I vote yay. In the early 80’s, I wore jailbird striped red, white and blue legwarmers over jeans with high heeled red pumps. I also wore bright red legwarmers over acid wash jeans tucked back into flat suede, maroon ankle boots. It was quite an eyesore. But those were the types of crazy wardrobe pairings you wore back then. Looking totally hip and cool sporting the vibe took priority over flattering your body.

This time round, legwarmers can look flattering. The simplest way of achieving a long lean line is by keeping the colour of the hose, shoes and legwarmers the same (see the pictures on the left). A monochromatic approach like pairing grey with black will also work (see middle picture). You don’t need to keep the components on the foot and leg the same colour (see picture with the purple legwarmers). But the greater the contrast between the components, the higher the risk of shortening the leg line. The way I wore legwarmers 25 years ago cut my leg line in several places. It looked hideous and I’m learning from that mistake.

I like the way legwarmers add self-colour textural interest to an ensemble. They also keep you warm, especially when you wear them inside boots. You could use chunky socks instead of legwarmers to achieve the same aesthetic effect with boots. But personally, legwarmers seem the more fun option probably because they’ve become a retro blast from the past. Plus they’re visually more appealing than socks on the foot area when you match them with pumps or ballet flats.

So what’s the verdict. Do legwarmers get a stylish yay or nay? Alhough I turn 40 in six months, I plan to find an inexpensive black pair and have fun experimenting with a few sophisticated trendy looks. Would you wear them?

Thirteen years ago today, Greg and I were married in Cape Town, South Africa. The church service was held in one of the oldest remaining stone churches in the country and we had the reception at a restaurant right on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. Like most wedding days, it felt perfect in every way even though it was over so, so fast. It’s astounding how much preparation can go into a mere eight hours of your life.

Because the day is over so quickly, my late Mum suggested that I try to enjoy the process of planning the wedding event instead of getting all stressed about the details. This was brilliant advice and I ended up enjoying the planning process as much as the day itself. The best part was thinking about my frock. I designed my own wedding dress and knew exactly what I wanted from the word go. I wanted to be “a modern vintage bride”, which is a contradiction in terms, but it made sense to me.

I always saw myself walking down the aisle in a veil-free, fairly narrow-fitting gown with vintage detailing and lots of pearls. So I worked with an experienced, rather deaf and stubborn, eighty year old seamstress to make this happen. She was fabulous. The dress was vintage in styling, but the fabric was modern (an off-white stretch bridal satin). The back square neckline was cut low and had thirty covered rouleaux loop buttons and a train that was almost double the length of the dress. It had special loops sewn into the hem so that I could loop the train around a few fingers when I walked so that I wouldn’t trip over it. I had vintage lace attached to the neckline and wore my Mother’s long drop pearl earrings. And that was the last day I wore earrings. I also wore my very first real pearl necklace and bracelet, which my boss at the time gave to me as a present.

You can’t really see my shoes in the picture below, but they were almost the best part of the outfit. I managed to find chunky, retro, strappy matte gold 70’s sandals with huge square ankle buckles. I loved how they were an unexpected element of surprise each time I sat down and crossed my legs.

I had very little to do with Greg’s wedding outfit. How’s that for trust and love! His instructions were (1) to surprise me and (2) to make sure that he wore good shoes. My sweetie did a superb job and I wouldn’t have changed a thing about his outfit.

This picture of Greg and me is my favourite wedding picture because it captures a perfectly down to earth and fun moment. I’m pulling a face saying something to the effect of: “I think a rose petal went down the front of dress”, and Greg thought that was hilarious.

I only realized much later that my wedding dress ended up being very similar to my Mum’s 1963 wedding dress. Crazy. If I could do it all again, I would probably design a very similar dress and still walk down the aisle without a veil.

Your wedding dress style is very personal and there is no right and wrong in my book. In fact, I’m all for non-traditional wedding attire. As long as you feel beautiful and dress appropriately for the dress code you choose for the big day, it really doesn’t matter what you end up wearing. If it’s not a timeless silhouette, that doesn’t matter either because you’ll look back on it and remember that it was trendy at the time.

I’d love to hear about what you wore on your wedding day, the preparation that went into your wedding style, and how you felt about the outcome. And if you haven’t yet walked down the aisle, but have some thoughts about what you would like to wear should the special day come around, I’d love to hear about those too.

Why wear flattering clothing? Why bother with accessories, a nice hairdo, make-up and clear skin? As long as you are clean, your body is covered and your clothes are comfortable, why should you expend any effort at all to look appealing. It’s an interesting question.

