Congratulations to Babe! Your comment was selected by our random generator and you’ve won the book. I also enjoyed your comment on Michelle Obama’s sense of style:

“I love what Mrs. O brings to American’s fashion scene and social consciousness — a realistic look at dressing, a playful sense of color and thriftiness, a pride in being fit and comfortable with your body, and an approachable attitude no matter how formal the occasion. I don’t think we Americans have ever had a more influential style-setter in national public office. Three cheers! I’m eating it up”.

We’ll be in touch to arrange shipping. Enjoy!

I dig Michelle Obama’s sense of style. It’s chic, strong, sensible and unexpected. America’s First Lady has put a sense of fashion back into politics, and it’s a breath of fresh air for style crazed people like me. When I think of Mrs. O’s style, I think of a statuesque, fit woman wearing a flawless designer sheath dress with dazzling jewelry, OR, a pair of casual slacks, flats and J. Crew cardigan.

Andrew Bolton, the curator of The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute puts it well:

“What is compelling about Mrs. Obama’s style is how she wears both high fashion and low fashion – it’s modern, democratic and above all, American”.

We were kindly sent a copy of Mary Tomer’s great coffee table book, Mrs. O: The Face of Fashion Democracy, and we’d love you to review it. All you need to do is share your views on Mrs O’s style in the comments below. If you win we will send you the book and ask you to write a review on the YLF forum.

Note that you need to be a signed up YLF member (with a profile picture) in order to participate. We will pick the winner using a random number generator. Entries to the competition close Wednesday 13th January at midnight, Pacific Standard Time.

To recap, here are the things you need to do to be eligible for the giveaway:

1. Sign up as a YLF member if you haven’t done so already
2. Ensure that you have a profile picture
3. Write a comment below (while logged in!) on Mrs. O’s style
4. Do this all by midnight on Wednesday, and…
5. Be prepared to write a short review on the book for the YLF forum

Can’t wait to hear your comments.

With many, many superb outfits in the running for the TJ Maxx competition last week, it was hard to come up with a single winner. But our judge Dianna, the Budget Babe, managed to select a very deserving and fabulous Maxxinista. Drum roll please:

“Marianna embodies the Maxxinista persona with her creative, joyful sense of style and her proven ability to express her modern-classic style on a tight budget. I loved all her looks, so it was tough to narrow it down to just one, but I felt she took some risks with the winning look and that’s what made it my favorite.

Marianna’s mustard yellow sweater embodies the warm, rich hues of Fall and glows in contrast to her rich blue indigo jeans. Her cropped gray jacket fits beautifully and adds structure to the ensemble, while her gorgeous demi-wedge boots are both classic yet totally on-trend–and they look comfortable enough to stand in all day! Marianna’s flawless hair and makeup add the finishing touches to her polished look.

Runner up: Greenglove looks absolutely fierce in her leather jacket, colorful blouse and killer boots. Her tousled hair and bohemian jewelry add attitude and personalize the look. She looks fun, fearless, creative and artistic. In a nutshell, Greenglove’s outward appearance translates into making her someone you’d want to get to know!” — Dianna

Congratulations, Marianna! Happy shopping and keep sporting your fabulous Maxxinista style. Well done Greenglove for coming in as runner up! Your arty and eclectic way of dressing is always inspirational. A big thank you to the Budget Babe for taking the time to judge our competition. Dianna, you rock.

These are Marianna’s other top Maxxinista looks. No prizes for guessing that I have a soft spot for the frock, pearls and leather jacket ensemble, but it’s the outfit above with the mustard yellow sweater that won the competition. Well done.

A $300 gift voucher from TJ Maxx is up for grabs! All you have to do to participate in the competition is show your Maxxinista style. According to TJ Maxx “a Maxxinista is a confident, savvy woman, who knows that she doesn’t have to break the bank to wear designer labels and look fabulous”.

Here’s how to enter:

• Find a fabulous outfit that represents your best Maxxinista style. Note that the items you wear in the outfit don’t need to come from TJ Maxx.
• Upload a picture of yourself in this outfit to Flikr or Photobucket. You can shoot a photo especially for the competition, or use an existing one. Be sure to post a good quality photograph because it will make your outfit shine.
• Tag your photo “Maxxinista”.
• Link to the photo in the comments below and be sure to tell us why you think it epitomizes Maxxinista style.

We’ll accept entries until midnight Friday 6th November. You may enter as many times as you like, but each outfit must be different.

I’ve asked Dianna, the super stylish Budget Babe to pick the winner of the competition. I had the pleasure of meeting penny-wise, ultra lovely and well put together Dianna at the TJ Maxx event in Boston last year and I trust her style sense implicitly. Good luck lasses! We can’t wait to see your outfits.

