goldenpig

The threads about color of the year and what the top favorite colors are by gender got me wondering what your top five favorite colors are to wear right now and what your favorite colors are in general, and whether those are the same or different. In general I tend to like "true" rainbow colors (like the Crayola crayons) but on myself I prefer muted autumn shades.

Favorite colors to wear:
1. Rust orange
2. Teal
3. Plum/eggplant
4. Red
5. Tie between Mustard yellow and Navy

Favorite colors in general:
1. Red
2. Orange
3. Yellow
4. Green
5. Blue

Shannon's question to Angie about fashion mistakes was really interesting. I thought I'd turn it around and ask you all. What have your biggest fashion mistakes been and what did you learn from them?

I've been lucky in that I've mostly been shopping at places with free returns and generous return policies so I've been able to return pretty much everything that didn't work for me. I order a lot online but return almost all of it. So I don't consider them mistakes so much as experiments and a way to learn what looks good on me.

The few permanent mistakes are from buying clothes that are not returnable. I am not good enough yet to tell what will look good on me without trying it on so I learned I really should not buy clothes from eBay. I bought one purple Anthro dress but it turned out to be too light for my skin color. I was lucky that Andrea bought it off me and it looks KILLER on her and I later bought a darker eggplant dress from Nordstrom Rack so it's a perfectly happy ending. But I also have two sundresses (rose print and cherry print) that I bought off eBay when I was looking for a Wild West costume. I ended up going with a different costume and now they are sitting in my closet along with a giant red petticoat and I have no idea what to do with them. I'll have to re-evaluate when summer comes if they will be something I can actually wear IRL (minus the petticoat).

Another big fashion mistake is wanting to jump on every trend because Angie recommended it or it looks good on someone else. The big ones that come to mind are my wanting to get a faux fur vest/jacket (that was a huge fiasco and led to a fight with DH) and the attempts at being an UWP (Heed sweater and plaid pants) and Mo's riding jacket which Rita said looked like Casual Corner on me (she kills me with her hilarious and spot on comments!). Although those were all returned so it was OK in the end. I definitely do not have PPP--I am persistent and picky, but not always very practical and definitely not patient! And I am still working on learning restraint!

Just for fun, I pulled the photos for illustrations. Looking forward to hearing what you all have learned!

Hi Angie,
I used to wear cardigans a lot pre-YLF--I had some crew-neck Ann Taylor cardigan twinsets. But I gave them all away (they were worn out anyways) and am having a heck of a time finding replacements that fit right. Can you do a tutorial on cardigans--which neckline looks best (V, crew, etc) and length for different outfits like dresses/skirts vs. jeans/trousers (cropped vs. hip length vs. flyaway) and fit (boyfriend, fitted, etc) and any suggestions/links for ones that you like? Thanks!

And if anyone has any links to provide for cardigans they like or articles that explain how to choose cardigans, that would be much appreciated as well! I am so confused about cardigans!
Natalie

Here are my WIW's for the last three days. Feeling fab and very "me" in all of them, especially today's!

1-2. Wed AM to take a tour of a private school (we're touring both public and private kindergartens). Glad I dressed up because all of the other moms were stylishly dressed and the dads were wearing sport coats! It will be interesting to see if that's any different for the public school tours, although probably not given where we live. :P
Black Kate Spade Melissa ruffle trench
Ralph Lauren black and brown equestrian theme sleeveless pussy bow blouse
Leith cognac leather midi skirt
La Canadienne Galaxy chocolate brown suede boots
Jack Georges chocolate brown leather briefcase

3-4. Wed PM changed into more casual clothes
Tulle rust orange peacoat
Brown H&M graphic T
Gap Always Skinny jeans
New apricot/mustard yellow Converse All-Stars (Angie "con"verted me--these sneakers are really comfy! Now I have a perfect MOTG shoe!)

5-8. Thurs for work. I wore it with the nude pumps in 5, but would have liked to wear the matching teal peep toe wedges in 7-8 but they were too high for work.
Only Mine teal V neck sweater--you can see how it's pilling :( I'll have to get a sweater stone.
Anthro mustard and teal elastic belt
Anthro Liquid Acres teal/turquoise/olive/white patterned skirt
Easy Spirit nude ankle strap pumps
(would have liked to wear these Sam & Libby teal/turquoise/white peep toe wedge heels that I bought on clearance at DSW, but I had to stand/walk a lot at work so I went with the nude pumps with lower heel)
Fossil floral bag
Teal beaded necklace from Saba vacation

9-12. Fri to work. First outing of the tweed coat and Frye boots! Interesting that it was the same formula as my UWP Tory Burch earlier this week (coat over belted dress and Frye boots) but I didn't feel self-conscious at all! In fact I felt very comfortable and very "me"! I think it was the less aggressive/slightly retro style and warmer color scheme, which is more fitting with my typical DB style.
Anthro Tiny Umbered Houndstooth Coat--purple tweed with faux fur collar
Ralph Lauren eggplant dress
Cognac obi belt
Ann Taylor bead necklace
Cognac Frye Melissa lace-up boots--so comfy! I love these!
Fossil floral bag

Thanks for looking and for any comments!

