There’s plenty going on in The Wizard of Oz, with all its plots, subplots, flying monkeys, forces of good and evil, small yappy dogs. But we choose to focus on the shoes. Not the ruby red slippers - they’ve already had their day in the sun. We’re obsessing about the Wicked Witch of the West’s footwear, and how they seem to have struck a few marketing deals of their own.

Like this candy dish from Sur la table, all sweet and full of treats ($15). Set it by the front door on Halloween night, and watch those trick-or-treaters’ eyes open wide.

Send your little goblins out into the night with Current catalog’s imaginative treat bags (above), shaped like witches’ boots with wild heels in multiple colors (6 sacks, $7). After they come back all sticky and sweet, just hand them these hand towels that certify the Witch Is In (and she likes purple, $3, above right).

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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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Shopperati is so very, very enamored with party invitations. They are the easiest part of the fete, by far. Do them when you’re all fresh and giddy with ideas, and they announce to your guests that you have it all wired, weeks ahead of time.

What could be better?

Here’s what: Cute, printed invitations that you select online, personalize and have shipped to your door, perfect and ready to address. 

Invitation Box is ready to do your bidding for your Halloween bash, with cards that encourage costumes, give a hint to an elegant affair or just get downright devilish; with your personalization, cards cost about $2 each.

We are wild for the dozens of options at Colors By Design. Here’s an invite to your soon-to-be haunted mansion; a spider-themed card (above, left) catches your guests in its wicked web; and a charmingly nasty witch (above, right) adds a touch of humor to the occasion ($1.70 per card). Paperstyle has an artistic thing going on, with spooky cocktails (right),  partying mummies, die-cut spiders and  witches’ boots ($1.50 to $3 per card). 

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Fall is such an uncomplicated season compared to the rest. Winter is all slush and muck, boots and coats. Summer oozes wet swimsuits, humidity and screen doors slamming. And don’t get us started on spring, what with all its fever and cleaning. But fall is a cup of tea, a chenille sweater, a break in the heat. And fall is layers and layers of red, orange and gold pillows falling into your living space, making it warmer and more inviting by the minute. First, stock up on the deals at Overstock.com, with the garnet, terra and brown channel quilted pillows (set of two, left, $25) or the velvet throw pillows (set of two, $20) in burgundy, gold or chocolate. 

Then pick a couple of  accent pillows to catch the eye and help it rove around the room. Bed, Bath & Beyond offers a slice of the season in its quiet Amherst nutmeg feather toss pillow ($30), or its sophisticated block patch toss pillow ($20, right) in natural.  (more…)

Need a new scent for fall, to go along with those thigh-high boots and that wild plaid jacket? There are plenty of new perfumes on shelves for the season, but we picked seven that sound wonderful - and look beautiful.

(And keep an eye peeled for a first-time scent from sunny designer Lilly Pulitzer sometime in mid-November)

1. Viva La Juicy, by Juicy Couture, left, at Sephora. In a gold decanter with a Juicy charm. A 1.7 oz. bottle of perfume is $65.

2. Exclusive Love in Black by Creed. Any new Creed scent is worth celebrating in some circles. The pricey British brand has a loyal following. Exclusively at Bergdorf Goodman, it’s $230 for 2.5 oz.

Check out our other five perfume picks: (more…)

For every Olympic games, there are Olympic pins. For collectors, the buying, trading and selling of them is  as competitive a sport as any beach volleyball game, and it’s been going on since 1896. The pin trade, an obsession for some, is labeled the “unofficial Olympic sport.” In Beijing, pin sellers have set up shop at the Olympic Expo in the Beijing Exposition Center and in the Coca-Cola sponsored pin-sales center. There are new pins and old ones from previous games, common pins that are handed out by sponsors to anyone and more valuable pins, such as those given to athletes and officials. Most pins are inexpensive - $4 to $10. Now you can join the frenzy by getting some Beijing pins. A page on the Beijing site gives the history of the pin frenzy and describes the “pindemonium” going on there now. The official U.S. Olympic Shop has an assortment of pins for sale, such as a ceramic Beijing logo pin or a YingYing mascot pin, each for $7. NBC’s Olympic online shop has pins, like a gymnastics mascot pin for $8 (pictured) and a rickshaw pin for $6. The Olympin Collector’s Club site has lots of advice and pin facts: there’s even a club member blogging from Beijing. After the official sites, you’ll have to turn to pin-selling retailers, such as Greekshops.com, Collectpins.com (where a USA/China flag Beijing pin is running $8.95), Discountpinstore (they’ve got a set of opening and closing ceremony pins for a pricey $24.89) and Athenspincollection, where you can find individual sports pins, such as a soccer pin for $8.95. When the games end, start looking on Craig’s List and eBay for the special pin you covet.

All TV stations will broadcast only in digital starting Feb. 17, 2009. If you’re reading this, you probably don’t need an analog-to-digital converter box for your TV, but your parents or grandparents or elderly friends who still rely on rabbit ears or rooftop antennas do. And they may not even know it (a January report said 36 percent of all Americans - predominately Hispanics - didn’t know about this impending change). Another report earlier this year said there are a little more than 14 million households - 13 percent of all households with TVs - that will lose their signals if they don’t buy the boxes (which cost from $40 to $70). The government’s TV converter box coupon program Web site answers most all questions, but that doesn’t help if the person doesn’t have a computer. You can help them apply for two free coupons worth $40 each at the Web site, or they can call (888) 388-2009. or mail an application to P.O. Box 2000, Portland, Ore. 97208-2000 (download the application here.) The coupons must come from the government, not retailers. The coupons (which look like plastic gift (more…)