Kristen Shirley is a New York-based luxury expert, writer, editor, and stylist who specializes in travel, fashion, fine watches, jewelry, wine and spirits. She is passionate about craftsmanship, rare gemstones, and supporting independent designers. Kristen is the founder of La Patiala, the luxury encyclopedia, and is currently a contributing editor for leading publications, including Forbes.com and Nobleman, and she is a freelance writer for luxury publications. Her work has appeared in Bloomberg Businessweek, Departures, Business Insider, Robb Report, and Editorialist, among others. Previously, she was the Luxury Editorial Director at Elite Traveler, where she led the print and digital teams and spearheaded a redesign of the print edition and the website. Kristen began her career at ELLE in the fashion department, where she trained under former style director Kate Lanphear before becoming the Associate Market Editor.