Money can?t buy you happiness but it can surely buy the means to keep you happy. And for those with an eclectic taste in lifestyle, happiness often means being able to indulge in their passions. From antique collections, luxury rides, limited edition ranges, to auctions that the world has their eyes on, Exec Lifestyle gives you a sneak peek into the uber lifestyle.

This week, we have something special for the bibliophiles, sustainable fashion, and the ultimate way to indulge in the rains with designer umbrellas

Bibliophile?s treasure:

In this era of digitisation, it is a novel site to see millionaires rejoice over the sight of writing instruments which their favourite authors had once used. Such was the case in the recently held Paul Smith Pencil auctions. The Secret Life of Pencil is a charity that exhibits and auctions pencils or photographic prints of them belonging to iconic writers, authors and artistes.

The humble pencil enjoyed some limelight through its photographic prints that is as individualistic as fingerprints of the artist. Each one helps you draw inference about the character of the owner. As per Luxpresso.com, Stephen Fry, David Bailey, Sir Quentin Blake, Tom Dixon, Mike Leigh, Philippe Stark, Paul Smith and 52 other famous owners showcased their pencils at this auction. Apart from these limited edition pencils, the auction also featured a concept car sketched by Jaguar Chief Designer Ian Callum that showcased his love of the 4B pencil, hand-carved pencils from Anish Kapoor and Pam Hogg, a unique sketch from Paul Smith and a one-off large Solander presentation box containing prints of all 52 participants. It will be available for online auction through Paddle8 as well.

Fashion goes green:

The recently held EcoChic Awards 2015-16 set a new benchmark in sustainable fashion in its fifth year and reached Indian shores. Ensemble, along with Hong Kong-based charity organisation Redress, introduced the award to the Indian designers at their multi-designer store in the city. Co-hosted by Ensemble executive director Tina Tahiliani Parikh and Christina Dean of Redress, the event saw an overwhelming support by IMG Lakme Fashion Week. It also witnessed an insightful journey of eco-friendly fashion in the presence of sustainable fashion designer and expert Paromita Banerjee.

Tina Tahiliani Parikh was later heard saying, ?We have always promoted new talent and I feel that this is a great platform to find young designers who are also dedicated to sustainable fashion.?

According to luxpresso.com, EcoChic Design Award aims to create high fashion couture pieces with minimal waste. Following the online application, which closes on 15 August 2015, 10 selected finalists from Asia and Europe will present their sustainable collections at the Hong Kong Fashion Week in January 2016 and the first prize grants an opportunity to design a new up-cycled collection for the leading luxury brand, Shanghai Tang. Additionally, the best Indian designer applicant for the eco challenge will get an opportunity to showcase at IMG?s Lakm? Fashion Week that will be held in August 2015.

Be Rain Ready:

The last couple of weeks saw Mumbai groaning under the constant downpours of monsoon. It?s time to stop complaining about the incessant rains and embrace it with some rain-appropriate accessories. Umbrellas not only protect your designer clothes from rain and shine, they are a remarkable fashion accessory as well that can do wonders to your image. Not just that, owning a branded umbrella or parasols as called by many, has been a symbol of class and luxury from ages. A recent research by The Richest website listed some of the popular high end umbrella brands, mostly Italian manufactured. It included Channel (their vintage collection is to die for), ?Pasotti? by Italian Umbrella with Swarovski Crystals costing USD $360, Hermes ?Pluie de H? that can make your wallet lighter by USD $485, Alexandra MC Queen umbrella with skull handle ($568) and Swaine Adeney Brigg by Malacca Flask Umbrella for Men (USD $1,270).