YLF Challenge Chain: Windchime challenges April! - YouLookFab Forum

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YLF Challenge Chain: Windchime challenges April!

Windchime

Veteran

April, you are an invaluable, integral member of YLF! In the almost five and a half years since you joined, you have authored dozens of thought-provoking threads with engaging, timely topics about all aspects of fashion and style. This Challenge Chain was your idea, and it has been a wonderful source of sartorial growth and fun for many YLFers.

Your beautiful brown curly hair is just one element of your own fab style. You look amazing in everything from formal, bodycon dresses to jeans. Your lifestyle includes frequent forays into New York City and Connecticut. On to your challenge...

Part 1: About three months ago, you posted a thread showing an outfit which was as RATE (rough around the edges) as you go, with boyfriend jeans and a faux tuck ( and you looked wonderful!) Your challenge is to create two more relatively RATE outfits, perhaps with boyfriend jeans and/or a faux tuck and/or sporty luxe and/or any other style elements which seem RATE for your own style.

Part 2: One of your New Year's resolutions was to keep your wardrobe "looking smart' even though you no longer go to work every day. For the second part of your challenge, can you show us two outfits which meet this criteria for you? For extra credit, one or more items from each outfit will have been purchased in brick and mortar stores rather than online, in keeping with your secondary resolution to shop more in actual stores.

You mentioned you are going away for a long weekend; take whatever time you need for this challenge, and have fun!

This thread is part of the series YLF Challenge Chain (Spring 2014)

Dressing

19 replies

Latest reply was from SarahTheWhite

Helena

Veteran

Yay, can't wait to see what you come up with April - enjoy it, after all your work keeping the chain going!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

YAY!!! I have been waiting for this one, and Windchime, you did a fabulous job with it!

April

Veteran

Oh, my! I'm really looking forward to this and have some outfit ideas already. The trying-on and photo shoot may have to wait until next week, though, since I'm on my way to a soccer game (spectator, not player) and will be heading out of town for a few days tomorrow morning.

Sorry for the delay. I hope everyone who's hung in there with the challenge chain this far will check in next week to see what I've come up with...

Alana in Canada

(website)

Veteran

Looking forward to it! This series is one of the best things I've ever seen, anywhere, ever.

E

Veteran

Go Windchime: wonderful job! Can't wait to see what April comes up with.

Caro in Oz

Veteran

Fab challenge, can't wait to see how April works it

Windchime

Veteran

No hurry, April. This is the advantage of being the last Challengee.

April

Veteran

Whew -- I have to admit, one of the most daunting parts of this challenge was trying not to let the urge to get the MOST PERFECT OUTFIT with the MOST PERFECT PHOTO EVER become impediments to getting anything at all. (Did other challenge participants get stuck in that way too?)

So, let's put perfectionism aside and get to the heart of things. This was a terrific challenge for me, Windchime! Thank you.

Part 1 of my challenge was to come up with two RATE outfits. I had fun with this since the whole RATE thing is pretty new to me. Photo #1 shows my distressed COH jeans, bought secondhand, my new laceless Cons, and a fun tee from Out of Print (Photo #2) whose graphic shows the kind of grunge-inked dates that we oldsters remember getting stamped on our library cards as kids.

In Photo #3, I'm wearing an Allsaints tee that I borrowed from my son. (His stying suggestion was to roll the sleeves a bit for Photo #4 -- what do you think?) Photos #5 and #6 show the back and front of this shirt -- I love the cool graphic. The cargo skinnies were a BR purchase from several years ago, and the cage sandals were lemminged when Shiny raved about them here on the forum.

Now for the harder part.

Part 2 was to show how most of my days are now spent cooking, cleaning, doing chores, and running errands without resorting to hoodies and yoga pants every day.

(I don't actually wear hoodies or yoga pants, but you know what I mean. I'd like to look like I could have gone someplace that day, even if I didn't.)

Mostly I've been trying to do this by wearing tops that aren't plain old tees. In Photo #7, I'm in a Catherine Malandrino tunic that I got secondhand, with white J Crew skinnies and D'Orsay flats. In #8, you can't see the sleeve detail too well, but this is an exaggerated dolman-sleeve (like a cocoon) top from Urban Outfitters, with my ancient BR Martin cigarette pants and Stuart Weitzman ballet flats.

Extra credit: the Catherine top and the UO top were both bought in real stores, as were the BR cargo skinnies and the COH grunge jeans.

Now I'm going to post this before those perfectionist tendencies make me lose my nerve...

