Well, Christmas is coming up, and my presents are all ordered, delivered, or have arrived already and only await packaging. This isn't because I'm well organised or anything, but because the DH and I don't buy each other much (and in this neck of the woods, nobody buys anything for friends as most people are too broke).

We find as time goes on that our tastes are so expensive that we can't afford to buy each other what we really want (I-phones, Ipads and Macbook Airs are reserved for business expenses), so it may as well be something token. Our holidays are really our birthday presents (I prefer to take mine in the dark months of winter rather than in April), and we sometimes go out for a nice meal, but other than that, it's usually a book or a magazine subscription. 

This year, the DH has treated us to the complete X-Files on DVD as our joint Christmas pressie. We'll start watching it in the new year, on 'X-Files night' once a week, when friends aim to come round, probably in their PJs, and we'll watch a couple of episodes. He also ordered his own present, handed the Amazon package to me and it's my job to wrap it. Romantic or what? 

Meanwhile, I strongly suspect he's got a book for me - possibly the one I sent him an email link to about six months ago, saying: "Get me this for Christmas or else..." As you can see, romance isn't my strong point either. I will also be treating myself to a bottle of perfume, probably from a niche perfumery.

When it comes to fantasy 'wants', however, that's a completely different matter. I asked the DH what his Top Ten Most Wanted objects would be (we're not going to include metphysical concepts like 'to see my dad alive again' or 'world peace' in this), and all he could think of was cars. Followed by watches. Clothes or art didn't figure among them, though at one time, when he still flew, he would definitely have had a Beech 18 on the list. 

For myself, the list is quite different, so I thought I'd share it on here. These are the 10 things I would like, if money was no object.

1 - Mompesson House, Salisbury

Mompesson House is owned by the National Trust and is one of those gorgeous houses you enter and you think: "Cripes, I could actually live here..." I love the Queen Anne style ('everything plain and simple, from a piece of wainscot to a lady's face'). The house is spacious but not overlarge like Blenheim or Harewood or one of those stately piles, and despite the gracious entrance hall, most of the individual rooms, such as the dining room and various studies, are quite small and cosy, with beautiful, elegant proportions: fires, fenders, high ceilings... It also has a gorgeous walled garden out the back, so maybe in my fantasy, the lovely National Trust old dears would also be there in their teashop, selling home-made cakes. If you want to 'experience' it without visiting, it features in the Emma Thomson version of Sense and Sensibility. Mompesson House, obviously, is not for sale. 

2 - a bowl by Lucy Rie

When Issey Miyake saw the work of Lucy Rie, he said: "My heart and mind were filled with the spirit of this woman," and when I see one of her works I simply CRAVE it. I don't know what it is about them, but they make me sick with longing: the biscuity glazes, the purity of the shapes. Aargh. They are the kind of pottery you want to put in your mouth, like a sweet. They are not completely out of reach, either, at about £1,800 a pop, but still totally unjustifiable on my budget. I satisfy my cravings with studio pottery with similar glazes and shapes, the latest being a peach-coloured raku bowl with applied abstract flowers by a studio potter from Locranon.

3 - an Aston Martin DB5 Vantage

This classic car was on both the DH's and my list, but we both want it in the reliable reworked version by RS Williams, as seen on Top Gear. A silver kestrel of a vehicle, these beautiful lines could be mine for a mere £355,000....

4 - Après le bain. Un femme s'essuyant la nuque by Degas

I can't tell you how much I love this picture. It leapt off the wall at me at the Musée d'Orsay and I wish wish wish there was a way I could own it. If you are ever in Paris, please go and see it - a computer image, or even a reproduction, cannot convey the depth of colour and feeling of the artist's hand in this pastel. I literally burst into tears when I saw it, but I - like everyone else - must make do with only a print at home. I don't know how much a Degas would set me back, but my guess is a couple of quid?

5 - Oxburgh Hall, Norfolk

Another National Trust property, I figure this one could be my country house while Mompesson could be my town house. Oxburgh was built in the 15th century from gorgeous pink brick and was lived in for nearly all the centuries since by the Bedingfield family. It's positioned exactly at that point where the castle became the stately home. I love everything about it, from the moat to the Spanish gilded leather hangings to the leaded glass windows. I remember sitting on the oak window ledges as a child, with the light growing dim and gazing out at the rain falling into the water. Bliss.

