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!

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.

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.

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!

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 Bratique Helene’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.