Neiman Marcus' always compelling Christmas Book is online today. Good grief, Christmas already?

I guess they want to inspire people to start shopping early. It's always fun to browse through their extremely unaffordable selection in the book... one can dream, n'est pas? Like the Gucci Python Hobo ($3,295) and Marion Gladiator Boot ($995).

It's always good to pick up some cheap basics to mix and match with your nicer clothes (like Coco Rocha and her Aldo boots - see Oct 4 post). Here are some good options from the Gap.

This pencil skirt is a classic cut and only $44. It has a bit of stretch in it, so if you're small it may actually fit. (it's really surprsing how many size 0 pencil skirts actually do not fit, I mean they're supposed to be tailored fit, not baggy)  How can you go wrong for $44!  It comes in black and terrain (color below).

I also like this long sweater from Gap's European Collection. $88. It's 95% lambswool, 5% cashmere. That's a nice blend, usually less expensive sweaters have some acrylic in them, which is not nice at all! Perhaps that's why it's a little more pricey... but still much less than a designer version. I would get black, but I'm showing it in gray below so you can see the detail of the knit.

I love the slouchy comfortable look. It would look good with skinny jeans, or you could dress it up with a skirt, heels, and some chunky bracelets.

Gap is also a reliable source for inexpensive tights. When it gets cold, I wear them all the time. It's good to restock every Fall for the season since they get snags etc. They're only $12.50 or 2 for $10 each.

Of course I would love to only buy Wolford tights,  but at $52 each, that's a bit hard to take when you can get perfectly fine ones for $10.

As a follow-up to last Thursday's post, here are 2 more pairs of black leather boots.  These are both lower styles which are kind of the "in thing" for boots this Fall.

These by Theory are definitely channeling the motorcycle vibe. "Elodie" Short Leather Boots, $395. The quality of leather is nice and they sort of have a clunky feel, so these are not as easy to dress up.

These by Juicy Couture seem a bit more versatile and they have a killer heel and platform, so they're really high.  "Serena" Leather Platform Ankle Boots, $378. They're very well made (although not in Italy) and seem worth the price.

These I think you could wear SJP style, with a pencil skirt and black tights and they'd look really cool. Or with skinny jeans.

I was poking around Sephora this weekend, a favorite pass-time of course, and I ran across 3 eye shadow palettes that look great!  I really wish I didn't SUCK at eye shadow. I guess I need to go get a lesson (pretty sad at my age). I manage with my Chanel eye liner "Le Crayon Yeux" in teak and Clinique Naturally Glossy mascara, jet brown...  Anyway, here they are:

Cargo Essential Eyeshadow Palette, $32.  It comes in 3 color options: warm neutral, cool neutral and dark neutral.  I liked the cool neutral the best (middle). It even tells you where to put the colors, so I think even a dummy like me could figure it out.

Fresh Eye Shadow Trio, Lost World, $32. I love these colors, but I wouldn't be sure where to put the green. I'm not terribly fond of the cutesy looking container though.

Dior 5 Color Eyeshadow, Incognito, $54. The beautiful neutral tones are very similar to the Cargo colors. But they come in a more elegant container and the pigments that Dior uses are apparently better quality.

On a side note, I love Dior's Replenishing Lipcolor, $27. Color 717, "Brown Image" is beautiful. Don't go by the colors online though, they are way off. I love the container too, it's got a quilited look like a Dior bag.

I ran across this little feature on model Coco Rocha in a "pulse" slideshow in the Style section of the New York Times.  She explains her outfit, a vintage jacket from Paris, Rag & Bone pants... and Aldo boots!

She explains, "I believe if you see something you like and it's cheap, by all means get it. Just don't do it head to toe. Carry an expensive bag." I love that! Many of us have to do that because we can't afford to wear head-to-toe luxury designer, it's nice to hear it from someone who probably doesn't have to...  Of course this is not a new idea by any means. Fashionable people have been pairing Gap and even Old Navy with ready-to-wear for ages. Anyway, I just thought it was a nice little snipet and in this economy, practical. I'm going to go check out Aldo!  Maybe then I won't have to buy the L.A.M.B. $520 boots I'm dying for.

There are only a couple days left of Paris Fashion Week - it ends Sunday.  Somehow Paris Fashion Week seems way more cool than New York, to me, mostly because the shows are scattered about Paris. Many of them are at the Carrousel du Louvre, which serves much like the Tents at Bryant Park do for New York. But many are at other interesting places like the Espace Eiffel on the Quai Branly in the 7th or in the Tuileries gardens in the 1st or the Grand Palais in the 8th. You can see the full schedule at Mode a Paris' official site.  I would just die if I could go to a show, any one!!

I LOVE Paris, having studied there it feels like a place I know (very well) which is rare for a foreign city because most of us only can visit for a week or so.  You can get to know a city in that amount of time, but not "really" know it.  So anyway, for my ode to Paris, here are some of my favorite spots.

Stopping for a cafe creme on the Rue Soufflot in the Latin Quarter, you have the beautiful Pantheon looming on one side and my favorite gardens the Luxembourg Gardens down the street in the other direction. My absolute favorite place to buy a baguette is also right there, Boulangerie Moderne (16, rue des Fossés-Saint-Jacques).

