As yet another plaid shirt worms its way into my affections (and closet) I have to remind myself that there are infinitely worse things to be addicted to than the pattern triumvirate of stripes, florals, and the aforementioned plaids. The latest incarnation is a nice mix of cowboy and haggis...pearly snap closures and winter-friendly flannel...in what the Scottish blood coursing through my veins tells me is a Stewart tartan (of course, the S.b. has been wrong before so take my clan identification skills with a grain of salt)...best of all, from the frugal S.b.'s point of view, as this was an Old Navy find it was satisfyingly inexpensive.

"It was really hard to track snow leopards down due to their nature and habits, since they live at high altitudes and usually only come out after dark." - Ma Ming Somewhat bizarrely (given that I'm a firm believer in natural fabrics being the best option when the temperatures are either at the lower or higher end of the scale) this unashamedly synthetic fur coat is the warmest in my closet. Just the thing for today's mix of snow, wind, and plummeting temperatures... Coat - vintage Emporio Armani, scarf - Harald, marled wool sweater - Joseph, jeans - Joe's, hi-tops - Converse

I think it's just possible that I may be the only child never to have made a macaroni necklace (talk about a mis-spent youth). A missing childhood memory which could be easily rectified thanks to this gold-plated necklace...whose "string", "mac", and closure come in one little DIY package. Santa obviously needs to be alerted to this potential gift asap...

It's a horrible cliche but...sometimes its the details that only you, the wearer, will see or feel that make all the difference...like a boiled wool scarf with an embroidered golden orb...just like an iceberg, only nine-tenths will be visible...but, who cares?

I realize that patterned tape has been around for a while now but...how utterly brilliant is this particular example? For last minute gift giving...or if you absolutely loathe spending time wrapping gifts...or even if you want to add a temporary embellishment to a piece of clothing...could anything be better than tinsel tape?

It's pre-Christmas sloth...a slight variation on post-C.s. when you can't be bothered to do anything because you've stuffed yourself silly with fruit cake, chocolate, and turkey.

Is it a bad thing...this burning desire to buy a crate of Urban Outfitters' shimmery party hats and wear them every day...come rain, shine, and the inevitable 'papier mache head'?

One more time for the cheap seats...

Fresh from a bout of self-congratulation over avoiding all of the Black Friday/winter sale madness I made the mistake of browsing VagabondNYC (otherwise known as my favorite online vintage store).

Nestling on the new arrivals page was a piece of vintage Kenzo from the 70's...over-sized...luxurious brown suede...with dolman sleeves. I'm weak willed...but happy.

Whether your feelings towards leggings fell into the love, hate, or plain old ambivalent category you probably always felt that, if faced with a visitor from Mars (or somewhere similarly out of the fashion loop), you could describe them...probably along the lines of "stretchy, covering the leg from waist to ankle, regrettably worn in lieu of pants on numerous occasions, and beloved by Lindsay Lohan". At least, that was my belief...until I happened upon these sock leggings from Maison Martin Margiela...which are described on farfetch as a "thick knit elastic waist legging with attached socks". Now, not to be overly picky but...aren't leggings with attached socks actually just really thick tights?

I can't call it a New Year's Resolution...and I'm not really a fan of them anyway, my inner cynic always tells me I'm setting myself up for failure whenever I attempt one...so let's just call this a Closet Resolution. The R in question...to thrust the paranoia regarding this Chanel cardigan to the back of my mind and enjoy its Gothic-y Victorian splendor as a piece of clothing, not a work of art.

No matter what misfortune befalls it when I'm wearing it (as a klutz I know that this is a 'when' not an 'if') it has to be better than letting it loiter in my closet awaiting the ravages of the demon moth colony...

I'd like to claim that I'm lusting over these floral diaries (part of a limited-edition collaboration between Erdem and Smythson) because I'm fed up with my virtual datebook and yearn for the tactile, traditional, charms of putting pen to paper. That, at least, would be sensible (well, as sensible as considerations related to a $320 diary can ever be). In reality, I'm ignoring the diary portion completely and focusing on the goatskin cover printed with Erdem's signature blooms...book lover that I am I can't help imagining a fantasy library whose volumes are all bound this way (and...crash...that's me coming back down to earth).

