American sportswear label Boast first launched in Connecticut in 1973, and quickly became a favorite among tennis and golf pros – or those who wanted to look like them. Today, the revamped prepster label – known for its Japanese Maple leaf insignia – is run by a quartet of talented gents, including CEO Ryan Babenzien. Here, Ryan walks us through his off-duty routine.

Depending on the week, I’m either at home in Santa Monica or in New York where Boast is based. I start my day early no matter where I am, though, and weekends are no different – I get up around 6:30 and have my first breakfast (Kashi). Then I’ll get in a workout. Living in Santa Monica, it’s fairly easy to stay motivated to exercise. I’m on the bike or the stairs or doing Josh Crosby’s morning Indo-Row class – it’s definitely my favorite, but I’ve been doing the Santa Monica stairs for 20 years.

Breakfast number two is usually with my GF. We eat out so much that we try to make breakfast at home on weekends. Then we’ll do some beach time, run errands and grab food on Abbot Kinney. On weekends, I like wearing shorts and, of course, I also rock something from Boast – either a polo or a tee. I like to see if people will ask me about a t-shirt graphic, which they often do. That’s always a good sign.

If friends are in town visiting, we’ll take them to a foodie spot somewhere on the Westside in the evening. Gjelina, Oscar’s, Capo, and Nanbankan are some of my favorites. This summer I’m on this White Shirt thing, so I’ll usually wear that. I buy Paul Smith London collection because it just fits me really well. It makes me look tanner, too (ha!).

After dinner we grab drinks at Tasting Kitchen, Townhouse, or, if I’m feeling really down and dirty, The Gaslamp. I’m usually home by 12:30 or 1AM at the latest, then get up early and start my Sunday. Sundays are similar but never identical - I try to get on the bike and like to catch up on reading magazines. We try and hit the beach for a few hours, then walk over to Hungry Cat for some food and adult libations.

Lauren David Peden writes for Rue La La as a Contributing Editor.

Lubov Azria – wife of Max, mother of Chloé, 18, Anais, 16 and Agnes, 14, and chief creative officer of BCBGMAXAZRIA and Hervé Leger by Max Azria – shares her idea of a perfect weekend. Lubov’s favorite thing to savor? Time. “It’s so precious yet you can never get it back,” says the blond beauty, who is also stepmother to Max’s three adult children. “I indulge in the time I have with my family, I bathe in every delicious moment I have with Max, and I soak in every moment I am working. Love the life you live, and live the life you love, each and every day.” As for her weekend…

I wake up, spend some quality time with my iPad in bed, have breakfast with my kids – fresh coffee with toast, maybe some scrambled egg whites on the side – and enjoy the day relaxing at home with my family. Why would I want to be anywhere else in the world but here? I snack on almonds, goji berry shakes, and my sinfully dark chocolate throughout the day. And I can’t live without Fiji water – so good! I love discovering new restaurants, supporting the arts and, of course, my all-time favorite sport, SHOPPING!

My ideal evening would be sharing my favorite meal of the day with people I love. This past Friday, Max and I opened our home to all of our closest blogger friends (who I absolutely adore) during our Celebrity Shabbat dinner and continued the celebration of Max and my 20th wedding anniversary. In true BCBG “Desk to Dinner” style, I wore one of my favorite runway pre-fall looks – the white Elicia dress with black lace and leather belt – that I wore to work that day.

Sunday is funday. I never stop working, so taking time for myself is important to my wellbeing and happiness. On Sundays, I love going to the Fairfax Flea Market close to home.

Lauren David Peden writes for Rue La La as a Contributing Editor.

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The fall 2012 haute couture shows took place earlier this month in Paris. Here’s a look at some of the more notable offerings from fashion’s most luxe catwalks.

Armani Privé focused on day-to-night dressing. As rendered here—voluminous, pleated trousers worn with soft organza jackets or matching puff-sleeved tops, shimmery cocktail dresses, constellation-strewn evening gowns and pretty, feminine flats in hues that recall both sunrise and midnight—it was a glorious proposition.

