Today’s post is written by forum member Kim (“queenie”), who lives in San Jose, CA with her adoring husband and four teenage sons. In a house full of boys, girly time is precious and rare! So I asked fab, fun-loving, exuberant Kim if she’d like to road test some accessories from Outfit Additions, and here’s the result. Be sure to catch the opportunity to win a gift coupon at the end of Kim’s review.

I love to play with accessories to add style quotient to my outfits, so I was honored when Angie asked me to review some of the silk items from Outfit Additions. After browsing the website I chose the small wallet in carbonado, the clutch in cherry red and two belts — one in turquoise and the other in a lovely midnight blue vine design. The clutch, wallet and turquoise belt are 100% silk, while the midnight belt is 100% polyester.  I was quite impressed with the quality of these items. The fabric is of beautiful quality and each item is meticulously crafted. There are no loose threads or crooked stitching on any of the items I received. The colors are vibrant and rich.

The small tri-fold wallet was put to use immediately. I like to carry two wallets — a full size to carry the myriad of cards and coupons that I manage to accumulate, and a smaller wallet that holds my driver’s license, bank card, credit card and cash. This is the wallet that I throw into my gym bag or grab for a quick trip to the store for one or two items. My current small wallet had seen better days, so I filled this pretty little wallet with my items and have been happily toting it along ever since. It feels soft and luxurious in my hands and services me quite nicely. The tri-fold design keeps everything put and I don’t have cards and coins spilling out into the bottom of my purse.

The clutch is actually more of what I would call a full size wallet. It has slots for several cards, cash and coins. I love the cherry red color of this clutch, although I would love for it to be designed more as a clutch handbag that I could fill with lipstick, cell phone and compact for an evening out. I did play around and snapped it over a long gold necklace I have. That proved to be a fun way to make it look more like a little purse.

To be honest, I was initially uninspired by the belts. While beautifully made, I was not thrilled with the design of the D-ring buckles and didn’t see the belts as ones that I could easily integrate into my wardrobe.  However, after playing around in my closet, I soon discovered that I was dead wrong. I used both belts to accessorize several different outfits from clothes that I already owned. I paired them with my fanciest black dress to create a slightly more casual outfit and was also able to add just a bit of pop and polish to a simple outfit of jeans and a knit top. I wore the belt both in the belt loops of my jeans and layered around my blouse or dress. I was pleased with both looks.

I would have preferred a more dressy buckle than the D-rings, but I played around a bit with weaving the belt through the buckle and found that creating a type of knot around the buckle and letting the end hang added some fun visual interest. The turquoise belt is 100% silk and will be a fun accessory to use in my wardrobe this spring. The midnight blue belt is 100% polyester and has a more matte finish than the silk.  This belt pairs well with the blacks and blues in my wardrobe.

If you’re looking for something different than the typical leather wallets and leather belts, stop by and browse the offerings of Outfit Additions. The selection of rich colors is quite enticing and the quality of the pieces is impressive.

Outfit Additions is giving away a $100 gift coupon to one lucky YLF reader. To enter the competition, please fill out this online survey. To confirm your entry, leave a comment here on YLF saying that you completed the survey. We will pick a winner by using a random generator. Please complete the survey and leave your comment by midnight, Wednesday 10th March.

As a hip, arty freelance graphic designer, long time YLF forum member and East Coast native Maya was the first person I thought of when the opportunity arose to review products from YesStyle.com. The company gave her a budget of $200 to road test some of their items and this is how it went.

When I close my eyes and daydream about my fantasy wardrobe, I envision a closet full of trendy, arty, and urban looks that capture my style persona and suit my lifestyle. It is no secret that this fantasy was greatly shaped by my fabulous Korean and Chinese roommates whose killer sense of style immediately appealed to me, and with good reason: Asian street style is playful, trendy, and edgy with a good dose of practicality. For years, I have been trying to make this style my own with varying levels of success. While some American retailers come close, I maintain that the best way to get the look is to shop locally. Unfortunately, I won’t be going to Seoul or Hong Kong any time soon, but thanks to Angie’s fairy-godmotherlike ability to make dreams come true, I came pretty close. With a wave of her magic wand, Angie introduced me to Stefan Janssens, Internet Marketing Manager for YesStyle.com, who provided me with the opportunity to road test a few popular Korean apparel brands.

