Becoming active again in YLF last March to pursue a wardrobe minimalism project brought on an unexpected style shift for me: the move towards comfort. Luckily, Sporty Luxe was in vogue, therefore I experimented a lot with slouchy silhouettes, track pants, boyfriend jeans (except you never saw them HAR HAR) and sneakers. It was a good last three months of experimentation and slowly - VEEEEERY SLOWLY, I'm starting to establish a set style.

I found that many of my pants outfits were a hit here in YLF but I always expressed "yucky-ness" when I wear them. Some of my skirt/dress outfits are great but didn't get as much compliments as my pants/casual themed outfits. I tried to see why that is - how I can look good and "on trend" in the surface but feel yucky inside.

After some thought on my last outfit, some of you commented that my outfit is a lot more casual than most of my outfits. Then I scanned previous WIW's and discovered: I TOTALLY ABSOLUTELY bat for Team Dressy.

- I prefer dressy yet walkable sandals over sneakers ANYDAY.
- I love the polished look of the slim, tailored silhouette
- if I DO surrender the waist or wear slouchy casual things, I need luxe fabrics - even the rayon is good quality rayon.

Even though I prefer to be dressy, I need comfort. VC tube skirts are a godsend for a polished look yet comfortable wear! My body-skimming tops are actually not tight - they often have front draping of some kind. All my tailored jackets are actually semi-fitted instead of fitted to accommodate movement and "breathability" on the waistline.

As for shoes, I discovered that just because something is a "podiatrist-recommended" comfort brand, it will work. My Naot sandals, for instance, became an absolute "foot flop" fest for me, and this doesn't help my arthritis in any way. I also discovered that I'm not happy unless it's a dressy/edgy shoe with a tiny walkable wedge heel that doesn't pinch the front of the feet. I've found such shoes in the Born/BOC, Sofft and Rockport brands. I'll be taking my BOC pfeiffers on a test drive tomorrow.

Also - I realized that there is a "modern classic" component to my style but it's limited to only silhouettes (because I still love my edgy hardware). I like clean and tailored classic lines. Even my taste in shoes tend to be on the more streamlined side yet with a hard edge, whether subtle or overt.

I also discovered that though I can crazy-experiment with trends, I still have to build an awareness of what works best for me. A fear I've had since May was that my outfits are too outdated. I was thankful for having experimented with Angie's ensembles, but in the end, I find that I can't wear all the trends but I can pick and choose what works. Here are what works for me:
- midi tube skirts (with higher wedges or low vamp low wedge heels)
- sporty luxe in refined, drapey fabrics. Oh and "gothed out"
- hi-Lo sweaters in the right proportions
- boxy sweaters (I layer then under tunic tanks or multiple tanks)

I started here in May as a feminine/girly yet RATE frockstar but now I do "Slacker Chic" with a touch of refinement and a hard edge. My how the style evolved!