I am sure we have discussed this before but I can't find it and it's on my mind again--hope this isn't too repetitive of a discussion.

So today I tried something very different from my usual style:
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....kate-spade
and it was interesting because I did receive a lot of compliments on my outfit (even one random middle-aged guy sitting at the bus stop in front of the hospital said, "I like your boots!") but I did feel a little more self conscious today. Like I was looking around at what other people were wearing and the whole day I did not see anyone dressed like me. In fact that is happening a lot ever since I joined YLF and usually I am OK with that, but sometimes when I'm wearing something new or a style stretch for me I start wondering if I am going too far or dressing too weird or inappropriately. Like, should a doctor not be wearing lace-up Doc-style boots to work? (Anna, your style is pretty edgy and it seems like you work in healthcare too--how do your coworkers react to your outfits?)

My pre-YLF style was fairly simple/basic (Ann Taylor and Banana Republic mostly) and I don't think I stuck out much or attracted much attention fashion-wise. So it's a bit disconcerting sometimes to be getting noticed so much, especially since I am normally pretty introverted/shy and quiet--I am not typically an attention seeker! It's all positive attention which is nice, but still it's weird to be under the spotlight sometimes.

How do you feel about your style and individuality? Do you get noticed much more since joining YLF? Do you mostly try to stand out or blend in?

I'm having fun with this discussion of UWP style:
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....-uwp-style
So I thought, why not try it out today! I'm not sure if this is UWP at all but I thought I'd give it a try. I liked my last attempt to RATE up Kate Spade so this time I thought I'd try to toughen up my Tory Burch navy sweetheart dress and Kate Spade grey croc handbag. I posted it in my K/R Tory Burch thread with my typical red pumps and red bag and red bow belt (see last pic) but I felt like it was a little too young and sweet looking. So this is my attempt to mix it up. I threw on all the UWP-ish elements I could find in my closet! :) Hopefully this look isn't too silly/inappropriate for work! Comments/critiques welcome, and also which topper do you think works best?

Tory Burch Erin navy shirt dress with white hearts (nude cami underneath)
Forever 21 $6 black braided "leather" and elastic belt
Navy polka dot tights (one of my Christmas gifts from Mom)
Black Frye Melissa lace-up knee high boots (the debut of my "combat" boots! BTW they are sooo comfy! I am going to wear these everywhere!)
Old black necklace--dainty but Victorian goth-ish as well
Grey croc Kate Spade tote
Choice of Halogen black plaid wool zippered moto style peacoat, Tahari black leather jacket with ruched collar, and black ruffled Kate Spade Melissa trench (I'm wearing it with the zip peacoat but can change it out if you like another better)

What do you think? I don't know if this counts as UWP but it was certainly a lot of fun to put together!

I admit I'm still fascinated with your Urban Warrior Princess Style. It seems like such a polar opposite to my demure bombshell/retro ladylike style. Which may explain why the couple times I tried on some of your UWP items (Heed sweater, plaid pants), it just didn't seem to work on me as well as it does on you. The closest I came to feeling like an UWP was when I wore my RATE Kate Spade outfit and when I wore my grey sweaterdress with the obi belt and boots. I wish I could be a tough UWP at least once in a while when I want to feel totally bad@$$, but it seems so hard for me to pull off (and so effortless for you!)

So, hope you don't mind, I'm not trying to rip off your style, but I'm just curious--what would you say are the essential elements of UWP style as you wear it? I mean, I know it's supposed to be based on Xena the Warrior Princess but I don't see you wearing body armor! ;) And how does RATE play into this--are they one and the same (ie UWP is always RATE), or is there a distinction? Like for example, I know Nicoleb likes RATE but is she also an UWP? Anyone else on YLF consider themselves an UWP? I have a guess as to some UWP elements, like lots of black and grey, mostly muted colors, leather, studs/zippers and hardware, military cuts and details, androgyny/masculinity, asymmetrical hems, etc. but I'd like to hear from the experts! And did you guys make this term up or did you hear it somewhere? How long have you been dressing in this way--was it a pre-YLF style or something that evolved after you joined?

Thanks for indulging me!
Urban Warrior Apprentice :)

This is what I wore today. Only Mine red cowl-neck cashmere sweater, and black Gap Real Skinny pants and black suede Giveable flats (similar to Angie's birthday outfit post). Also with a black obi belt. I feel comfy and warm, but get the feeling this is a little too boring to deserve a WIW. Am I right--is this boring?

Oh, by the way, I've seen the Giveable flats in multiple colors on sale at multiple places including Zappos and Stuartweitzman.com. Just saying...