I took no time getting to work and selecting my goods, and as I clicked through the website, a few things quickly became apparent:

• You’ll need to be small: Many of the clothes I saw were one size fits all and cut for a straight and petite frame. Based on my experience, the Asian “one size fits all” spectrum can potentially encompass US sizes 0-6, depending upon how generously cut the garment is. At a curvy size 4, I had to be discriminating about the cut and style of my final selections. Happily, YesStyle has the garment measurements listed for each item, so there was no guess work required. In the end, I stuck to tunics, tops, and dresses and had no issues with fit.
• You’ll need to be daring: YesStyle is not for the faint of fashion heart. As someone who is always looking past the style horizon, this is a bonus to me, but if your style is classic and flop-proof, you might feel out of your element. The 80’s and 90’s revivals were in full swing with plaid, leggings, distressed jeans, legwarmers, oversized tunics, and shoulder pads. Fabulous!
• You’ll need to be young: The clothes on YesStyle are, for the most part, casual and trendy. Having youth on your side will open up a lot more options, but as always, style is in the wearer as long as you remain selective.
• You’ll need to act fast: Items on YesStyle sell out quickly, so it is best not to wait on making a purchase. If you order directly from the Hong Kong warehouse, your order will ship more quickly. Items which are not in stock at the warehouse can add up to 7 days to the shipping process. You can filter the items that are readily available by checking off the “in stock” box.

What you make of the quality will depend on what you are used to and what your lifestyle demands. As a budget-restrained 25 year old with a casual lifestyle, I do not require (or even desire) luxurious fabrics and a polished look, so most of the clothes I received from YesStyle passed my filter without a hitch. If you like shopping at H&M and Forever 21, you will probably like YesStyle as well. As always, there will be some variation between brands and even individual garments in terms of quality and fit, but among the brands I tried, I was very pleased. The service I received was excellent and I will surely be shopping with YesStyle in the future!

The tops and dresses in these outfits are the YesStyle items I put to the test, while the camisoles, bottoms, footwear and accessories are my own. They mixed in perfectly with my wardrobe!

Talbots classic merchandise is traditionally aimed at an older target market, but that’s about to change. Starting this season, Talbots is repositioning it’s brand to reflect younger, more modern fashion. Their Fall 2009 look book launched the start of their efforts to send out the new message and it was already met with great approval in the YLF forum.

As many of you guessed, Talbots is also the brand behind the Red Chair Confessions teaser campaign. And as part of this campaign, they gave me the opportunity to check out their new collection. Fabulous! My task as a fashion stylist was to shop at Talbots for myself, and bring along one of my  clients who would shop too. With our $750 gift voucher in hand, Phoebe and I set about our shopping spree in the Seattle downtown store.

Talbots items are known to be beautifully made. I’m a sucker for rich fabrications and superb workmanship and this was the first thing that struck me about their collection. Impeccable quality. Their fabrics have weight and drape so well. The finish on their tailored pieces is amazing. A good first impression.

The colours of the first Fall inputs are lovely. The usual black, grey, white and cream with earth tones, burnt orange, red, olive green and chartreuse. Phoebe and I were excited as we carefully perused both the petites and misses collections, touching and trying on as we moved through the store. We also selected an assortment of tops, bottoms, dresses, jackets and accessories to try on in the fitting room.

The look of this season’s merchandise definitely reflects a younger vibe than it did before. It’s not what I would call trendy, edgy and hip, but certainly modernly classic, stylish, tasteful and absolutely well worth a look. Also, remember that a modern classic item has the potential to look hip in the right ensemble. How you wear an item makes all the difference.

Phoebe liked their dresses and necklaces best, and could have come home with at least four of each. But she stuck to two dresses, one necklace and opted to add a striking black and cream jacket instead (my favourite item in the store). Fashion forward Phoebe wouldn’t have thought to shop at Talbots if she hadn’t accompanied me on the shopping spree. It just goes to show that you can’t leave a retail stone unturned. Each season, retailers earn the chance to impress us with their collections all over again, and this is precisely what Talbots plans to do.

I ran into a size challenge when their smallest size did not fit in either the petites or missus collections. Their fit usually runs big and still does. But I did manage to come home with a few unconstructed pieces that were fine to fit on the roomy side. I’m 5ft 6 and cannot shop in petites because items are too short on the length, rise and torso. But by pushing the sleeves up on petite knitwear and sticking to a shorter top to wear with skirts, I managed to come home with three tops that I adore. I’ve also been after a very plain red, non-patent, structured satchel with subtle gold hardware for ages and came home with one of those too. I’ll enjoy contrasting the classic look of the bag with an edgy outfit.

The promotional activities continue and you can also participate. Talbots has launched the Red Chair Confessions blog, and there is a competition running where you can win your own $250 Talbots gift voucher by making a comment on one of several other participating blogs (contest rules).

A big thank you to Susan and Sandy from Talbots in downtown Seattle for making us feel like princesses as we shopped the store. We wish you every success with your new look collection.

