goldenpig

I wore my new burgundy scarf sweater (fun that it comes with a built in scarf!), cherry Docs, and Burberry trench, and my old leather skirt and Burberry tote to work (1-2). Literally every single person at work made a comment about how I looked nice and was wearing real clothes instead of scrubs. I think it's been so long since I dressed up at the office that they were all in shock!

I wanted to get some additional striped tops/sweaters like my favorite La Ligne navy/white striped tee (3) and I have a 10% off coupon for my first order. I went to try stuff on at the La Ligne store and I remembered why I hate shopping for clothes, because I'm so apple-y things don't look like they do on the website models. Also it makes the sizing really inconsistent. Some of the tighter fitting shirts I needed to size up to large, but on the baggy sweaters, I had to size down to small because the medium and large were too voluminous and made me look even huger. Anyways sorry for all the pics, but I am considering the following tops (4) and was wondering what you think about how they look on me and sizing? 

5-8 is the Lean Lines sweater in L in the white and black stripes I'm considering, it's very soft and I like how it is a bit looser on the sides than the M (9-11), but the arms are very long on the large compared to the medium--which size should I go with--I'm torn between L and M? (They only have M online but I can go back to the store to see if they still have the L).

They also have a cream and navy striped Marin sweater which is very similar looking but a bit thicker (12-13), it's very baggy and I had to size down to a S. But I was most interested in the navy and white Marin sweater which they didn't have in the store but I could order online, that's like the sweater version of my favorite tee (unfortunately they don't sell that tee anymore or I would buy a spare!). They did have a burgundy and rust Marin sweater that I also really like (15-19) and I may get that as a fall/winter sweater whereas the navy and white could be more of a spring/summer (we get fog so summers are still cool!), I like both colors, what do you think? 

I'm also looking at the Breton striped tee in short sleeve in navy/tan (20-21) and long sleeved maybe in white and grey striped (22), both in small. I would love a white and grey striped shirt to wear under some of my other sweaters/jackets. I would mostly wear these with jeans which would be able to rein in the belly better.

I'll include the outtakes so you can see why I find it hard to shop! I was getting a bit demoralized! They had stuff I was hoping would work, like a floral palazzo pants and bias cut silk skirt (I had both of those in the 90's and wanted to get a replacement), but they looked horrible with my apple shape. 23 was a cute dress, I love plaid and the ruching and fit and flare, but they only had a 6 which was too tight and I'm not sure brown is my color. 24-26 I tried to create an outfit and I loved the idea of the colors and pattern mixing, but the execution was all wrong on me, the mini Marin cropped sweater hits right across the widest part of my belly, and the unstructured pants let everything all hang out. Molly tee (26) I had to size up to a L, I liked the colors but it's too expensive for what looks like a Gap shirt and I like the blue and white tee I already have better. 27-30 is the same Breton short sleeve tee above, but with the silk skirt and stretchy pants, uggh. And 31-34 is the Marin sweater in XS (I just wanted to make sure I was getting the right size), I'm even cradling my food baby to show how pregnant I look! Haha!

Thanks for your advice, these are kind of expensive but I think fairly classic pieces that I could wear for a long time. I just want to see whether you think they look good on me or not! Feel free to tell me if I'm way off base!

If you know me, you know how much I love matchy matchy. When I have a handbag that matches my outfit perfectly, it makes me so so happy! This is why I cannot have a small capsule wardrobe and I have a hard time letting go of purses! I love having the theme/detail repeated throughout the outfit. Here I have a navy and white striped long sleeve La Ligne T-shirt, navy and white MZ Wallace bag with lobster charm, and navy stripe wide leg track pants which are new from Rag and Bone. I wore my Rag and Bone "bird poo" pajama jeans back in the early YLF days (https://youlookfab.com/welookf.....jama-jeans), so it's nice that they still make sweatpant jeans! And navy and white stripe Onizuka Tiger Mexico 66 slip on sneakers. Total comfort for mom on the go weekends, and I love being hypermatchy! It's my favorite MOTG shirt because it's casual but is slightly dressier than a plain T. I'm thinking of getting the similar La Ligne navy and white sweater (https://lalignenyc.com/product.....ords%3Ax%3)

I also like matchy matchy throwbacks to similar outfits then and now. I couldn't find a WIW of me with this exact shirt and bag, but here's another one of me with white and navy MOTG stripes with my favorite color orange thrown in with the handbag and koi fish loafers. https://youlookfab.com/welookf.....laying-koi And little boys! How funny that all of my WIW's back then had the baby toys in the background and kids underfoot. Nostalgia is bittersweet, I miss those babies!

