I come across some rather...disturbing...things as I research information for posts. Today, the thought that Wayne's double-layer sweater vest was very Pepto-Bismol pink led me to the P-B website...and the somewhat off-putting Pepto-Bismol Dance Machine game...not to give too much away, but, you pick your "dancers" and location and then decide which of the "dance" moves (nausea, heartburn, or diarrhea) they will perform...hilarity ensues...or not, as the case may be.

But back to the sweater vest...I actually have a thick cardigan in this very shade. And the color works very well with dark denim and grey...but the thickness of my cardigan, combined with the color, creates a strong resemblance to the Stay-Puft marshmallow man...an issue which would be resolved by this delightfully lightweight vest.

Fresh on the heels of Emma Cook's delicate dresses...and my bemoaning of the lack of coats on a winter runway (I know, I'm such a Practical Paula)...along comes Aquascutum and a positive embarrassment of riches coat-wise. Of course, could you really expect anything less from a company with 155 years of coats, raincoats, and trenches under its waterproof belt?

The end result of their cornucopia of coats? Three cover-ups for me to covet...

The over-sized black number with a jazzy trim on the collar...practical, roomy enough to wear over winter sweaters, yet not "just another black coat".

The puff-sleeved, shawl-collared trench...admittedly not quite as practical...

The 50's color-blocked beauty, my favorite of the three...provided I could find some elbow-length woolen gloves.

And three more that fall under the "runners up" category...

I mentioned that I seem to be excessively addicted to greys, browns, blacks, and navys at the moment...probably due to the prolonged burst of Arctic weather we’ve been experiencing. Much as I’d like to though I can’t blame the elements for all my woes so I’m making a concerted effort to add a little color into my life...like the bright orange cardigan I’m sporting today...or American Apparel’s red and raspberry heart tee. A colorful little multi-tasker that I could wear under a jacket to work or out and about on the weekends.

Of course, my single-minded pursuit of color doesn’t mean that I’m not lusting over the muted version as well...which I suppose means that not one, but two new t-shirts will be getting welcomed into my closet...

I said a little mental "Woo Hoo!" when I saw the pictures from Emma Cook's Fall/Winter collection. Partially, it's true, for the relief they provided from all the dowdy and matronly looks that have been hitting the majority of the catwalks for the last week or so. But also for the mix of patterned latex tights, Doc Martens, and lacy femininity. Tough...in a delicate way. Not that the collections screams "Winter"...if anything, it's yelling "hypothermia"...especially when viewed by someone facing yet another day of negative double-digit wind chills...but, with a warm coat, anything is possible...

Letter From London. Think of it as a London Fashion Week freebie for those of us not actually attending LFW...semi-close your eyes, squint, and you’re standing on the King’s Road...well, almost...what do you expect from a pdf?

It does have a felt-tip pen guide to “How London Works”...a look at some people behind fashion week...up-and-coming designers from Central Saint Martin’s Class of 07...and a "What I’m loving now is..." section (a selection of which are shown below). Not too bad for a virtual freebie.

As we headed out to a party the other night Mr. Heb turned to me and said, "you're very...grey this evening". I had to admit that he was onto something...there were varying shades of grey in my ensemble but, in the end when all was said and done, it was all grey. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I love my greys and blacks...but it did make me think that, before summer, I definitely need to invest in some color...even if it's only one dress that screams color to the point that your eyes bleed. Like this frill dress from Future Classics...because if you're going to do dazzling color you may as well go the whole hog and sling some flamenco-style ruffles in there as well.

I really liked the idea...though not the price-tag...behind this Maison Martin Margiela t-shirt. Mainly because I know, when the weather gets really hot, I'll be wearing t-shirts...which can be, let's face it, a little generic. But now I'll be digging in my jewelry drawer to find the plain leather buckle bracelets I know are hiding in there somewhere and doing a little DIY.

I love it when something cartoon-ish is done in a luxe-ish way...like this silver heart and arrow necklace. It looks like something you would have been given in the playground...probably by the geeky kid that you didn't like, not the cool kid who ignored you during Science class. Which illustrates my long-held belief that the cool kids in High School tend to lose their lustre when they become adults...while the geeks get cooler...

After an abortive attempt yesterday to find some inexpensive, casual-ish, non-generic pants for Mr. Heb...and after coming to the conclusion that American stores only offer men a choice of khakis, designer denim, or grandpa pants which create the unfortunate effect of "elephant ass"...I had to take a sanity break at C.O. Bigelow.

And I'm very glad I did, as I came across this "spring lip collection" box from Prada Beauty. I've been wanting to try their Shielding Balm SPF 15/Lip/Tint for a while now but was never able to settle on a shade. Thankfully someone at Prada realized that there were other ditherers like me out there and came out with the collection box...one of each of the seven colors and an elasticated headband (I readily acknowledge that I am a sucker for a "freebie"). I gave tint #6 (soft red) a try last night and loved it...more polished than a gloss, not quite as "done" as a lipstick. Sheer heaven!

At the rate I'm going, my summer wardrobe will be 70% chambray...as the majority of items catching my eye right now are made from (you guessed it) that very fabric. First the cute, yet crisp dress from Twenty8Twelve and now this swing skirt from J Crew. Clearly, some sort of denim intervention is needed...

From around the Splendicity community, comes this week's best in Beauty, Fashion, and Shopping.