Today’s blog post is written by fabulous Tara, a New York native who currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Tara is a writer by profession, forum member and long time YLF supporter. When this product wearer trial came my way, Tara sprung to mind as the perfect person to give it a whirl.

I really love Second Base!

Okay, let me explain. Second Base is actually a new style of camisole that Angie asked me to try. According to the website, it’s the first camisole made to layer, leaves no bulky lines around the hips and waist, and is silky soft and eco-friendly. That sounds pretty great, right? Angie wanted to know if it could be a good choice for warm weather layering.

As someone with a larger chest, I know a little something about layering. I have a bit more cleavage than I care to display, but I learned a trick right here at YLF that makes any top wearable. I just pop a camisole underneath and I’m good to go! A cami gives me just a little bit of extra coverage, and I wear one almost every day. The problem is, I live in sunny Southern California, and when the temps start to rise, the extra layer of fabric clinging to my body is uncomfortable. In the summer, when it really heats up, wearing a cami can be unbearable. But – I still need the coverage. I’ve often struggled with how to wear my favorite tops in the hot weather and not roast to death.

I think Second Base has solved my problem. It looks like a sports bra, except it’s incredibly light and silky-feeling. It’s offered in black and white, XS to XL, in two different styles. (The website has lots of great pictures.) The “Meredith” has wider straps that are not adjustable, with coverage similar to a tank top. My favorite is the “Sarah,” which has thinner straps that I can adjust for a little extra coverage. But the real beauty of either style is they only cover your bra, so you don’t have extra fabric heating up your body.

I did notice that neither style completely covered the bottom of my bra, but this did not bother me at all because A) no one sees under my shirt, B) there’s enough coverage up top, and C) have I mentioned the part about not roasting to death? In fact, Second Base was so comfortable I totally forgot I had it on. I intended to try it out with a bunch of different tops, but I got distracted and about three hours later I remembered I was still wearing it. Most excellent!

Bring on the summer heat. I can finally keep covered, and still keep cool!

Second Base is offering 20% off and free shipping for YLF readers. Just enter “YLF” as the promotion code when you make your purchase.

Today’s blog post is written by long time YLF supporter, forum member and good friend Eva, who hails from Hawaii but lives in Seattle. I asked our stylish and pretty modern-classic Eva and her dancing doggie Iniki to put these puddle stompers through their paces and this is what they thought. Take it away ladies…

Coming back from vacation in Hawaii, what did I have to look forward to? Cold weather, rain and work. But wait, my Plueys rain boots arrived while I was away. Yeah! Something to look forward to.

I’m sure Angie was thinking, who better to road test the Plueys than Eva, who lives in Seattle and has 3 dogs to walk, rain or shine. I was delighted to help out. I had been looking for rain boots since my brand new, stylish and comfy Sperry Top-Sider wedge rubber boots cracked and leaked. I jumped on Plueys web page and right on the front page is the silhouette of a woman walking her dog who looked so stylish in her rain boots. I was sold.

As soon as I got home I pulled them out of the package and tried them on. The perfect size. Love the purple sugar plum flowers. I was hoping for rain because I was going to wear them rain or shine (shine in April in Seattle?).

If you do a price search you’ll find that Plueys ($60), are in the middle of the price range for rain or rubber boots. Still, this does seem pricey. My hubby laughs because he worked on a ranch and says, “Can’t you just paint $15 dairy boots to get the same effect?” Or better yet, why couldn’t he come up with the idea?

On my first day in the rain, holding my dog’s leash stretched out as she ventured into soggy grass, I remembered: “Oh! I can slosh in the puddles with her.” No problem with walking through puddles to follow my pup in search of the perfect scent. They fit over skinnies and they look great with skirts. They also have a one inch heel and adjustable calf strap, which makes them even more practical and comfortable. I am now on the lookout for a purple umbrella to match my Plueys. Walking the dogs at six in the morning, they are often the most stylish article of clothing I have on!

One last note on my Sperry Top Siders: I returned them to Sperry who exchanged them with no problem. Now I have two pairs of super cool rain boots for any occasion.

Plueys has a special discount offer for YLF readers. Enter “youlookfab” as the coupon code at checkout and you’ll get a 10% discount (one use per customer only). The offer is valid until August 4, 2009.

Today’s post is written by our leggy and statuesque Kyle, who lives in Mesa, Arizona. Kyle is a working Mum who has her own ad agency and we’re thrilled to have had her impeccably stylish presence on our forum for over a year. Over to you, Kyle.

It’s time to face the music. I’m not a junior anymore. But, you know what? I learned something this week. It’s OK to step out of your comfort zone and try something different every now and then. In fact, it’s good fun.