Also, I love matchy matchy family outfits--I bought so many matching Tea Collection clothes for the kids (but that era of matching family outfits is sadly over, sigh). Throwback family Santa pic from my YLF days in 2013 with my beetle print blouse and kids all in matching Tea. We've been getting kid & family Santa pics every year, and this year the kids didn't want to do it but I made them, because I couldn't bear to have that tradition be over forever, but they were too embarrassed to let me post the pics anywhere!

In 2014 we did a family photo shoot at Baker Beach, the kids all wore Tea again and I wore a Michael Kors water print dress. I still wear that dress whenever we do family beach photos. It's stretchy and the draping is forgiving for apple shapes and it doesn't wrinkle, so it's great for travel. And it matches with the beach theme. I usually wear it with a seahorse necklace, but this time I wore a manta ray necklace with a Tahitian pearl that I got when DH and I celebrated our 25th anniversary last year by going to Rangiroa to dive with dolphins. I made DH get some couple photos with me there. I wore a Tommy Bahama dress that I also have worn for years, and I wore a traditional floral headdress.

I had planned to take family Christmas photos in 2024 at the same Baker Beach with the view of the Golden Gate Bridge (exactly 10 years later! I loved the matchiness of that), but the photographer got sick, then we got sick, and then it was raining, so the shoot got postponed three times. By the time we ended up doing it, it was in June 2025, so we ended up getting some photos of DD in her graduation gown as well. I still wore the same water dress from 10 years ago, and even made DS1 do the same flying pose!

Here's our Christmas card (with personal details redacted) so you can see just how much they've grown! DS1 is now taller than DH, and DS2 has just started his growth spurt. I can't believe how much time has flown since I first joined YLF, when DS1 was just a baby! They are 18, 15 and 12 now. DD was here for winter break, but just went back to college and I miss her already!

Hello again! Team Burgundy checking in! It's funny, I was just thinking about posting again on YLF about my new burgundy trench, and lo and behold there's a post about burgundy! It's been so long since I've been here that I'm not sure if anyone still remembers me (other than the people I kept in touch with on Facebook)! I first joined in 2011, 14.5 years ago, after I had my second child. My uniform at the time was fleece jacket, mom jeans, diaper bag and Merrell Mocs. The YLF community helped me develop my fashion sense and I had so much fun creating a whole new wardrobe. I even loved dressing up throughout my third pregnancy.

I was pretty active until about 8 years ago, but things just got busy with work and the three kids, we started investing in real estate so I couldn't keep spending a bunch of money on clothes, and then COVID hit and because I was working at the hospital during the pandemic, I started wearing scrubs all the time because they were washable (we used to come home and jump straight into the shower in the early days). Then it just became easier to wear scrubs during the day and pajamas when I got home and fleece jacket and jeans on the weekends. I was right back to where I started pre-YLF! I stopped wearing all my heels because I wanted my feet to be comfy, so I only wore sneakers and flats. Somehow over the years I gained 25 lb and a few pant sizes, blame it on aging/perimenopause maybe, but I also haven't been that diligent about diet and exercise. Although we have been pretty active with the kids, scuba diving (they're all certified and my oldest is a divemaster), and camping with the scouts (we went canoeing in the Boundary Waters this past summer). So fashion took a back seat for a long time. Can you believe my oldest just started college?

Recently I joined a Facebook group where they post WIWs in their Tieks ballet flats and it reawakened my love of matchy matchy (they love to match their shoe color to their outfits). I started wanting to make more of an effort to dress up, and pulled out some of my old outfits, but they don't all quite fit (see #1, my Kate Spade trench doesn't close anymore and the H&M plaid skirt doesn't zip up all the way). Being an apple is so annoying! My clothes fit everywhere but the waist and then people ask you if you are pregnant, womp womp. That was my last post before I signed off YLF, complaining that people kept asking if I was pregnant. Yet I'm even heavier than I was back then, ugh!