Shopping around the Eglise de la Madelaine. I love the Habitat store (30, Boulevard des Capucines), Fauchon (30, Place Madeleine) and Hediard (21, Place Madeleine). Habitat is a home goods store by Terence Conran - back then I didn't even know who that was, but I loved the store! Fauchon and Hediard are both gourmet food shops that put Citarella and Eli's to shame. They're like food museums.

And very conveniently, Place de la Madeleine is very close to Place Vendome where the Ritz is. If you're not staying there you at least have to stop in for a cocktail! And of course Rue Saint-Honore is right there also, nice for just a walk and window shopping - or some serious ($$$) shopping!

I could just go on and on. I really love Place des Vosges in the Marais, the Parc Monceau in the 8th, a great little restaurant near the Eiffel Tower, La Fontaine de Mars, walking around the Saint-Germain-des-Prés quartier on the left bank, the Musee Guimet (asian art) in the 16th.....etc, etc, etc.  Wow, I really need to go to Paris!

They're showing a lot of black leather rocker/motorcycle looks this Fall. Bloomingdale's put out a whole "Hot Rocks" catalog and did their 59th street windows in the same theme. Sadly this catalog is not posted on their website, as some are.

Here are some of the looks.  This delicious Marc by Marc Jacobs jacket is done in soft washed leather, $798.

For a ladylike version of the rocker look (if that exists), this Juicy Couture leather coat could work. Shrunken fitted style with rounded collar and gold buttons, $698.

And it would look good with their "Mona" Tall Leather Boots, $478. They're fairly simple with a classic round toe and 3 1/2" heel, but also have a horsebit buckle to jazz them up a bit.

The Bloomingdale's catalog had this really cool MICHAEL Micheal Kors belt, black leather with black pyramid studs (only $42) - kind of a toned down version of the Carrie studded belt from the SATC movie. I guess this belt was very popular because it is nowhere to be found now! I can't even pull a picture from anywhere on the internet to show it. :-( (I need to get a scanner)

Anyway, this belt is also amazing - - but insanely expensive: Alexander McQueen croco embossed leather belt with chain detail, $469. Thank goodness it's made in Italy for that price... and it comes with a belt dust bag (so you can feel like you got your money's worth!).

They're also showing a lot of the low heeled motorcyle boots. I'm not a huge fan because I always prefer a heel, but if I were tall and didn't have that problem, I'd be loving these. DKNY lace up boots, $475. The lace up style can work really well if you have thinner calves, so you can make them fit better.

I realized lately that I'm sort of a bag lady, yup - paper bag.  I have this terrible habit of carrying the things that don't fit into my handbag in a paper bag... you know the nice paper bags with handles that nice shops give you. (my favorites are the Sherry Lehman bag with the Toulouse Lautrec print and the Balthazar Bakery bag)  Anyway, I was thinking how this is actually pretty weird, since I go out of my way to have the best shoes and handbags and decent clothes... so why do I do this?  I guess I never thought about it very much, and maybe it's okay because it's recycling.

Anyway, Longchamp has a great solution. They now have a build your own Les Pliages bag, Le Pliage Sur Mesure, on their website! You get to choose the size of your bag, the length of the handles, the fabric color(s), the color of the metal on the bag (zipper pull, etc) and optional embossing of your initials on the leather or embroidery of your name on the fabric part.  They're made to order in a workshop dedicated to the production of these custom bags, within Longchamp's main production unit located in Segré, in the Maine-et-Loire region of France.   

The prices are pretty reasonable - the large bag prices out at $184 with the optional embossing included. And because it's a Le Pliage, you just fold it up when not is use for compact storage.

This morning as I was waiting for the subway I saw the most ridiculous site - - a man wearing the knee high Ugg boots with his 7 jeans tucked into them!  Okay, and I mean the Ugg boots that all the girls wear, these:

It was so horrible. I wanted to tell him, like hello buddy, this is not LA... you just CANNOT wear that in New York.  I wish I had snuck a picture, because when you google for pictures of men in Ugg boots there is not even one at this level of ridiculous (meaning the high boots which are much more ridiculous).  Even when you go to the Ugg Australia website, they do not show the high boots in the Men's section.  They make the boots - - so they must like them, and not even they can advocate such a thing!

David Yurman's Fall catalog has some seriously gorgeous rings in it!  Yes, lately I'm obssesed with cocktail rings... and these are super fabulous [and expensive].

Just in case the jewelry wasn't beautiful enough on its own, Yurman has hired Kate Moss, Natalia Vodianova and Daria Werbowy... and Amber Valletta is the face of the new perfume. Here are some of the rings that I love:

Pave Champagne Citrine Ring, $5,200. 18k yellow gold with a 20mm champagne citrine stone and pave diamond bezel, from the Albion Collection.

14mm New Albion Ring, Smoky Quartz, $1,500. Sterling silver and 18k gold with 14mm smoky quartz and pave diamond bezel.

Olive Quartz Cushion Cocktail Ring, $2,100. 18k gold with 15mm olive quartz stone and diamond accents at each corner, from the Quatrefoil Collection.

Champagne Citrine Ring, $1,050.  Sterling silver and 18k gold with a square 15mm champagne citrine stone, with cable detail.

Large Noblesse Ring, Citrine, $850. Sterling silver and 14k gold with citrine stone.