Here’s the deal. I was happy to help when Angie asked me to try these Delilah Premium Vanity Jeans from eVanity.com. At 5′ 10″ I am tall, but most of that length is in my legs. So these jeans, with a 37-inch inseam (yes, I said 37!), were right up my alley. The Delilah’s are very different from what I typically wear. These are Junior jeans, and I am three decades past junior. But keeping an open mind, I gave them a try.

First, I have to tell you just how incredibly soft these jeans are, like the best pair you ever had that you wore and wore until you just couldn’t anymore and then some. I’ve never encountered jeans this soft. Very nice. No stiff scratchy denim here. They have the perfect amount of stretch too, making them more comfortable still.

I immediately embraced the uber-light wash. Somehow it felt just right for spring. And I loved the casual, slightly retro vibe. They are well made, with great attention to detail. A note for all of our smart casual/dark wash YLF devotees. These jeans are seriously distressed. They are intentionally threadbare in a couple of spots, but that adds to the charm. I never liked the idea of paying big, big bucks for designer jeans that were ripped up. So the price of these is a big plus at just $42.80. That’s definitely do-able, don’t you think?

As we all know too well, jeans are tricky to fit and not everything works for everyone. These jeans were not a perfect fit for me. I started with a size 29, and those were a little tight in the thighs. The 30s were a little big in the waist, but a couple of quick tucks will take care of that. I initially thought the rise was just a tad too low, but I adjusted to that rather quickly and it became a non-issue.

I can dress up or down for the office, so when I wore these to work, my colleagues were happy to share their thoughts. They all liked the fit and the leggy silhouette. One of the younger girls was not crazy about the wash, but one of the other 40-somethings liked everything about them, especially the wash.

I can understand why the Delilah’s are eVanity’s best-selling jean. Stylish. Comfortable. Flattering. Affordable. It doesn’t get much better than that. I’ll be wearing them again, and they may even make a repeat appearance on YLF as I try different ways of styling them. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks after all.

At time of posting, the Delilah Premium Vanity Jeans were on sale for $29.99!

Update: Since Nicole wrote this article, Carissa has rebranded her range as Carissa Rose and launched a new website. We have updated the links accordingly.

Today’s post is written by Nicole, a stylish East Coast lass, long time YLF supporter and fabulous forum member. Nicole reviews Bratique Helene, a new manufacturer of woven tops designed specifically for women with a D+ cup size.

As most of the regular YLF Forum members know, I am a busty gal. As most busty gals know, finding woven shirts that fit and are comfortable is a pretty tall order. Woven shirts tend to have very little give. Also, in order for a shirt to reach across the fullest part of my chest, it will be several sizes too big in the shoulders, sleeves and torso. My biggest hurdle with woven, button down collared shirts is that they are always riding up on me. I spend an enormous amount of time tugging the shirt back down into place. It’s uncomfortable and annoying, so I don’t own any woven collared shirts. Until now.

Enter Carissa Brown of Bratique Helene and Angie’s ability to bring people together.

I was honored when Angie asked me to review Carissa’s product. After I picked a style from their line and provided my measurements, Carissa sent me 3 different shirts. Using photos and email, we compared the shirts and decided which one fit me best. I then had the sleeves shortened and got right to wearing the shirt. Here are my impressions…

The fabric is divine. I chose a plain white collared shirt and it has just enough stretch in it to make it comfortable.

The closure system is genius. Instead of buttons it has hook and eye closures. At first, I was afraid the closures would be troublesome, but they worked well. Fastening them was no more time consuming than buttoning a shirt, but the beauty is they don’t pull at the bust the way traditional buttons would.

The cuffs are generous, which I love!

The seaming makes the shirt work for busty women. The downside is that some seam lines show through the fabric.

The shirt works with layers. I tried on the shirt with a thicker gauge cardigan and a short jacket and both worked fine.

The shirt tail has a small built in peplum. I think the design idea was to keep the shirt tail tailored so it would look good untucked (because us busty gals don’t have a lot of success tucking shirts in). I feel the peplum on my particular shirt fans out a bit too far on the sides. However, my mother thought it looked fine and it’s probably a fairly easy alteration.

Speaking of my mother, she absolutely loved this shirt. A professional dress designer and seamstress for most of her life, she was very impressed with the quality of the fabric, the workmanship of the shirt, and mostly with the design itself.

For anyone who has a high bust to waist ratio, I highly recommend that you check out Carissa’s product line. Although the range is somewhat limited right now, she does have plans to add more pieces in the future. Her company is just starting out and I am very happy to see her succeed.