6 - Chateau d'O

Only up the road from here but sadly no longer open to the public, due to a family dispute, this mini-chateau is a folie de pleasance with everything a girl could wish for: pointy turrets, secret rooms, painted furniture, black swans on the moat, panelled boudoirs. Everything but Rapunzel, lowering her hair out of the window. This can be my French holiday home for when I get bored with my other moat.

7 -  a dress by Madelaine Vionnet

Any dress would do, but the best would undoubtedly be one of her architectural marvels of the 1930s - essays in 3D design that are not merely beautiful, but intellectually satisfying too. I have a feeling that this red and black one shown may once have belonged to Tina Chow. Failing that, I'd like Vionnet's 153-seam 1920s bias-cut shift made up of graduated green velvet diamonds cut so the pile falls differently on each, and outlined in silver cording. Or anything else she ever made. Or the magenta silk ballgown by Balenciaga in the V&A; or a Balenciaga jacket of any description; or a Fortuny stamped velvet cloak...See, I'm easy to please.

8 - an Issey Miyake coat

This bronze Origami one at far right is quite nice, isn't it? About $4,000 I think (just right for walking the dog in). I can't afford Miyake garments, which I think represent the best that modern fashion can offer, so I make do with collecting his patterns. Here is my version (in pink tweed with abalone buttons) of his brown blanket coat. 

9  - a Reverso by Jaegar-le-Coultre

The only watch I've ever really wanted, a Reverso - again - isn't entirely out of the question, just entirely out of MY question, at between $4,000 and $16,000. Reversos, as the name suggests, can be flipped over to reveal another face, which can be either plain or a timekeeper. I fancy the type with a white face one side and maybe black the other (usually a man's watch), or daytime one side and evening the other with rows of diamonds. Supremely elegant, this watch design dates from 1931 and the firm has rung variations on it ever since. Instead, I wear a one-cent Cartier Tank knockoff from Hong-Kong. 

10 - an opal necklace

The specific necklace I have in mind is in the Geological museum, London. I can't show a picture of it, as it's copyrighted, but you can see it here. It has three tiers of cabochons, with the colour shading from blues and greens through to fire opals and whites, all joined by the daintiest of gold chains. Failing this necklace, I'd love the 1820s neoclassical bracelet fashioned from Roman glass I once saw on the Antiques Roadshow. Some of the techniques still remain unknown as the knowledge was lost with the fall of the Roman Empire. Semi-precious stones are my thing, rather than diamonds, for instance, which are a bit bling-y for me. 

So, that's my modest little Christmas sorted. How about you?

My latest Ebay find turned up this morning, just in time to brighten a crappy day: this cord dress from Orvis.

Ever since I saw this dress, I don't know how many years ago on the Orvis site, I have craved it. My Orvis clothes are among my faves - beautifully made in gorgeous soft fabrics, with a friendly cut that you can sit and move comfortably in. They're not the most stylish garments you can buy, but are great for around the house, country walks, etc. 

I can always tell, too, when the DH is wearing an Orvis garment. There is something plushy about the folds and finished about the detailing: today at lunch I could see from the heavier zip, the different stitching on the collar and the properly applied cuffs that he was wearing Orvis rather than Lands' End, for instance. 

The only drawback with Orvis is the price - they are not cheap clothes, though the cost-per-wear works out at peanuts. This dress normally costs £109, so I was delighted to find this worn-once-only version on Ebay and to pick it up for under £6.

It's made of beautiful, soft, thick corduroy that falls elegantly, and is a perfect fit, too - roomy enough to get a poloneck and fleece-lined tights under, and can also be worn as a long shirt/light coat in in-between weather. The pinky-beige colourway - almost like the colour of fresh plaster - is incredibly flattering for my blonde colouring as well, so all in all, I'm very pleased. 

Today it is wall-to-wall rain, which is a shame, as yesterday when it was brilliantly sunny, I was stuck indoors, cleaning the house for a girls night in (we had a mini-clothes-swap). So to cheer ourselves up, as he too was feeling blue, the DH and I had lunch at the local creperie, which should be enough to restore our spirits for the day. Both of us in Orvis, then, which is unusual. I wore my new dress with stripy thermal tights in grey, magenta and purple (it's OK, you couldn't see them....) and vintage leather riding boots.

