elevated that care to a whole new level. They are fast becoming the gold standard in pet care –- overtaking other luxury pet care establishments in St. Louis. Learn here how she came up with the name and gives pet parents the confidence that their precious pooches and felines get the royal treatment.
Can you name a place that you can go for Halloween whether you’re a soccer mom or a school-aged child? City Museum, that’s where. Yes, adults can indulge at the Vampire Bar, Covens & Cauldrons Witches Bar or at Beatnik’s Bob, while the kids enjoy all manner of fun in the spooktacular playground. Halloween season at the museum runs October 1 -26.
Beyond Housing is an organization that's proving comprehensive community development can work. At its helm is Chris Krehmeyer, president-CEO. What Beyond Housing has built represents one of the most all-encompassing community development efforts in the country — a model that refuses to see housing, education, health, economic development and civic infrastructure as distinct and separate challenges. Read here how they have positively impacted St. Louis County and the region.
Eight members of the St. Louis Circus Harmony troupe just returned from Stuttgart Germany after soaring high when reuniting with their partners there, Circus Circuli! This marks the fourth collaboration between the two youth circuses from the sister cities of St. Louis, Missouri and Stuttgart, Germany.
Just in time for fall, Pirates & Pumpkins makes landfall at The St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station. International Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19 marks the opening this special event. The pirate invasion will continue through November 2. The Aquarium is decorated with pirate-themed scenes, including a ghost ship with smoking, booming cannons. Pumpkin carving demonstrations and trick-or-treating happen as it gets closer to Halloween.
Contrary to popular belief, Labor Day does not signal the end of summer, rather the annual ritual on Art Hill, the SLSO free concert is summer’s swan song. The celebratory event signals the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s season opener. 2025 rings in the Gateway City’s milestone 2025/26 146th season on Wednesday, September 17th. The festivities begin at 7pm. Fireworks will emblazon the skies over Forest Park’s Grand Basin to top of the night.
Since 2017, OxFest has donated more than $322,000 to local charities that help and support children. Providing scholarships for local high school students; grants for teachers to improve their classrooms; and helping impoverished rural families with children receive the healthcare they need, the OxFest Music Festival is expected to add thousands of dollars to the causes. Held this year on the Washington Fairgrounds in Washington, MO on Saturday, September 20th, gates open at 11:30am. Music begins at 12pm.
Fall is in the air. Can’t you feel it? Yes, the calendar still says August, but Mother Nature says otherwise. In true St. Louis fashion, she flipped the script on us again and the weather went from a hot and humid 97 one week to 72 degrees the next, with not a humid in sight. And the nights. Once the moon makes his nightly debut during this faux fall, the temps dip into the 50’s. Sugar plum sparks dance above bonfires. Hoodies and sweaters are donned. Suddenly, it feels like fall is here. And not a moment too soon. Because Sophisticated Living’s September/October issue is here.
The final days of summer are here. Labor Day, the unofficial end to the summer season, is but two weeks away. Yet many of us are still summering in the Bahamas, the Keys, California coasts, or even Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera. Chic summer garb is a must. Following are some suggestions that will make a splash.
Since summer is the perfect time for a swim, it might be time to go to take a deep dive into your jewelry box and see what you find in the treasure chest. If you come up a little short, perhaps it’s time to replenish your supply of summer trinkets. Enjoy these selections plucked from distinctive treasure troves that you may want to dip into. Take the plunge are ensure that your next visit to a resort, dinner out with your significant other, or trip to a summer party at the club will make you sparkle, both inside and out.
Here’s a recipe for the perfect society event for a scorching St. Louis summer day. Take one part historic mansion. Mix with 75 patrons of the arts. Add the cast of Tennessee Williams’ hottest play. Stir in a heaping helping of brie, beignets, and berries. Garnish with a spritz of sparkling summer libations. Splash liberally in a newly-installed pool. And voilà! You have the ingredients for the Tennessee Williams “Brunch with Blanche” Pool Party Fundraiser to raise a record sum for the storied institution’s 10th season. Click here to see all how it all turned out.
