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Style File: New York City

With New Yorkers returning after their summer holidays, autumn might be in the air, but so is fashion: on Friday, the runways in Bryant Park heat up with the arrival of New York Fashion Week, which runs through September 12. What better time to explore the city’s newest fashion boutiques, ranging from Adam, an inspired label by Oscar de la Renta’s former creative director, to an unexpected collaboration between a chicer-than-thou Parisian emporium and—yes—the Gap. Whether you’re hunting uptown or downtown, for diamonds or cool Icelandic design, for the perfect pair of jeans or something trendy to wear to a show in the tents, Indagare has rounded up the best newcomers not to miss this season.

Indagare Insider: Mumbai

“I believe falling in love with a city is just as exciting as falling in love with a person,” says Fiona Caulfield, an Australian author whose inspired Love India guidebooks are exclusively excerpted on Indagare. Frustrated by the lack of authentic access offered by traditional guides on India, Caulfield set out to capture the places and people that inspired her to move there from London in 2004. Her Love Mumbai guide, for instance, offers a wealth of suggestions on everything from what rooms to get at the Taj Mahal Palace and where to dine amongst the locals or drink with Bollywood stars to the city’s best yoga classes and how to track down the boutiques frequented by the fashion set. Besides giving great—and trustworthy—insider advice, Caulfield’s Love India books also give back to the cities and communities the author has come to love, as a percentage of all sales are donated. Read excerpts from Caulfield’s guides to Mumbai and Delhi.

This Month’s Dream: Cotswolds

The Cotswolds, a bucolic region of outstanding natural beauty a two-hour drive from London, has gone glam. Liz Hurley, Kate Moss and Kate Winslet have bought homes, Jasper Conran and Damien Hirst rent cottages, and Prince Charles and Princess Anne hang out around Tetbury (where Charles has opened an organic food store). The rise of the gastro-pub has waved goodbye to the soggy fish-and-chip brigade and heralded a new era of superb gourmet comfort food, and a flurry of hot new hotels have opened in the past five years setting a new standard of luxury in Middle England. Our insider’s report on the region will be posted shortly. But among the best hotels to debut is a Relais & Châteaux property, Whatley Manor. The proper, grown-up hotel fashioned from Cotswold stone has been livened up with modern luxuries and a sense of fun. Sundays in the fall, for instance, feature movie screenings in the sleek cinema, afternoon jazz concerts, even a tutorial with the former head gardener at Highgrove. Smart yet warm, contemporary yet comfortable: Whatley exemplifies the best of the new Cotwolds. As at all Relais & Châteaux properties, Indagare Connoisseur members receive special VIP benefits.

Where to Go Next: Botswana

Botswana is one of Africa’s great success stories. With stunning landscapes, an economy kick-started by the discovery of diamonds in 1967 and a remarkably stable government, Botswana focuses on top-quality, low-volume tourism and offers one of the most authentic and mind-blowing wildlife experiences on the planet. The best encounters—and we’re talking up close and personal—are to be found in the vast private reserves where you’ll find sensational camps. The wonderfully remote Duba Plains, for instance, is the sole one in a 74,132-acre reserve, in the Okavango Delta, meaning you can go for drives without ever seeing other people—just lion prides and buffalo herds. Read about nine other special camps in Botswana, including two ones from CC Africa and two designed by the architects of the Seychelles’ acclaimed North Island.

New on Indagare

Member postcards on Mnemba Island, a private island resort off the coast of Zanzibar, and a vacation in Belize, including a special tour of the little-known Mayan site Lubaantun. Have you visited Toronto, Venezuela, Singapore or Bangkok? Members would like your tips on what to do and see in these spots and have posted questions on our Community boards. Remember: To join the Discussion Boards, you must be logged in.

Coming soon: destination reports on Anguilla, Boston, Washington, D.C., Phuket, Santiago and Bangkok.