Spectator Life

Spectator Life

An intelligent mix of culture, style, travel, food and property, as well as where to go and what to see.

The best gadgets to buy this Christmas

Nuraphone headphones From £9/month, Nuraphone I confess – the idea of buying headphones on a subscription plan is daunting. But one 60-minute session with these headphones and you’ll understand why people are raving about them. A fun ‘pairing’ session configures the headphones to your personal heading tastes (I can’t emphasise how cool this was) – before

The best electric bikes: AnalogMotion AM1 Plus reviewed

This review is part two of a two part series on picking the right bike for the city-dweller’s electric commute This bike came into being thanks to a terrible London commute. One of the founders of AnalogMotion saw his daily trip to work go from five minutes up in Scotland to an hour when he moved to

The best electric bikes: VanMoof Electrified X2 reviewed

The X2 electrified is the latest from VanMoof, the Dutch company looking to (in their own words) ‘redefine cycling and open it up to the masses’. The X2 is the sister to the slightly larger S2, and both have a non-electrified variant. Owned and loved by an increasing number of London commuters – including, I

Gavin Mortimer

Why are fewer Frenchwomen sunbathing topless?

I was taken by surprise last month while holidaying in Biarritz. As I splashed through the surf towards the beach I passed a woman paddling. She was topless and it struck me that this was a sight you don’t often see any more in France. I first came to France on summer holiday as a

Why will so few shops sell me at three-button suit

Last week I walked along Jermyn Street, spiritual home of the gentleman’s suit, and noticed something shocking. The jackets in the shop windows had lots of materials — tweed, cotton, wool — in all colours, shades and checks. But every single jacket had two buttons. When did tailors get so boringly uniform? Why has the