I'll admit that I'm not terribly knowledgeable about ski-wear...my one attempt at snowboarding being memorable for a variety of reasons...mainly involving my turning down the offer of lessons...making my way up a medium sized hill...being deliriously happy when I got moving and was actually able to stand up...then being increasingly nervous as I realized that the bottom of the hill was getting closer and I had absolutely no idea how to stop. As I extricated myself from the feet of the people waiting in line for the ski lift (otherwise known as my final resting place) I noticed a few less-than-subtle ensembles...but nothing of the magnitude of this little vintage number. Head-to-toe logomania...stand-up Elvis collar (which has to cut down on your wind resistance)...it's like being unable to look away from a car (or snowboard) crash...I'm transfixed for the worst possible reasons...

This year Mr. Heb and I are attempting a "relatively commercial free Christmas". Regular readers may recall that we piloted this plan last year when the Hebden household attempted a slightly more challenging no gift policy...sadly we discovered the error of our ways on Christmas morn...the childish thrill of ripping brightly colored paper of something (anything) is a necessary part of the holiday...without it, something intangible was missing. This year the revised plan is one low-cost gift a piece (hopefully wrapped in about 12 layers of glittery paper) and a festive glow instilled by whiling away our time before the big day by making our own decorations, cards, and other seasonal accoutrement.

A trip to the local art store yielded origami paper to festoon our tree...and a lino cutting kit for the production of Christmas cards. The goal is naive charm...though as I haven't applied chisel to lino since high school I'm assailed with doubts of the "will our seasonal greetings look like they were created by a five year old?" variety. Time, as they say, will tell...

Oh, what a terrible thing it is to have an obsession...it makes one so...predictable. A skull...especially one formed out of black lace and appliqued onto an exceedingly comfortable looking grey sweatshirt...and I'm a quivering mass of longing. I need to get a grip...or, preferably, a sweatshirt.

It's not often (at least in the US) that you get a walking-talking-Isabel-Marant sighting...so when I stumbled across this video of Marant discussing her Spring/Summer 2010 collection on Joseph's website I had to share (even though the collection in question left me a little cold)...

Black leather conjures up a lot of mental images...and, if you Google it, quite a lot of slightly iffy actual images as well. It doesn't normally, however, make you think 'Scottish librarian'...until, that is, you add a plaid shirt and the kind of itchy, over-sized, cardigan that looks like someone's grandmother made it for them for Christmas... Plaid shirt - Ralph Lauren, cardigan - vintage Paul Costelloe, leather shirt - Zara, boots - Frye

This definitely falls under the "curiosity killed Aunt Agatha's feline friend" category but the slew of emails that I've received...all trying to lure me of out my warm bed on what promises to be a distinctly cold and dreary morning...so that I can battle other Black Friday shoppers in the war to find the perfect bargain...has prompted me to check if anyone actually felt it worthwhile to get up at some ungodly hour and go shopping?

Of course I realize that by the time this post appears any truly dedicated bargain hunters will either be busily wiping the blood of vanquished foes off their (heavily reduced) new shoes...or continuing to take part in the great cheap cashmere war of '09...but I still pose the question. Was the lure of 25% of one item of your choosing enough to compel you to stand shivering on the sidewalk at 5am waiting for H&M to open? Did the offer of 25% off sale merchandise cause you to run towards Club Monaco like a child into it's mothers arms? Most importantly, did you follow Dickens' advice?

Generally the magic words "size issue" are accompanied by dark thoughts about the designer who (clearly) mis-marked his designs so as to make the consumer feel rotten about themselves by having to take a garment marked a size or two larger than they normally wear into the changing room...or the retailer who panders to the public with vanity sizing and causes the opposite angst as you can't figure out how low you could (or should) go as you rattle through the hangers...what you don't expect to be talking about is a laptop sleeve. And yet, here we are...

Marc Jacobs' laptop sleeve is...leopard printed...insanely gorgeous...and...14" wide. Too large for my hopefully-soon-to-be-retired PowerBook...too small for the MacBook Pro of my dreams...I'm having nerdy size issues and I don't like it.