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E

Veteran

These all look great April! I love the rolled sleeves in #4: you clearly raised a very stylish son. I think that outfit is my favourite, because it's so fun & edgy & those shoes. That's such a neat library reference on #1's shirt! I remember inked books, and I'm not that old yet. And the second part of the challenge looks just perfect (hah!) for your current life. The outfits flatter you beautifully, both cut & colour. You're even wearing shoes (I come from a shoe-free-home family, hehe)! And you've kept those bright white skinnies pristine despite mucking around the house. Hats off to you: a brilliant finish to our challenge chain.

Thanks again for hosting & organising it: you ended up with a months long commitment & carried it off beautifully. It was so fun following along as well as participating, and I got to know some forum members better, all thanks to you.

carter

Veteran

Love all of these! Especially love the library card tee...memories of days gone by...my kids so wouldn't get that.

Awesome set of challenges, April! Kudos to you for seeing it all the way through so diligently.

April

Veteran

E -- it has been fun getting to know the forum via the challenges, hasn't it? Since I was away for a while, this chain has really helped with that. And my son will be so glad you approved his rolled-sleeve style.

carter -- I know what you mean about the kids. Those smudgy dates are iconic to us, and mean nothing to them. (I spent my childhood coveting one of those date stampers...)

Lisa

Veteran

Yay April looks! #1 is perfect for summer errand running. #3, I prefer the rolled sleeve, great suggestion by your son. #7 is my summer strategy too, I try to select machine wash friendly tops that are not t's which I an sport to both work and weekends. My printed t's are only worn on weekends, so I'm trying not to continually add more of them to my wardrobe anymore.

Elizabeth P

Veteran

Well done April! I think the RATE look really suits you, perhaps it's a direction you should explore even more Esp if you can steal your son's clothes and styling tips!

And thank you for starting and managing this challenge. It was fun getting to know people a bit better, digging into past posts of the person we were challenging, reading the challenge intros where the challenger often described something abot the challengee about why they chose the challenge... (Wow, a lot of "challenges" in that sentence!)

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Oh wow. I say killer all round, April. xo

Windchime

Veteran

Yay, April!

I stopped by home for a late lunch and saw your challenge results--wow!!! I'm really glad I assigned you this challenge, because you do these RATE looks so well! I love your library stamp tee shirt and might just check if the shirt is still "in print." It brings back happy memories of my childhood community library. The rolled cuffs in your jeans with your Cons is just right.

Very awesome that your son lets you borrow his shirts, and he has a good eye--I like the proportions with the rolled-up sleeves. The cargos and cage sandals look fab on you.

Wonderful job with the second part of the challenge, also. The drapey shirts are incredibly flattering on you. And you receive full extra credit for brick and mortar shopping.

I hope that you wear some of your "RATE" looks out in the world; they are that good.

Terrific job, April, on your own challenge, and on managing this Challenge Chain. The only remaining task, before you don one of your relaxed outfits and go lay in your hammock (or in front of the air conditioner) with your favorite summer drink, is the group challenge of Angie.

Joy

Veteran

April, you look wonderful! I especially like your RATE looks. The great tees make them special and those skinny cargos are so fab on you. Thank you for this challenge. It's been fun to learn more about fellow Fabbers while being inspired by great outfits and challenges.

April

Veteran

Lisa -- "wash friendly" -- exactly! I've started to check everything, especially summery pieces, for Dry Clean Only tags, and to avoid those items.

EP -- yes, after years of thinking I was more into polished than RATE, now I'm leaning the other way. I'm having more fun with these sorts of looks than anything else at the moment.

Aw, Angie -- you know the first thing SO is going to ask me is whether you used the K word... Thank you.

Windchime -- I must thank you for the challenge. I will take away from it two things: 1.) a deepening interest in RATEness, and 2.) a reminder, when I feel like tossing on another tee, to try and smarten things up a bit.

Joy -- thanks! I do love those cargoes. When I bought them a couple years back, I had the back pocket linings removed and the flap pockets sewn down flat. I can't tell you what a difference that made, since I hate how flap pockets always go cockeyed in the wash and have to be ironed down. Those pants have been a warm-weather staple for me ever since.

April

Veteran

Okay, ladies -- the grand(e) finale of the YLF Challenge Chain is yet to come.

Start thinking of ideas for a challenge that we'll pose, as a group, to Angie.

SarahTheWhite

Veteran

What a fun challenge! I love all of the he looks that you showed - and your photos are great! (I had the same panic over getting things perfectly.) I think that you look beautifully put together in your daily looks, and I definitely think that RATE looks awesome on you! Love the he date stamp top, and I think that your son's suggestion to roll the sleeves on his tee was perfect! I think that was my favorite outfit of all. Makes me excited for my son to be big enough to borrow his clothes...

Thank you for hosting such a fun, inspring, and informative challenge!