Anyways, I still like my old style for the most part, but I wanted to get some clothes that fit better. I just don't have the money or time to buy a completely new wardrobe. For a long time I've wanted to get a Burberry trench (although I was just searching the archives, and one of my first few YLF posts was "What's all the fuss about Burberry trenches?" and I said "I'd never pay $3000 for a coat!"...ok yep that didn't age well, haha). Another time I posted that if I ever were to get a Burberry trench, it would be a burgundy satin, not a soul sucking beige. Well that was prescient. I found this "mahogany red" trench on the Burberry website and was completely obsessed. It was perfect. I had to have it, even at full price. I bought two sizes, US 10 and 12, because they were the last two available on the website (besides size 0). My Kate Spade trench was a 6 and too tight, so I figured since I had grown a couple of sizes, that either 10 or 12 would fit. Well they were both too loose, even though supposedly Burberry runs small! But no US 8 available in the entire USA! I found a US 8/UK 10 on the UK Burberry website, but they would not ship to the US and the US Burberry customer service refused to help me. So I ended up buying it on the UK site and having a third party shipper send it to me, paying for shipping and extra tariffs. It ended up being my Christmas present, even though DH thinks I'm nuts for spending that much on a coat. I think it's worth it!

It's not really a keep or return (too late, tags are off!) but I am curious to know what you think of it on me? I hope the fit looks ok. It is maybe a little bit wide looking, but I think a size down would be too restrictive (anyways there aren't any smaller sizes available). I also think the color suits me more as a Deep Autumn (somehow I knew I was a Deep Autumn before because I posted about it on YLF, but I forgot about it). I recently did an AI color analysis using pic #2 and it said I was a Deep Autumn, which is good because my favorite colors are pumpkin, rust, teal, mustard, burgundy, eggplant, navy, etc. This mahogany red/burgundy color matches so much of my wardrobe.

I have a ton of burgundy stuff. Not all of it still fits perfectly, but the skirts fit if I leave it a little bit unzipped at the top (this was my trick to extending my wardrobe when I was pregnant, I managed to wear a lot of my regular stuff for quite a while during pregnancy). I do need to go through my wardrobe and sort stuff (I still have most of my stuff from the YLF days 10-14 years ago!) and pack some of it away. But I don't want to completely get rid of everything just yet, because I'm starting to work on my health again this year and I may be able to lose some weight and fit into my favorites. For now, I've refreshed my jeans wardrobe (Rag and Bone sweatpant jeans are still a thing, hallelujah!) and bought a new burgundy plaid skirt similar to my previous one in a larger size. I may go back and find some of my favorite pieces on Poshmark/eBay in a larger size too. I've been shopping Nordstrom, Amazon, Saks etc. and clothes shopping is not easy. My size is all over the place, I've had to buy and return so much (I brought two big bags back to Nordstrom today)! I'm anywhere from a small to a large!

One of my 2026 goals is to start wearing more "real" outfits from my closet. I've dug out my closet and am starting to wear some things I bought in the larger size but never got around to wearing (like the dress in #4/5). And I found my Burberry purse, and it's also Mahogany! And I found Burberry ballet flats with burgundy stripes on DSW. I'm in matchy matchy heaven (if you don't know me, that's like one of my signature style rules)! And I bought some cherry red platform Doc Martens to edge up my feminine outfits, I like the contrast of urban warrior princess. But I also like cutesy Kawaii like Tokidoki Jujube diaper bags (which I still use even though we are long past the diaper days).