Karl Lagerfeld dubbed Chanel‘s fall couture collection New Vintage, which refers to its winning mix of classic Coco (the boxy tweed suit, the white camellia, the snood) and au courant details (sequined tracksuits, feathered coats, glittery stockings). The venue—Paris’s Grand Palais—also nodded to the past with an updated trompe-l’oeil mural based on Chanel’s original salon de couture.

Jean Paul Gaultier kept his audience waiting nearly 90 minutes before unveiling a Metropolis-meets-Confession-of-a-Child-of-the-Century themed show heavy on the menswear tailoring (particularly the tailcoat), flapper-inspired headgear, sumptuous fur chubbies, caged metal corsets and opulent, embellished evening capes.

Valentino duo Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo riffed on regal beauty and sensual severity in a collection rife with sheer chiffon gowns, brocade- or floral-appliqued coats, a suite of jumpsuits (one boasting 100,000 jet beads on the pants alone) and some beautifully spare dresses in rich shades of midnight blue, crimson, and aubergine.

It was vintage Versace as designer Donatella Versace revisited the Ritz Paris, home to many of her late brother Gianni’s Atelier Versace couture shows. With a chameleon-like backdrop that changed color to complement each look, Donatella unveiled her corseted creations, which featured both sexy mini sheaths and diaphanous gowns festooned with laminated, intricately patchworked tarot-card prints and mesh chain mail in bright jewel tones offset by pretty pastels and earthy neutrals. Big bro would be proud.

Givenchy‘s Riccardo Tisci married two disparate themes—the opulence of Italian gypsies and the severity of Sixties silhouettes culled from the Hubert de Givenchy-era archives—in gowns boasting laser-cut mink shrugs and intricate leather bodices, lavishly beaded pullovers and fringed leather capes.

Well, the wait to find out who’s replacing deposed designer John Galliano at the house of Christian Dior is finally over, and the scepter was taken up by none other than Raf Simons (himself recently deposed from Jil Sander). Simons made his Dior debut with the couture collection (no pressure!) and more than delivered the goods with a lovely outing that paid homage to Christian Dior himself (vis-à-vis thoroughly modern reinterpretations of Dior’s famous nipped-waist Bar jacket and New Look coats) alongside an equally modern take on the ball gown (which the designer lopped off at the hip and paired with silk cigarette pants). Just the thing for today’s stylish celeb (like Jennifer Lawrence, Marion Cotillard, Marisa Berenson, Isabelle Huppert, Charlotte Rampling, and Sharon Stone, all of whom graced the front row, along with nearly a dozen fellow designers, including Marc Jacobs, Alber Elbaz, Donatella Versace, Pierre Cardin, and Diane von Furstenberg). Nearly as dazzling as the fashion were the salon walls, which were carpeted for the occasion with a million live flowers in varying hues (white in one room, blue in another, yellow in the next, and so on). Well done, Raf!

This couture season also saw the debut of Russian designer (and street style It girl) Ulyana Sergeenko, who paid tribute to her homeland with beautifully cut, Kremlin-inspired military coats (some lined in fur), doll-like dresses, full skirts topped by fitted pom-pom trimmed sweaters and sweet-n-sexy rompers that lent a wonderfully faux-naif charm to the otherwise lavish offerings of couture week.

Lauren David Peden writes for Rue La La as a Contributing Editor.

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Designer Cynthia Rowley is one busy bee, what with designing her global collections and her gig as a judge on Lifetime’s “24 Hour Catwalk.” But she also finds time to unwind in Montauk (a.k.a., the anti-Hamptons) with her art-gallery-owner hubby, Bill Powers (himself a judge on Bravo’s “Work of Art”), and their daughters, Kit, 13, and Gigi, 7.