Update: Thank you for the fantastic entries! The judging is underway and the winner will be announced on Tuesday morning.

I was blown away by the number of entries to the Zina’s painters shirt giveaway. My guess was that this level of garment deconstruction would not be popular on YLF. What a surprise!

Congratulations to Rebecca, who was the lucky entrant chosen by our random number generator. Rebecca said:

“Yes, I would wear it. I’ve worn this look for years, starting with a linen jeweler’s smock that I bought in a work wear shop in Paris. Slim trousers or a long, skinny skirt look good below”.

Rebecca, we’d love to see you sport the look if you’d like to post a picture of your outfit on the YLF forum. Enjoy your new acquisition!

I recently mentioned the avante guard painters shirt as an item for fearless fashionistas this season, and you might be wearing one sooner than you thought! An interesting giveaway opportunity came our way and I’m excited to share it with you: the “one size fits most” painters shirt by boutique brand Zina of Beverly Hills. It retails for $245 at Neiman Marcus and looks quite haute couture.

The painters shirt is not for everyone because it takes courage to surrender your waistline to this extent. We’re talking major deconstruction if you wear it as is. But you’ve also got the option of pairing it with a waist-cinching or low slung belt if you’d prefer to rein in some of the volume.

There is definitely a place in fashion for eclectic pieces. I adore voluminous items and feel that they can look stunning when worn in the right way. What are your thoughts on this particular painters shirt? Would you wear it? How would you wear it?

To be eligible for the giveaway, please reply to this post and be sure to write “I would wear it” somewhere in your comment. We will choose the lucky recipient using a random number generator and get in touch using the email address you provide.

Entries for the giveaway will close on September 18 at 5pm (PST).

The Zina Painters Shirt. With this model’s proportions I would have belted the shirt a little higher in the waist, or on the natural waist, to avoid looking long waisted.

Congratulations Corey! You win the $250 T.J. Maxx and Marshalls gift voucher. You were a clear winner so we didn’t need to use the tie-breaker question, but the competition was fierce.

• Tanya and Cynthia were very close behind, but weren’t quite as complete on question 2. We accepted “yes”, but a more accurate answer is that T.J. Maxx and Marshalls carry both in-season and previous season merchandise. Bonus points went to those who mentioned that more than 85% of the stock is in-season.
• Christine, Cherylp and Mishie were also in contention, but lost by a hair on question 1. We gave extra points to people that went beyond the information in the TJX corporate website, or at least acknowledged in their answers that these numbers applied to end 2007.
• Antje deserves an honorable mention. She went completely above and beyond, citing her sources and calling the companies to get accurate information on the number of stores. Sadly, she missed on question 4. Although these stores don’t carry couture clothing, they do carry couture brands. Designers like Jean Paul Gaultier and Marc Jacobs run both couture and prêt-a-porter collections, and it’s their prêt-a-porter collections that you’ll find at some T. J. Maxx stores.
• People were tripped up by question 5 on the differences between the two TJX off-price chains. Many answers talked about Marshalls, but few mentioned the aspects that are unique to T. J. Maxx.

On behalf of the TJX team, thank you so much for your thoughtful suggestions regarding the shopping experience. It was great to see the positive sentiment about the TJX concept and their retail chains in your responses. The chart below shows the four clear themes that emerged in the feedback: improvements to the organization of the store, improvements to the dressing rooms, more information regarding the stock in the store, and a wider range of available sizes.

Top suggestion topics and the percentage of entrants who mentioned them.

Update: The competition is now closed. Thank you for your entries. We will announce the winner after Thanksgiving.

Update 2: Winner announced!

As many of you know, TJX (the company that owns the T. J. Maxx and Marshalls off-price retail chains) recently invited YLF and several other fashion blogs to an event at their headquarters in Boston, MA.

We had a wonderful time and learned a lot about the company’s approach to retailing. But before telling all, we thought we would have some fun with a competition. The person who gives us the best and most complete set of answers to the following five questions will win a $250 gift voucher for T. J. Maxx and Marshalls stores.

1. How many T. J. Maxx and Marshalls stores are there in the USA?
2. Does T. J. Maxx carry same-season merchandise, or do they offer low prices by selling items from the last season?
3. What percentage of the T. J. Maxx merchandise is irregular?
4. Does T. J. Maxx offer couture brands?
5. What are the differences between T. J. Maxx and Marshalls?

We will use one final question to break any ties: TJX is passionate about keeping costs low, but they are also on a drive to improve the shopping experience in their stores. What suggestions do you have for them in this regard?

Please submit your answers as a comment to this blog post (one per person). Earlier answers to the tie-breaker question will get more credit for their ideas. The competition will close at midnight on Monday 24 November (Pacific Standard Time).