Anyways here are some of my burgundy outfits, most of this stuff is old but I threw these on so I could see what still fits--doing a burgundy post was motivation for me to start the closet edit process. They are not fully styled with jewelry and everything, but which of these outfits work (or don't work)? Can stuff I bought 10 years ago still be in style? Is UWP and RATE Kate Spade still in? I seem to remember someone else had a teal Burberry trench--was it Janet? I missed you Angie and YLF, I know I've been a fashion zombie, but it's nice to be back from the dead!
Natalie (goldenpig)

I haven't been posting here in a while, but I had to come back to post a tribute to one of my first and favorite fashion designers/icons. I was so sad to learn of Kate Spade's death. When I joined YLF in 2011, I was wearing either fleece, mom jeans and Mocs, or maternity clothes even though I had given birth 1.5 years prior, just because I didn't have anything that was up to date. One of the first designer purchases I made was this Kate Spade polka dot dress, and it transformed how I looked at myself. I developed more confidence, revamped my wardrobe and even developed a new style persona (Demure Bombshell), heavily influenced by Kate Spade. I loved the polished ladylike style with a sense of fun and whimsy. I have a big collection of her novelty purses! Even though my style has gone in a new direction (adding UWP and RATE elements), I still come back to colorful, fun and ladylike as my main style. I am so sad for her family, especially her 13 year old daughter. Even though she seems like she was so successful and had it all and had such a sunny persona, you never know what someone is going through. Personally, I have had at least 5 or 6 people close to me suffer from depression/mental illness, and one family member who had a suicide attempt and a friend who did kill herself. Mental illness is so common and it doesn't discriminate. If you are suffering, please reach out for help. It is treatable, even if it is a long and hard road. If you aren't dealing with those issues, someone you know is, even if you aren't aware of it. Please reach out to those who might need help. Ask how they are doing and listen. 
All my love,
Goldenpig (Natalie)

I haven’t bought new clothes in a long time, but still enjoy wearing and remixing my old clothes. Some oldies but goodies: my Tory Burch beetle shirt and dragonfly necklace, and my H&M floral pants that my husband called clown pants because of how loud they are (in his opinion!). The turquoise sweater is old and pilled, but was a great color match and kept me warm on a rainy day. Also orange always makes me smile!

Some friends and I were discussing how our fashion interests have changed over the years. I haven't been posting here much lately anymore because I didn't feel like I had any new outfits to post. In the past year since the election and with all the horrible news and multiple shootings, I have felt a simmering anger/frustration/sadness--not clinically depressed, but feeling like there were bigger things to worry about than what I was wearing. So I'm sorry that I've largely disappeared the last few months to year, but hope you can understand. (And if I've been gone so long that you don't know me, hi there!)

Plus I was so busy with work and the three kids. Also I hadn't bought new clothes in ages, partly because I was upset about having gained 20 lb since my last baby (can you believe he's 5 now?!) and how people kept asking me if I was pregnant and partly because I didn't have the time, energy or money and I didn't feel like buying "fat clothes". I kind of gave up on fashion and stopped taking selfies (even my husband noticed and asked why I wasn't taking a million pictures of myself anymore!). It was kind of freeing not to be obsessed with clothes so much. I purged the clothes that no longer fit. I found myself reaching for comfier clothes--stretchy/waist surrendering, flats and moto boots, and my favorite combos and wearing them two days in a row especially if I was working at different locations. 

Instead of fashion, I became interested in fitness. I ended up buying a Peloton bike in November, and it's been life changing. I can finally exercise at home whenever I want! I hadn't exercised in months because it was always too hard to schedule classes at OrangeTheory or Dailey Method barre classes because of work and all the kid activities. I have ridden nearly every day since then! It's great because you can take classes from home and ride with your friends and if you take live classes the instructor can call you out and say hi to you during class! I also made a plan to run a 10K next month and maybe even a triathlon next fall (they have a kids' section with distances based on age and I think all 3 of the kids are going to participate in that too!). I changed my diet and the way I eat (doing low carb and intermittent fasting) and even though I have not been very strict about following that plan, still have managed to lose 10 lb since January 1. Still have a squishy mummy tummy, but I've lost a couple inches and feel more fit. Instead of shopping for clothes and posting outfits, I've been buying new workout gear, taking "swelfies", hanging out on FB doc mom exercise groups, and saving up for a Peloton treadmill that is coming out later this year. 

