Michael Smith, private beat architect for Katsuya, Ferragamo, SBE, and The Standard, on drunken David Hasselhoff, the ambience of teeth brushing, Mark McGrath’s desperation, and MILFs in the White House

How did you get your start in Los Angeles? I started off DJing back in 2000, where, unlike today, LA didn’t have more DJs than housepets. Most DJs want to rock clubs and be the hero. I never cared if people knew who I was. I was in love with downtempo music because I could work, sleep, chill, and basically live to it. I looked to do completely different types of events: cocktail parties, art spaces, boats in the South of France, you know ... and found a niche outside of the club that allowed me to take more chances and meet more people. Eight years later, I’m doing global music marketing projects for many of the world’s top brands (Diesel, Vanity Fair, Jaguar, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Cavelli, 20th Century Fox). Crazy!

Solange Azagury-Partridge, Londoner and self-proclaimed control freak, taught herself about jewelry design and turned a mere hobby into a luxury brand. Over the last 20 years, she’s created some of the most innovative and sought-after jewelry, with clients like Victoria Beckham stopping by her Notting Hill boutique. She talks to BlackBook about the opening of her New York store, why you should buy diamonds when you can't pay your mortgage, and designing her own engagement ring.

At least in New York, designer hats are selling like hotcakes. Ann Demeulemeester and Sonia Rykiel versions have been moving off boutique floors at record speed. And retailers like Urban Outfitters are cashing in on the trend with slightly watered down versions of what’s selling on Madison Avenue, says the New York Times. Proof of the chapeau having its moment in the sun: the CFDA’s nomination of milliner Albertus Swanepoel for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award, which fashion designer Alexander Wang won earlier this week.

Every year in Los Angeles, the night before Thanksgiving seems to come as a huge surprise -- everyone remembers that it’s Wednesday, and tomorrow they're blessedly free from going back to work. Bars and clubs across the city remember it too and treat this night like a hot Saturday in high season. It all comes together to make Thanksgiving Eve one of the most promising nights of the year to go out. Here’s our list of November 26th blowouts for your partying pleasure.

1. The Hideout - Ah, glorious Los Angeles. Party on the beach in late November! Though usually Wednesdays at the Hideout are reserved for quiet chilling (and, earlier in the evening, a spot of speed-dating), this night will play host to resident DJs and, as past years indicate, an unusually packed dance floor. Not to worry; there’s breathing room on the beachside patio.

2. Chloe - This new-ish Santa Monica bar is on the elegant side; people come here for schmancy small plates and complicated cocktails. But on the 26th, there will be a DJ and plenty of raucousness. Wear a dress -- but one that can get spilled on.

If you frequent Kanye West's blog, which I can proudly and defiantly say I do, you'll know that he's perched on the cutting edge of everything design-oriented. Houses, skirts, cars, bookshelves, commercials -- you name it, if it's at all forward-thinking, then Kanye's got a handle on it. The guy knows art and design, and to prove it once more, has commissioned Brooklyn artist and toy designer KAWS to decorate his new record 808's and Heartbreak. This comes after West introduced many Westerners to pop artist extraordinaire Takashi Murakami with the artwork from his previous album.

Coffee table books are a not-so-subtle way of informing your friends, "Hey you, look, I'm sophisticated, edgy, artsy and not afraid of sex!" And in its collection of raunchy photography, interviews, and prose by some of the classiest members of the contemporary literati, Nerve: The First Ten Years is not only a perfect social accessory, it's even worth a few prolific page-flips. Sure, while it purports to explore the wide range of absurd sexuality, most of the photography of its nearly 200 pages represent pretty people positioned in said absurd scenarios.

Or kill you slightly less. Yesterday, our hard-charging reporter Canadian and blogger Ben Barna interviewed Connecticut's finest musical force/self-proclaimed raging alcoholic Moby, in which the chrome-domed DJ laments the inherent unhealthiness of hitting the sauce (and the blow). While we agree with Moby's assertion that drinking is, uh, bad for you, we'd like to present our readers with a list of bars and respective drinks that might not result in a (pictured) Dylan Thomas-esque booze-induced fatality (for the record, not that we endorse drinking until you die -- unless you balance it out by writing timeless poetry -- but he did kick the bucket outside of the White Horse Tavern).

Here's Prince Charles defiantly abandoning his trad bespoke suits for something a little more exotically bucolic. What is this, you ask? More importantly, why would he wear this, unless he's taking a shift the poppy fields? Turns out Charles was reaching out with some sartorial goodwill to a foreign nation, just like Obama going native in Kenya with a turban, Clinton in an African Jesus robe, and Bush in Chinese silks or a Chilean Pancho. Believe it, after the jump.

BlackBook's Holiday Gift Guide presents two gift picks per day through December 19. One comes from our very own YOOX.com store; the other from the world at large. Suggestions? Let us know.

Bubbly, lovely, and about as girly as a vodka could get (it’s inspired by perfume), NUVO ($20 for 375ml) was developed by the same guy who brought us Hpnotiq. Here’s to hopping the pink liquor follows the blue liquor’s footsteps and makes its way into such classic rap songs as Nick Cannon’s "Gigolo."

New York nightlife blogs are abuzz with revelations that Noah Tepperberg is trying to turn Tenth Avenue eyesore Earth into a high-end restaurant-lounge. This is good news for those seeking a fashionable bite to eat far from the maddening crowds. It’s also great news for residents of Community Board 4, who will benefit from the loss off a promoter-driven, low-level club -- which Earth became from day one -- and the introduction of a savvy operator like Noah. This small, exclusive restaurant and lounge will anchor 1Oak, as well as the still amazingly beautiful Park, without Earth attracting the B, C, and D-listers. There will be no place for crowds to linger and annoy the neighbors; they will seek like-minded individuals in other neighborhoods, with no imminent return of Red Rock West or Roxy in sight. With a strong food element as well as a strong operator, CB4 members will get what they want, as the three remaining spaces will be run by three of the strongest hospitality operators out there: after Noah, it's Eric Goode, Scott Sartiano, and Richie Akiva. This 1-2-3 punch of operators will dominate the area and clean up the block. In fact, let's take an exclusive look at Noah's proposed menu for the new joint.