O Tidings of Commerce and Joy

Today, as one or two tantalising flakes of snow fell gently upon my fake fur coat, I saw a small boy buying a sledge, and a van unloading a batch of Christmas trees. It was so insanely festive, I almost wept!

Black leather strap detail ribbed knit palm warmers, Topshop, £20

Truly, Christmas is a-comin', and I can't wait, not least because my husband and I will shortly be off to New York for a spot of seasonal shopping and seasonal snuggling. I'm thinking ice-skating, twinkling lights, and the holding of stylishly gloved hands in the park. I'm particularly excited, though, about basking in the loveliness of Manhattan's festive window displays. Check out these beauties, as featured on NYmag.com:

http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2010/11/holiday_windows.html#photo=1x70523

Slytherin Chic

So, the new Harry Potter movie is out in the UK on November 19th. Woohoohoo! I am insanely over-excited. Myself and a small but enthusiastic posse will be descending on the local Odeon dressed in regalia reminiscent of our favourite Hogwarts house - Slytherin, baby! I mean, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are sweet kids and all, but I am not feeling the clean-cut, Abercrombie and Fitch vibe. They dress like the kind of people I would have avoided like the plague in school. If you have a subversive streak, a love of punk music, or eccentric taste in clothes, I can't help but think that Slytherin is the place to be. Sans pseudo-racism, of course.

I haven't quite settled on what to wear yet. For the boys, of course, it will be dark, slim-fit suits, button-down shirts, and slick hair, a la the delicious Draco Malfoy. I can imagine a couple of them slapping on the guy-liner for that evil-dude-about-town look, too.

There aren't many female fashion role models amongst the Slytherin women, though. The young Pansy Parkinson has a cool Natalie Portman in Leon thing going on, with a sulky face, a bad attitude, and a sharp black bob.  

But. whilst the bad-ass swagger comes naturally (!), a new haircut seems like too big a commitment for one night of fancy dress shenanigans. More likely, I'll be taking a cue from Helena Bonham-Carter's Bellatrix Lestrange and Jason Isaacs' Lucius Malfoy; her pale skin, back-combed hair, and aura of Shakespeare's Sister-esque 90s cool and his layers of textured black and creepy jewellery.

Somewhere between pagan witch and dominatrix seems about right. If you're thinking of pulling a Slytherin this November, then, I say go for gothic-tinged accessories, dark and richly textured fabrics, and - of course - the House colours of silver and green. Here are some of my picks:

Oversized metal snake ring, Asos, £8

Black long fur coat, Miss Selfridge, £85

Long leather gloves, Jigsaw, £79

Wool mini, Boden, £55

Bird skull circle necklace, Urban Outfitters, £16

Minkpink crushed velvet maxi-dress, Asos, £44 (was £55)

Knitted spiky dress, Topshop, £45

Egg timer necklace, Urban Outfitters, £22

TBA self stripe lounge trousers, Asos, £100