On Saturdays, I wake up early(ish). My kids sleep surprisingly late, until around 9 a.m. Then we’re all outside immediately like we’re shot out of a cannon. My girls and I walk along the cliffs into town, about a mile from our house. Bill drives and we meet at a local spot for breakfast. We walk into town and get coffee and goodies at Momofuku Milk Bar – newly installed at our Montauk store! I shoplift something to wear for dinner (ha!) on Saturday night.

We’ll spend the day at the beach. During the day, I wear a bikini covered up by giant cut-off jeans that used to be Bill’s, some variation on a Budweiser t-shirt and handmade, flat leather sandals from our shop. And I always have my CR wetsuits. Our house is on a private dirt road and all our friends have houses there, so we end up taking turns cooking out. If we do go out, we love The Crow’s Nest.

Sunday is pretty much the same. If we’re very, very lucky, we may get invited on our friend’s boat for wakeboarding.

Lauren David Peden writes for Rue La La as a Contributing Editor.

French fashion icon Jean Paul Gaultier has taken San Francisco by storm. At least that appears to be the case if you happen to visit the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, which is hosting The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk, the first exhibit devoted to the designer and his personal themes of “equality, diversity and perversity.” (Remember, this is the guy who put Madonna in that infamous conical corset and counts naughty-but-nice burlesque star Dita Von Teese among his favored clients.) Here’s a little peek at the exhibit.

Clockwise from top left:
1. Agyness Deyn models a gown from Gaultier’s first-ever spring/summer 1977 collection at the designer’s 30th anniversary runway show in October 2006 (photo by Patrice Stable).

2. A lace label from Jean Paul Gaultier’s haute couture collection.

3. Eiffel Tower fishnet stockings from Gaultier’s fall/winter 2010-2011 haute couture Parisiennes collection.

4. Gaultier’s sketch for Milla Jovovich’s costume in the 1997 film, The Fifth Element, directed by Luc Besson.

5. Lily Cole wears the “Dolores” gown from Gaultier’s spring/summer 2007 haute couture collection (photo by Patrice Stable).

“The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk” will be on view in the Herbst Exhibition Galleries at the de Young Museum through August 19, 2012.

Who better to offer travel tips then folks who travel on the search for inspiration? We touched base with a few of our fave fashion world insiders to give us the lowdown. Stay tuned for more of these interviews throughout the month.

JAMES ROSENTHAL, STYLIST

Escape: Essaouira in Morocco. This is a gorgeous coastal town that takes away all of the touristy things of Marrakech. It’s a wharf town on the coast of Africa and the village is enclosed by Sultan walls. The shopping is refined and edited and more affordable than the bigger cities. The locals are so welcoming and friendly and have an affinity for Americans because Jimmy Hendrix actually owned a house there on the coast. I guess that’s why you can sense a bohemian rock ‘n’ roll vibe pumping through the streets.
Must-Haves: I always take my Made Her Think leather medicine bag (it’s the best travel purse ever), vintage Linda Farrow shades, and my favorite chiffon frock.
Next Stop: Mexico.

Lauren David Peden writes for Rue La La as a Contributing Editor.

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Who better to offer travel tips then folks who travel on the search for inspiration? We touched base with a few of our fave fashion world insiders to give us the lowdown. Stay tuned for more of these interviews throughout the month.

JOHN BARTLETT, DESIGNER

Escape: My hubby and I love the island of Mykonos in Greece. There is nothing sexier than an arid climate, beaches, mopeds, and fresh food. We spend every day pretty much the same: wake up, brekkie, beach, repeat.
Must-Haves: My Nook with at least four new Scandinavian thrillers downloaded, my Bodum portable travel coffee press with a bag of ground Citarella French roast coffee (no one makes coffee the way I like it), and my JB dog-camo print swim trunks.
Next Stop: We’re headed to Mykonos in late June. Hope to see you there!

Lauren David Peden writes for Rue La La as a Contributing Editor.

Not a Member and like The (Style) Guide? You’ll love Rue La La. Join now.