Anyways, all that is to say that I think I need a new style moniker. No longer just Demure Bombshell or Fun and Flirty. Not just UWP. I can mix up colorful and pretty and girly with dark and tough. I'm a little more confident about wearing whatever the flip I want, whatever makes me relaxed and happy, fashion rules and trends be damned. We were talking about how our new moniker should be ZFG. I took some pics to show examples of how this has applied to me this week:

1. Repeats. Just noticed I posted this same exact outfit the last time I posted on YLF. Oh well, ZFG. (Theory sweater, Vince skirt, MZ Wallace leather tote, Topshop sandals)
2. Wearing comfy sweatshirt and Vans to the office. ZFG. (Vince sweatshirt, Halogen faux leather pencil skirt, Vans--this was inspired by Angie's sweatshirt and pencil skirt post)
3. Wearing workout clothes as an actual outfit (yes I did work out, but I wore it the rest of the day too). ZFG. (Zella jacket, Athleta leggings)
4. Leather moto, concert tee, jeans and Cons. Cliché MOTG formula but ZFG. (BR leather moto, B-52's shirt, Paige jeans, red Cons). 
5. J Crew bubble necklace. May be overdone by all the bloggers and so passé, but ZFG. Plus I'm doing my usual hypermatchy and carrying a diaper bag, but ZFG. (Athleta sweater, J Crew necklace, Halogen skirt, Kate Spade bag, Paul Green Cayanne sandals).

And I should say that ZFG doesn't mean I am dressing like a slob or that I don't appreciate sound fashion advice (thanks Angie and all of you at YLF for all the help you have given me over the years to get me out of my post-baby years!), but that I finally feel like I have a sense of who I am and that I can break the rules when I want to and still have fun with fashion in my own way!

Bonus pics:

6. Peloton swelfie.

7. 5K run on the bike path--just starting my running training.

8. What has consumed the last couple of months--being Girl Scout cookie mom for DD's troop. This was only half of the boxes for her troop and we sold them all!

9. DH is in charge of the Cub Scout pack--here with DS1 at the annual Pinewood Derby.

10. First family ski day. DS2 graduated from the magic carpet to chairlifts and green runs, DS1 is doing blue runs and DD is doing blacks! I think they all are better than DH and I now!

11. DS2 even tried ice skating! He is fearless!

Should I get rid of this sweater--does it make me look pregnant?

I'm sorry to sound like a broken record, but I keep getting stupid comments about me being pregnant. This time one of my coworkers thought it would be hilarious to tell another coworker I was pregnant so coworker B came up and congratulated me and said he heard I was expecting. Then Coworker A came and told Coworker C (in front of me), "Did you hear what evil person B did? He was saying that Dr. N was preg...." I angrily told him to stop and that it wasn't funny. But the stupid thing is that then I cried because I was so upset and angry at him. I'm so embarrassed that I cried at work. It stings because one of the doctors is actually pregnant--not me! I am so sick and tired of these comments. It's not just him, my patients ask me this at least once or twice a month. One of my other coworkers asked me this (not in a joking way, he was serious). Even my own 4 year old patted my tummy recently and said "Is there anyone in there?" (ETA: I'm not mad at anyone except for coworker A, because he did it on purpose to make fun of me--he is known for playing practical jokes on all the staff, but they are sometimes a bit inappropriate or offensive).

I'm not overweight or obese, I have a normal BMI. Yes I have a tummy, I had three babies so I don't have a perfect bikini body. I don't have much time to exercise because I'm so busy with kids and work. When I'm on call, I'm often working until midnight and last week I was up till 3 am one night because of emergency procedures.

I am trying to eat better and exercise when I can, but short of getting plastic surgery (which I don't want to do because of potential risks of complications, since I have kids, who ironically are the source of my issue), how can I get these comments to stop? It's really wearing me down and making me feel bad about myself. It doesn't seem to matter whether I wear loose baggy clothes or fitted clothes (it's way worse when my clothes are fitted). I don't want to starve myself or spend all my free time at the gym (I try to do exercise videos at home after the kids are in bed, but lately I've been having to catch up on my charting at night). When I'm done with work, I'd rather spend two or three hours with my kids before they go to bed instead of staying late to go to the gym. Sorry to unload, but I am so demoralized and need a shoulder to cry on!

