Sveta's Blog

Angie's amazing post on favorite 2012 outfits
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....replies=85
was fun to browse through and look at all these outfit gems.
However this thread has also made me to go through my 2012 photo archives and analyze which outfits really stand out for me among the rest of them.
It proved to be an incredibly useful exercise as I have made a couple of discoveries along the way:

1. Surprisingly almost half of them are from a warm season- summer and early fall. Historically it would be my less favorite season to dress, time when I feel less inspired but this year was different. I think this is because I have added several wardrobe items which were fun to dress with: yellow / cream oxfords, nude cage sandals, white wide leg trousers, BF jeans, white long blazer - they made my summer dressing so much fun! Note to myself: careful addition of a few trendy and fun items really perks my wardrobe and makes it fun to play in it. I don't need a lot of them for a new season but they really have to be well thought through.

2. I still wear skinny jeans and trousers but they appeal to me in lesser degree than other styles. Slouchy and looser fitting styles are my favorite now and feel the most fashion forward even if not conventionally flattering. I still enjoy wearing wide leg trousers and jeans but they are more difficult to manage in winter with rain and snow than tapered legged styles.

3. While I still wear the heck out of my 2 leather blazers I have noticed that I reach for my other shorter jackets less and less, especially with trousers. I have only 2 longer jackets - grey knit Gibson and white cotton blazer from Melanie Lyne (summer only) and I noticed they get much more wear than my others. Getting a few longer good quality blazers is one of my style goals for 2013 (NAS, I have high hopes for you!) and I resolved myself to spend more money on them than I am accustomed to.

4. 2012 was "bootie" year for me: I went from 1 pair of shooties to 5 in total including 2 pairs in animal print and one in burgundy color. They are my favorite footwear style now and I mourn the fact that I have to give them a break until the spring with all our snow :-(

5. I really embraced semi-tuck trend because I find it fun and flattering for my curves - much more so than full tuck, especially with looser fitting trousers and jeans.

6. I am really moving towards more "minimal style with big presence" if I can call it so. I like clean lines, contrast in shapes, colors and textures and strong and simple statements. I still use my jewelery but less so than before. I also found with surprise than I have a lot of neutral outfits among my favorites - I who almost did not own more thyan 5 garments in total in neutral colors prior to YLF, mostly colors. I still love my colors and wear them a lot but neutrals have a big place in my style now.

6. Last but not least: I still don't have a name for my style and have no idea what it is (no rubric, key words or other helpful exercises we had on YLF) but I definitely have a lot of fun with fashion!

Last week I asked you opinion about a new loose fitting trousers (see pic 1). Based on your feedback and Angie's recommendations I decided to keep them and got them shortened and tapered from the knee. I also decided to dive into this style rather than dip my toes and took them with me to the business trip this week.
This is what I think :
1. We tapered them too much, I like them to go lower over the shoe. I am taking them back to my mom to un-taper a bit :-)
2. I don't like a waist surrendering roomy blouse with them very much. If I wear a vest over this blouse it works better.
3. I am not sure about tucking in - too shapeless on me?
4. I like the shorter jacket with these trousers and not sure about a longer riding jacket - does it look weird with this style?
5. I like the sweater with the trousers, somehow it gives me shape better than tucked in blouse IMO.
All in all I am not sure if this style is really flattering on me. Jonesy rocks this type of trousers and Angie looks sensational in hers but maybe I have too much of the lower body to make them work? I am afraid I look frumpy and shapeless in them :-(
On the other side they are very comfortable and maybe the most comfortable trousers I ever wore for a flight...
I am not sure if this is just an adjustment factor for me or if they truly look bad...please tell me what you think?