Back home, woodburner on early and I'm now changed into my snuggly stretch fleece layers from Lands' End (review to follow) for an afternoon of subbing, teacakes and loving up the cats. I suppose that comes under the heading of winter pleasures. 

If you're going to buy a little black dress, with a bit of forward planning, you can fashion-proof it almost indefinitely. 

The most versatile LBD is a shift, and it should have so few details or distinguishing marks that it should almost be boring. 

Firstly, make sure it's sleeveless, even if you never bare your arms. A sleeveless design will remain constant as fashions in shoulder lines come and go.

Secondly, look for a design that is semi-fitted, not tight - go a size up if you have to. It should skim over your body, not fit tightly.

It should have a boat or scoop neck for maximum usability (make sure it shows your collarbones but has straps that are wide enough to hide all your bra straps), and it should be knee length. By knee length, I mean that sweet spot on your leg that suddenly makes them look longer. This varies from woman to woman (mine's just below the knee, not bang on the crease).

Where fabric's concerned, choose a matt, fine wool, if possible, or a matt polyester crepe if not - something unreflective - and make sure it has a lining, so you can wear it over other clothes easily. I prefer a princess seam, but a waist seam can be equally flattering - just make sure it's a little loose in case you gain or lose a pound or two.

You can wear your LBD it as it comes, or with a white shirt under it, or a tee or short- or long-sleeved crewneck sweater, or a silk blouse.

Over it, you can wear any number of shrugs or evening cardigans, a crew, polo or v-neck sweater (so you only see the dress as a skirt), a wrap or a silk shirt tied at the waist.

It will do you for day-to-night with a change of top layer, you can team it with opaque tights and knee-high boots in winter, sheers and stilettos for a sexy look, or leggings and ballet flats when you need to move at speed. Even on its own, a flashy, glittering evening bag will bling it right up.

There is nothing more versatile than this shape of dress, and provided it's knee-length and sleeveless, it won't date - rather than replace it, get yourself another one in silk, velvet or linen, or the same style in another colour.

You don't need to break the bank to buy a decent shift dress - they start at about £30 - but do pay for quality fabric, a lining, and to get it tailored to fit if necessary.

* What dates a shift dress? Skirts that are too long or too short - knee length is always right. Having a skirt that's a mini or mid-calf and below limits the number of times and places you can wear it.

Sleeves, and the shoulder line that supports them also date clothing. The fuller the sleeve, the bigger the shoulder that's need to support it. So avoid sleeves.

The new 'longer' skirt length was spotted on the Balenciaga catwalk yet again during Paris fashion week (see Guardian piece here) and it's something that the over-40s babe should take note of.

It's not, of course, what normal people like you or I would call a long skirt, but it is below knee length, and as anyone who's tried to buy a dress in the past five years or so will know, a decent-length skirt has been something that's been hard to come by.

There have been hundreds of beautiful dresses that I thought looked promising at first sight, only to discover that they barely consititute a pussy pelmet. I have never worn short skirts, and even if I had, I'm long since past the wise age to do so. 

So, I would say, this spring through autumn, keep your eyes peeled, and when dresses begin to appear that are long enough to cover a girl's modesty, snap them up. God knows, fashion is a fickle beast and you never know when once again that hemline will desert you for the more coltish-limbed. 

For dateless appeal, sleeveless is usually best (nothing dates quicker than a shoulder line) and for maximum usefulness choose a v neck or scoop neck that reveals your collar bones. Black, obviously, but also useful shades like navy, beige, camel and taupe, along with white if you live a white life (I don't), and any other shade you find becoming to your colouring, especially red, if this year's red suits you. Reds are the most irritating of fashion colours and it can be 10 years before your favourite shade comes round again.

I came across this designer lately on Ebay: Caroline Gallagher.

She has a range of tunics for sale that, although aimed principally at larger women, would also be suitable for thinner over-40s babes. They incorporate many of the features that we need in fashions but which are often so sadly lacking: a bit of stretch, matt fabric, vertical seaming, good drape, long sleeves and a long enough body. 

Caroline is an experienced designer who's worked for many high street stores and she aims to create fashions for curvy women that celebrates curves rather than looking like a tent. You can find her new website here:  carolineann661.vpweb.co.uk and her Ebay store here: carolineann661

She will make to order, changing necklines, sleeve lengths, etc, as you wish, and each design comes in a range of different sizes and colours, including black, purple, navy and grey.