I may not live close to these two lovely YLF'ers and I’m not even close to their countries, but I certainly enjoy shopping my closet and dressing to inspiration, when it strikes, as it did this week.

When I first joined YLF, I was buying a kaleidoscope of colors, and not being very selective with what truly worked for me.  I was a bit like a child in a candy store, and the colorful candy I was buying wasn’t necessarily very good for me (think M&M's in orange, green and the wrong blue!).  Watching others here has been so helpful and I am beginning to find my way.

What I do know is that when I wear neutrals for too many days, I crave a burst of color and that’s what I wanted for my first outfit here (hello fuchsia!).  It also addresses a text discussion Marley and I had on our capsule of colors, from neutrals to accents to pops of color and how similar these may be from season to season.  Marley has really done a great job of narrowing hers down and that’s a definite style goal for me.

#1-2 (with inspiration from nature) and #3 (Suz) Suz-inspired, this is a close copy of one of Suz’s and I don’t have the original link, only a photo, so here's my version:  Hudson white flared jeans, Michael Kors reversible snakeskin belt, Banana Republic fuchsia blouse (sadly, I bought a size too small as my size wasn’t available, so this will need to be replaced when I can find the perfect color. I like this, because it’s bright, but a muted bright, if that makes sense), Zara cream and navy boatneck Breton tee, Vince Camuto Eliana bootie, Kate Spade grey and black tote.  Happiness factor was high with this outfit (thank you, Suz) and when I bought some Dior nail polish at Nordstrom, the SA gave a me a compliment that really wowed me and I walked out of there a little taller than my 5’3” frame appears.  ☺

#4-6 and #7 (Deborah) Deborah-inspired, generally, I don’t wear too much black or all black, but then I began thinking of a three-quarter sleeve tee that I asked my mother to pick up for me at Nordstrom Rack (out of the area) and I wanted to wear it right away (Team Wear).  Deborah wears black so beautifully (thank you, Deborah) and the universe aligned even more when I read a snippet about actress “Kate Hudson in black jeans and top with lipstick red heels.”  The article went on to say “She looked so polished yet cool.  She was like the ultimate L. A. girl dressed that way.”  Now, I’m not L. A. cool, but I do like to look polished.  I also don’t wear high heels and I don’t own a pair of red heels.  So, adjustments were in order.  But, the article “For denim, a return to the dark side,” and “Black jeans are definitely in style — for men and women here: http://www.latimes.com/fashion.....story.html made me realize that black denim is still very relevant for the coming season.

I paired my J. Brand black skinnies with my Burberry tee and J. Crew pointy-toed red flats.  The tee is scoop-necked, something that doesn’t work well with my long neck.  I turned it around and wore the bateau-style neckline of the back, in front.  The muted logo at the hemline was in the back, but I liked that for its quirky factor.  This, too, was a comfortable outfit and I liked the tiny bit of red in the plaid cuffs that matched the flats.  Deborah has her signature red lipstick and I have my red flats!

Fine-tuning my colors is still a work in progress, and I would love some help in this area, either with suggestions to stretch from my neutrals of white, cream, navy, blue, camel, taupe and black (with a wide assortment of the aforementioned and interspersed kaleidoscope of colors).  I also have quite a few prints in the form of shirts. If you found a way that helped you with defining your color choices, I’d love to know more.  Thank you for looking and also for your help.  ^_^