Recently I asked your advice if I need to retire my old tan boots or they can be saved:
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....-save-them
The verdict was to save and get them restored so I took them to cobbler this week. She was not overly enthusiastic and doubted she can do much for them because the leather is very distressed and pretty much unfinished. She said that cleaning is all she can do and cannot guarantee the result so I decided to try it myself. I bought a bottle of cleaner they use there and a couple of days ago gave it a try.
It took me 2 tries and 3/4 of the bottle but I think their state is much improved. Now I need to buy a leather conditioner which I can use on unfinished leather and then spray them. I think they can have a couple of more seasons in them - what do you think?
Pictures on the left are old boots, pictures on the right are "new" boots...in case you cannot figure it out :-)

Earlier this week I have posted a plea for help to help me understand why my cropped trousers outfit did not feel fab:
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....nts-outfit
I received a lot of great and helpful feedback and decided to experiment.
Pic 1 is from the original post.
Pic 2 is my today experiment.

I think I know the answer now but I want to hear what do you think?

...and of course everybody else! :-)
I tried to wear my mini-houndtooth cropped trousers again this week with a different blouse. I am not sure I like the result though so I pulled out the previous outfitwhich I liked and decided to compare it.
Am I right that the outfit with tucked in turquoise blouse is less flattering than the one with a ink blue shirt? If so what is the critical factor here:
- full tuck vs.semi-tuck;
- both shoe options are nude but there is 1" difference between sandals and the pumps (1 1/2" vs. 2 1/2");
- higher contrast belt? I also see that the belt slid a bit down in the loops which makes the look less crisp I think.

So which is the culprit: shoes, tuck, belt, combination of the above or something completely different? Or I am just being off the mark here and outfit 2 is fine?

Thanks in advance for clearing this for me!

I had a mixed feedback on the best length for these cropped trousers I bought recently. I adore the mini hound tooth pattern and the fit is great - relaxed without being baggy. What I am not sure about is the length.
I have shortened them 1" - do you think it works or do I need to shorten them even more?
For comparison I am attaching "before" photo of the original length - pic 2

So does this length work (pic 1) or do I need to shorten them more?
Thanks!

It has been 2 years since I found YLF in May of 2010 - seems like ages ago! I was hooked immediately on Angie's down to earth posts on style and fashion and I think I read the majority of blog archives in a week. I still remember that sense of discovery that you can have fun with fashion at any age and size - that was a completely new idea for me but oh how compelling!
Then came more specific realizations:
- I can wear skinnies even though I am not a slim rectangle;
- I can wear hems a couple of inches above the knee and it still looks age appropriate - it was something I have not done since my early 20s
- I can surrender the waist and not look like a sack of potatoes if I get all details right
Every day I was discovering more and more treasures on the blog:
- brilliant MOTG formulas;
- recipes how to wear a particular style in a flattering and current way
- body type guidelines...
Boy, I never knew that it is possible to have fun with fashion for the first time in your life when you are of a mature age over 40s. It was so exciting!
And then I discovered the forum...
It was unbelievable...
I was an outsider still but I felt the attraction right away. Of course it was great to get feedback on the outfits. Of course it was great to get an advice on keep or return purchases...but most of all this form felt so warm, friendly and welcoming. Just reading through posts (I was still a lurker in the first couple of weeks) I could feel real friendship between some of the members - and they spanned the globe! This all was so cool and fascinating that I was able to overcome my shyness pretty quickly and began to participate. Right away I felt a warm welcome from Angie and forum members, it was very encouraging and led to posting my first WIW and K|R posts - and the rest is history.
So here I am 2 years later and this forum is still a pretty big part of my life. I have been to several gatherings and met quite a few forum members in Canada and US. That was really an ultimate YLF experience: meet people for the first time and feel like you know them for ages, feel completely comfortable in their company. It is amazing how one can open up with problems, thoughts, ideas and find support here - maybe more so that in our "real" life. This is a truly unique online community and it takes a warm heart and energy of Angie and technical brilliance and hard work from Greg to keep it growing and thriving. Thank you so much - you truly enriched my life for the past 2 years!
I am posting some pictures from my 2 year YLF archives: my WIW for each half a year on YLF. I am definitely more confident in how I dress and how I look and how I feel now and I have an immense fun with fashion! I have not realized myself this difference in my style until I looked at these pictures together...
I guess I am rambling here and maybe not making a lot of sense but I just wanted to celebrate my anniversary with my YLF friends.
Cheers!