Hi YLF, it's been ages since I posted, mostly because I've been so super busy with work and the kids, but also because I haven't been in a real fashion mood for a long time now because of my spare tire. I'm about 20 lb up in the past 4.5 years since baby #3, and carrying it all in my midsection. I still get asked if I'm pregnant a lot by my patients. Even last week my 4 year old son patted my tummy and said "Mama, is there anyone in there?" Ugggh. It's extra annoying because one of the other docs I work with IS actually pregnant right now, yet I'm the one getting all the pregnant questions. I had to really thin out my closet with a lot of things I still like, but don't fit any more. I lost maybe half my closet. But I don't feel like shopping for "fat" clothes so I have just been making do with what I have. Even today I tried two dresses on and realize I can't wear them any more because of the belly pooch. I tried a bunch of stuff on for NAS, but the only thing I kept was this black pleated skirt. Nothing else looked good on me. 

I know I need to get stricter with my diet (ever since November I've been in a constant state of frustration at all the disasters and the evil things happening in the world, and probably sheetcaking in response). I also need to get in better shape, but never seem to have the time to exercise. I've been on call for the past week and basically working from 7 am to midnight every day. I come home and barely see my kids for an hour before they go to bed and then finish dictations and charting. Cannot wait for Friday when I'm off call and have a day off...to go to the dentist and volunteer at school! I think it's been extra busy this week because some of the nearby hospitals closed due to the wildfires, so more patients are getting transferred here. We are safe but our thoughts are with those who are affected. It was super smoky around here for the past week--the air quality was supposedly as bad as Beijing. Kids had to stay indoors for recess (they even cancelled school Friday). Outdoor activities like swimming and soccer were cancelled all of last week and got cancelled again today. My daughter is trying to convince the school to let her hold a bake sale for the fire victims (she organized one two years ago for the Valley fire victims).

We were really stressed out because a couple weeks ago, our black cat Cranberry (who is normally a 100% indoor cat) disappeared when a worker that came to the house left the door open and she ran out. We could not find her all day and night even searching up and down the whole neighborhood (DH says he saw someone call the cops on him because he was wandering around with a flashlight looking under people's houses!). We even posted a lost cat flyer on Nextdoor. I thought she was gone for good, especially when I saw a coyote in our backyard! DH camped out in a tent in the backyard all night to watch for her and she finally came back at 5 in the morning! Happy ending--we and the kids are so relieved and her brother Melon is so glad to have her back too.

Anyways, I thought I'd show a glimmer of my old fashion sense so that you don't think I've completely dropped off the face of the earth! In my usual M.O. of light/dark ladylike vs. shadow persona dressing, I wore the same outfit in Kate Spade vs. UWP versions. One with pastel pink cashmere sweater with white tulle skirt for a mom's night out to see Hamlet, and then a grey/black pleated skirt version. And threw in a matchy matchy cat and cat purse (#6) just for fun. I love it when my accessories match. I'm so glad to have her back. And yes I confess, I'm totally sucking it in for the pics. ;)

Everlane pink cashmere sweater
Bailey 44 white tulle skirt
Halogen blush studded flats
Charming Charlie rose gold flower necklace
Stella and Dot rose gold thorn bracelet
Kate Spade cat purse

Theory grey sweater
Vince black pleated midi skirt
Topshop sandals
Michael Kors studded satchel
Hospital $5 jewelry sale necklace
Spring St. bracelet

Does this count as an essential? ;)
At least you don't have to worry about wet knees if you have to garden in the rain.
Maybe I should try something like this for the boys' pants. They all have holes in the knees, maybe I should patch them with Ziploc bags!

http://www.someecards.com/life.....m-topshop/

My daughter and I celebrated International Women's Day by wearing red and pink and reading about "Rad Women Worldwide." My daughter's favorite hero is Malala, because "she was the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize and because she is brave and wants all girls to be able to go to school." Bonus pic of her at age 4 (she has been picking her own outfits since she was a toddler)...this pic totally captures her. She is fierce, independent, and unstoppable! #girlpower