Soak It In. Spring Has Sprung in March/April Issue of Sophisticated Living
by Grayling Holmes
Winter 2025 has in a word been BRUTAL. From the ice/snowstorm in early January, followed by days of single-digit temps. To weeks of St. Louis City and County residents slipping and sliding on icy side streets and highway on-ramps. To the again sub-zero wind chills the week after Valentine’s Day. It has been made everyone ready for spring.
Although the Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter on Groundhog’s Day, I think he got it wrong (the little critter only has a .500 batting average). If these end-of-February almost 70-degree temperatures are any indication, I think that we are in for an early spring. We are in the home stretch till Spring 2025 is OFFICIALLY HERE on Thursday, March 20th, when the Spring Equinox hits.
To herald the big day, the Sophisticated Living March/April issue will soon hit your doorsteps. And for those of you who don’t subscribe to the print magazine, you can count on me to drop the articles here or in the bi-weekly newsletter (that’s free to sign up for; just hit the black box below this article).
Drip, drip, drip online or through social media, articles like the feature on world-renowned fine art publisher and St. Louis’ own Robert Lococo will dazzle you. For decades, his works have appeared in galleries worldwide. Go in-depth on him, his protégé and sales director, Matt Mercer, and team at his Lococo Fine Art Publisher studio in the heart of St. Louis County.
Craig Kaminer wrote a feature our very own St. Louis City SC major league soccer team. Although they had a tough season last year, there are high hopes as they begin their third foray into major league soccer for the 2025 season, which began this month and runs through October. Get the inside scoop on the new head coach Olof Mellberg and where he is taking the team.
Oh, and things really heat up as the Shakespeare Festival celebrates its silver anniversary season. For 25 years, our city has had the distinction of having the largest audiences in the world. Take a journey with us on the many summers throngs have flocked to the Forest Park’s Shakespeare Grove to throw down a blanket on the summer grass to enjoy the best of the Bard.
As always, our national articles take you to exotic corners of the world with our travel features. For spring, sample everything from exquisite jewelry perfect for the new season, to the latest in luxury automobiles, and an eye-popping designer swimwear article that gives a nod to winter and a look forward to spring.
Soak it in. Spring has sprung at Sophisticated Living.
The Artist Collector: Robert Lococo has been dealing in art for decades
by Alexa Beattie
Excerpt:
Lococo has worked as a fine art publisher for more than 30 years. Although based primarily in St. Louis, the reach of his company–Lococo Fine Art–spans the globe. His prints can be found in The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Boston Museum of Fine Art, Maison des Écrivains in Paris, Albertina Museum in Vienna and Kochi Museum of Art in Kochi, Japan. He has printers in three states (Missouri, New York and Florida) and attributes his notoriety to the quality of work and to his team.
Robert Lococo. / Portrait by John Lore
Spring Fling: Blackbough Swim’s new Après Ski Collection is perfect for end-of-season ski parties
Excerpt:
As the days gradually lengthen, we look forward to warmer days ahead, but not before partaking in a final schuss in slushy late-spring snow.
Blackbough Swim (blackboughswim.com) stylishly straddles the seasons with its latest Après Ski Collection, representing a fresh take on snow-inspired swimwear for the ultimate winter-into-spring getaways. Fashionable and planet-friendly, since 2021, one hundred percent of Blackbough's swimwear has been made using recycled nylon or polyester and delivered in biodegradable packaging.
Photo courtesy of Blackbough Swim
All the World’s a Stage: Celebrating its 25th year, the Shakespeare Festival unveils its 2025 season, including a joint venture with the Saint Louis Zoo
by Mary Martin
Excerpt:
If you’ve ever joyfully schlepped a blanket, a basket and a bestie for an evening of free, live theatre in Forest Park, then you know the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival.
If none of that rings a bell, you will be surprised to know that the Festival has welcomed upwards of 50,000 people to the park for its summer shows, making it the largest free outdoor Shakespeare Festival between either coast. This year the organization is celebrating its 25th Anniversary and, appropriately for a big one, is planning big things.
Photo courtesy of the Shakespeare Festival
Bringing Back the Magic: After a phenomenal debut season in 2023, St. Louis CITY SC struggled in 2024. The new gaffer, Olof Mellberg, is charged with reversing that tide.
by Craig Kaminer
When St. Louis CITY SC announced Olof Mellberg as their new head coach, the news rippled across the soccer world like a thunderclap. As Mellberg takes the reins, fans and players alike are ready to witness the evolution of a club which stormed out of the gates in its first year, making it to the playoffs, but then last year, ending up 13 out of 15 in the final team rankings, just one slot ahead of their arch rival, Kansas City.
St. Louis CITY SC Head Coach Olof Mellberg. / Photo supplied St. Louis CITY SC
Rome Around the World :Orchestrated by global who's who in the worlds of architecture, culinary, and interior design, two recently opened luxury hotels demonstrate the staying power of the Eternal City.
by Bridget Williams
ROMEO Roma is situated within a historically significant 16th-century palazzo on Via di Ripetta, a stone's throw from the Piazza del Popolo. Constantly evolving, the building began as the home of a prosperous family, resplendent with museum-quality art and thousands of books, before becoming a refuge for an exiled king and later the headquarters of the oldest Catholic Italian periodicals. When ROMEO Collection founder Alfredo Romeo acquired the building over a decade ago, it was being used for government offices.
Photo courtesy of Casa Monti