BEAUTY
Frugal Faces: More on Makeup at The Space Between My Peers.
Beauty Secrets Revealed loves her Homemade Apricot And Papaya Face Pack For Glowing Skin.
Beauty and Fashion Tech provides skin swatches of her three favorite Stila Eyeshadows.
Temptalia has a tutorial for an easy, but totally fabulous, look for Valentine's Day!
Canadian Beauty is giving away a huge basket of John Frieda hair care products!
Viva Woman tells you how to use your face serum with your moisturizer the correct way.
Makeup and Beauty Blog has a great Shu Uemura Makeup Tutorial: Go Pastel for a Fresh Spring Eye.
myBeautyMatch has discovered that La Prairie Skin Caviar Luxe Cream now comes with Swarovski Crystals!
Savvy Skin discovers some new beauty products.

FASHION
Her Accessories is loving the new color forecast for Fall 2008, she's found yummy accessories in some of the hottest colors.
Petite Fashionista asks if you are Clueless about Petite Fashion.
NY Spender reports on Liz McClean's Fall/Winter '08.

SHOPPING
Shopalicious beckons spring weather with this to-die-for Phillip Lim jacket -- on sale!
ShopDiary discovers the recently unveiled Prada's Trembled Blossoms video.

Just when I thought I'd worked through all variations of the gladiator sandal...I came across these neon pink beauties from K. Jacques St. Tropez (who've been making sandals since 1933). Sadly, these call for acres of tanned skin...not the wasteland of paleness that I could provide.

“In an economic recession, I'd rather that in order to get out of this recession, that the people be spending their money, not the government trying to figure out how to spend the people's money.”

Question - What's the similarity between a Fendi dress from eLuxury and a Kenmore fridge freezer from Sears?

Answer - Both are available on the layaway plan.

I know this because I just received the following...

Apart from the question of whether yet another way is needed to get people to spend money they don't have I see two things wrong with this idea because, by the time my 90 days are up, one of two things will have happened. One, I'll have realized that the purchase was a horrible mistake and will be regretting it...just in time to pay the bill. Or, two, I will have worn the item to death and will hate the thought of paying out cold hard cash for something "used". Either way, I feel bad.

Boring but true, unless you're a millionaire, there are always the practicalities to consider...like with these platform wrap sandals from Burberry. My practical side wonders what happens when the strap's elastic mesh loses its elasticity...as it inevitably will... My impractical side says, "Who cares?"...nothing lasts forever, so seize the day and strut your stuff...

Almost as exciting as Prada's Trembled Blossoms...okay, equally as exciting (I'm shallow, I admit it)...what people wore to the showing of the animated short at Prada's flagship store in New York. I zero-ed in on these looks specifically because they basically sum up my dinner-or-low-key-party-outfit philosophy during the winter...daytime sweater plus decorative skirt...yet another facet of my fascination with all things dressy/casual I'm afraid.

Equally alluring, though at either end of the spectrum...Anouck Lepère's funky Norwegian sweater and Bacofoil combo...and Vanessa Traina's classic grey sweater and pristine white bubble skirt.

If, like me, you liked the illustrations that Prada used in their Spring/Summer collection but thought they worked better as "Art" than clothing you may want to take a look at Trembled Blossoms on Prada’s website. A four-minute illustrated film that brings the nymphs featured on their collection to life. The music by CocoRosie is suitably ethereal yet modern and the nymph’s method for selecting an outfit is so engaging that you wish the same kind of magic were available in your closet (at least I did).

It was nice to see some pictures from New York that finally ignited a small fire of longing inside me. Am I the only one who's been disappointed by the majority of the offerings from the NY shows thus far? It seems like next Fall will be all about the sludge...wide-legged sludge, bathrobe meets monk's habit sludge, pleated sludge...but still, essentially, sludge. I may draw comparisons between myself and a toadstool on occasion...both of us like the damp and are an acquired taste...but that doesn't mean that I necessarily want to look like I've been decomposing in a woodland glade. Which brings me back to the one show so far that had "wishlist" written all over it...Malo...because, in Winter, what could be better than to be cocooned in luxurious knitwear, armour-plated against all that nature can hurl at you...with woolly tights...and cut-out booties (okay, the last item is probably not the most practical, especially in chalky colors...but aren't they lovely)?

One of my favorite models...Angela Lindvall...in an ad for one of my favorite designers...Isabel Marant. Can a Tuesday get any better?

Wait...yes, it could...if I could figure out how to get my hair to do that whole disheveled-yet-coiffed thing...as opposed to my normal disheveled-possibly-the-result-of-being-caught-in-a-hurricane thing.

Another pair of "heeled wonders to admire from afar"...these elk and python shoes from Alexander McQueen. Utterly conservative...were it not for the zipper detail...

I think I've mentioned this before but I am the Imelda Marcos of sweaters. Something that I rationalize by the fact that I grew up in a dank and dreary corner of Scotland that necessitated the wearing of sweaters for approximately 11.5 months of the year...and the habit stuck with me. So now I have an entire herd of sheep's worth of woolies...an ongoing battle with the demon moth...and a nasty habit of picking myself like a Rhesus Monkey (in private, of course) to remove the pills that have collected on whichever sweater I'm wearing that day. Hence my excitement when I came across this Sweater Stone. I've never trusted the electric pill pickers...the thought of it running amok was just too traumatizing...but a little hand-buffing could be very therapeutic.