Folksy dresses

I like these folk-inspired tunics from Plumo - lovely worn with thick tights.

The White Ribbon

We saw Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon last night and I am in awe. It's an extraordinarily immersive film set in 1913 rural Germany, telling a chilling, eerie story of fear and guilt in a small, repressed village community. I can't remember ever seeing an era so scrupulously recreated on film. The details were so precise: the crumbling walls, rickety gates, creaky floorboards, cloudy spectacles, buckets of gnarled turnips, rusty scythes, course linen nightshirts... even the faces of the actors seemed to come authentically from another time. How is it possible that it was filmed only last year? And the fact that is was shot in black and white - but brilliantly cleanly - made it all the more atmospheric. I completely loved it.

Kenzo

A couple of weeks ago I bought a frill-collared, brown-checked Kenzo shirt for a few pounds from a charity shop, sort of imagining it was a label that didn't really exist anymore. But now I see they've just launched an online store, with some rather nice cosy-looking things on it.

Polpo

I made a delicious discovery at lunchtime: Polpo - a small, newish restaurant on Beak Street. I had been walking past it for weeks, admiring the vintage lace curtains and zinc-topped bar. But today I actually ate there: lots and lots of small, salty treats on tiny plates which they crowd onto your table. Fritto misto of squid and prawns; tiny crostini topped with anchovy and chickpeas; slices of rare steak and wild mushrooms; courgettes topped with fried breadcrumbs. I was really trying not to be greedy, because it was a work lunch and that would look wrong, but I kept loosing track of what he was saying because it was all so delicious. And when I have to do "sharing" plates I get low-level panic that I might have to fight for the last fried potato or roasted beetroot. I loved the interior, too - bare bricks, chipped tiles and stripped floorboards with lovely old school chairs and a few relaimed hooks for coats. It was full - packed, in fact - with unbelievably chic people who clearly eat there every day. I now want to be one of them.

Ewa i Walla

Swedish label Ewa i Walla make such romantic clothes, in keeping with that fresh-faced, peasant-girl look I like. I absolutely love her braided hair, too. And that bucket. And her cushion.

SNS Herning

One of my favourite Christmas prezzies ever is the stripey SNS Herning fisherman's jumper Archie gave me last year. It's the warmest jumper in the world, wind- and waterproof as all fisherman's kit should be. It's the kind of jumper that will last for 100 years, not showing any signs of age. All SNS jumpers are made in Denmark in the town on Herning, in the exact way they always have since 1931, on ancient mechanical looms operated by four elderly gentlemen.

Ellenitza

The brilliant, always inspiring Chelsea blogged about Ellenitza, and I have to agree - the girl's got style. Woolly tights, Swedish Hasbeen clogs, Liberty print, a cosy cardi... she's a sartorial kindred spirit.