I guess you wouldn’t be reading this blog if you weren’t interested in fashion, personal style and your physical appearance. Your reasons for being interested in this subject matter might be different from mine though. Here are the things that drive my interest:

• Style is aesthetic. This might sound shallow, but I’m a very visual person. I get a kick out of being surrounded by beautiful design. From the interior of our house to the wrapping of packages and the car that I drive. The collars on our dogs are important and so is the tissue holder in my handbag. I even make the food on our dinner plates look pretty. So the way I present myself to the world is a natural extension of my aesthetic appreciation for everything. I guess it’s just the way I’m wired.
• Dressing is an art form. A part of being a visual person is seeing the art in everything (I almost studied art instead of psychology). I like looking at the way other people are dressed because dressing is an art form. People are walking works of art. It’s fascinating to look at and appreciate all types of style.
• Fashion is fun. I LOVE clothes, footwear and accessories. I thoroughly enjoy looking at them in stores and trying them on. And I love to shop, both for myself and for other people.
• When I look good, I feel good. The way I look on the outside effects the way I feel on the inside. When I’m happy with my outfit and look attractive, I feel that I can take on the day. Obviously, my outer appearance is not the only thing that gets me through a day, but it helps knowing that I’m at least well turned out – in my eyes anyway.
• I like to look good for other people. I actually do care what other people think and even though I am not always affected by what they say, I’d like the world to perceive me as a well put together individual.
• I enjoy compliments. Who doesn’t?
• It’s my bread and butter. I have to practice what I preach! It doesn’t make sense for a fashion stylist to be disinterested in the way they present themselves. Also, I’ve been immersed in the international fashion scene for 17 years and it’s part of who I am. I eat, sleep, drink and breath this stuff.

Do these reasons resonate with you? Why do you want to look fab? A penny for your thoughts.

Our forum is full of ladies successfully traveling through their own personal style journey. The forum members generously inspire and help each other and I’m always impressed with the motivation and end results.

One such forum member is Renata, who lives in Saskatchewan, Canada. Renata is a full time hair stylist, wife and Mum, who came to the forum four months ago feeling drab, frumpy and very uninspired with her daily look. But she got her fashion and style ducks in a row chop-chop and was soon proudly sporting her own creative ensembles and inspiring others by posting them in the forum.

Renata entered a recent forum challenge called The YLF Uniform Project. Participants had to take an LBD (in Renata’s case, a little brown dress) and come up with three different looks for it: “hanging out”, “office style”, and “date night.

Her outfits blew me away. So much so that I seized the opportunity to interview Renata and ask her a few questions about her style journey.

Angie: How did you find YLF?

Renata: I was looking for ideas as to what to wear to my niece’s wedding in August. I stumbled across YLF and have been an active member ever since.

Angie: How would you describe your old sense of style and why were you inspired to change it?

Renata: When I hit my mid forties, I fell into a what I call “the middle-aged invisible women slump”.

I found my old sense of style boring. Working 5-6 days a week, comfort became my first priority, and with it came style that wasn’t standing out. I was wearing plain t-shirts and jeans almost every day. I suppose my inspiration to change was when I learned that I could put together a practical outfit that looked good, without compromising style.

Angie: How did you get started?

Renata: I started out by reading plenty of books and magazines, along with blogs and forums. I did my best to learn which colors and items complement my body, and which don’t.

Angie: What have you learned? How did YLF help you along the way?

Renata: I learned that questioning myself (e.g. Is this outdated? Am I too old? Does this age me? Does this look just plain wrong?) is a very good thing, and if I can’t answer those questions I know I can turn to YLF forum members for help. It’s like having a cheerleading team! Support is there, you just have to ask for it. My first success with YLF was when I read Angie’s blog on how to pick a perfect pair of specs. I couldn’t have done it myself. When I wear them I feel instantly fab!

Angie: Where do you like to shop?

Renata: Honestly, with the limited budget that I have I can say that my favourite place to shop is Winners (Canada’s version of TJ Max). I really enjoy their selection of handbags.

Second hand stores are also great. The lure of cheap prices and one of a kind items is enough for me to brave musty smells and crowded stores. Lately I have been searching for skirts, dresses and jackets. I also love local boutiques.

Angie: You rocked the last YLF forum challenge, which was to showcase the versatility of a LBD (in your case a little brown dress) by wearing it across three different lifestyles. You came up with six fabulous outfits and I’m impressed. What inspired the outfits?

Renata: Oh, that was so much fun! Shortly after forum member Laura posted about mom on the go formula #3, I was on the lookout for a casual dress. I lucked out and found three in one week.

The inspiration for my “hanging out” outfits was Angie’s Mom on the go formula #3. I love that one, it’s so easy to follow! For office wear, I just made it little dressier by adding appropriate jackets and footwear. And date night, I guess that one was all about the right accessories, which I was missing, so I had to go shopping. But without accessories those outfits wouldn’t be fab that is for sure! I would have never guessed that my own creations would send Angie “into ORBIT” but I’m so glad they did. She is a good teacher and I’m a good student! LOL.

Angie: How will you continue to evolve your style?

Renata: I have to stay motivated and continue to tweak and perfect my own style. I intend to visit YLF for my inspiration and information. I call YLF my fashion medication!

Angie: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Renata: I’m so glad that YLF came into my life. It’s highly addictive but in a good way! LOL.

Angie: I’m wow-ed. Thank you for your time, Renata. It has been a pleasure observing your journey, which I see is taking more of an arty and eclectic turn each time you post. You look radiant and happy. Well done.