It’s time to move beyond those trendy, lightweight, loose, fringed scarves that have been hanging around since summer. It is chilly (or will be soon) and you need a substantial scarf to stay warm. A classic, beautiful scarf that will stand the test of time, that is.

1. Calvin Klein wants to hug your neck, snuggle your chin and warm your ears, with his luscious cashmere logo scarf in blue, brown, camel or gray ($90, above left).

2. Ralph Lauren hopes to be equally close to your vest, but with a Polo logo and a prep attitude from his lambs wool argyle scarf  (charcoal or cypress, $60, above right).

3. You won’t get bright colors or wild stripes from either of those boys, though. Let’s do a little bit of global warming and visit Novica.com, with handcrafted work from around the world. A beautifully striped Alpaca wool scarf is created by Patricia Anaya in Peru ($60, above left).

4. Another Novica find, a blue and burgundy Alpaca scarf named Peacefulness (above, center) is made by Alfredo Falcon.

5. From India, an artist named Sajad works on a traditional Kashmiri loom, as did his ancestors, to create  hand-woven wool scarves, also from Novica ($43, above right).

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Bravo network’s Top Design (10 p.m. EDT on Wednesdays) is tops when it comes to reality-design shows, and it’s high time that fans of the show take a closer look at lead judge Jonathan Adler, known for that not-so-hot “See ya later, decorator” send-off for last season’s eliminated contestants. Fortunately, he has ditched the catchphrase and is sticking with what he does best: spectacular design for the home.

After getting his start as a potter, Adler moved  into interior design, then launched an extraordinarily hot line of furniture, bedding, tableware and more décor goodies. Now look at him - the boy’s a design TV star. (You can read Jonathan’s quite entertaining curriculum vitae here.)

The last line of the Jonathan Adler Manifesto sums up his design sensibility nicely: “We believe in irreverent luxury.” With vibrant colors, bold designs and a whimsical esthetic, Adler delivers.

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No, there’s no deadly mercury in these soft, shimmering pieces of art glass. Sure, back in the 19th century, when they were created, “mercury glass” contained that dangerous element, but now shiny silver nitrate rests between two thin layers of glass and shimmers like liquid gold (or other precious metals).

You can still find mercury glass in antique stores, but better to go for the versions popping up in trendy home décor boutiques and stores. Go for standard silver or try other colors (like these luscious pears and pomegranates for $22, below).

Feeling mercurial about your autumn decor statement? Here’s a sampling of our favorites for fall:

Rian Rae’s lamp ($312)

Spheres (on sale for $30)

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Perhaps you are a baseball fan - or possibly you live with someone who is, obsessed with stats and RBIs and the like.

Right now, you (or they) are oh, so happy because the playoffs are here. Want to talk ball? Here, start with this: It’s going to be one of the best Fall Classics ever.

If you’re a Chicago Cubs fan, you’re so happy you could cry. The Cubs have not been in the World Series for 100 years — that’s right, a whole  century. But now, they have the best record in the majors and this could be the year! (Disclaimer: My whole family are Cubs fans, and we were singing, “Go Cubs Go!” the day they clinched the division.)

Aside from the Cubs, the upstart Tampa Bay Devil Rays are putting on a show, and the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, and Philadelphia Phillies are in the thick of it. Oh, there’s also a possible Los Angeles series between the Dodgers and the Angels. All that, and there’s still the Tuesday tiebreaker between the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins to see which team gets the last slot.

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Pssst. . . . CW’s Gossip Girl (it’s on tonight at 8 EST) has girls - and ladies - everywhere going gaga over uniform chic.  

Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf  - the gorgeous gals of the 212 -  transform their hoity-toity Manhattan private-school uniforms into fashion works of art, and that’s prompting stores across the country to roll out school uniform-inspired looks, from crested blazers to pleated and plaid skirts.  

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Consider yourself au courant with all things stylish and beautiful? Here are a trio of new products headed to store shelves that you can tell your friends about before they see them. They could be impressed, or they could know that you have a subscription to WWD.com, like we do.

First, Maybelline, the ruling maker of mascara, is coming out with a new one in January called Lash Stiletto. The new mascara, which is shaped like a stiletto heel, is intended to lengthen lashes, give them a shine and (using a ”crisscross brush”) coat each and every lash. It will be a mere $8.95 and come in three shades.

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You know what’s terrifying? Waiting until the last minute to prepare for your fabulous Halloween party. It leaves you crazy in the aisles of the party stores, grabbing crepe-paper streamers and flimsy centerpieces that spell “Boo!” in cardboard letters.

Start out early and get your orders in for some upscale Halloween party decor. You will not find this exquisitely unsettling skull cloche in just any store; the crystal skull under glass leers out at you (left),  only from Horchow ($75).

Nor can you expect to score treasures like their ceramic black Halloween punch bowl and skeleton ladle set ($150) or their nearly Mardi-Gras-like painted skull masks on stands ($75, below) if you wait too long.

First impressions are everything, and Frontgate’s animated life-size Edwardian butler will help you creep everyone out with his moving eyes, evil laugh and hauntingly inviting serving tray ($179).

He’s especially unnerving if arriving guests first saw this life-sized skeleton, hinged joints and all ($79, above), resting in the Adirondack on the front porch, or a pair of menacing mummy window panels ($24, below) gazing at them from the second story window.

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Tonight’s first debate between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama is the equivalent of Opening Day or the Kickoff Classic for the election season. Then we have the VP debate on Oct. 2, followed by two more presidential debates on  Oct. 7 and 15. So put your game face on, gather up your fellow political junkies and throw a debate-watching shindig.

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