The weather is finally warming up, so we can start to wear our Spring clothes in earnest. Here are six fab finds, most of which are suited to a business casual work environment. 

• Ted Baker Daisy Daisy Print Top: Ted Baker does gorgeous florals that look like watercolour paintings. The double dose of refined pleating is interesting and easy to launder. Nice with a pastel or white pencil skirt, or faded skinny jeans and gold gladiator sandals. 
• Chelsea28 Satin Lapel Fitted Blazer: Fitted when fastened, but fabulously fluid when left undone. The back is cropped shorter than the front, which creates interesting lines on your outfit. 
• Kenneth Cole Mirella Colourblock Jacket: A fun silhouette that combines the moto, bomber and peplum jacket in one design. Check out the back detail. Machine washable. 
• Adrianna Papell Floral Embroidered Pencil Skirt: A little playful Mary Quant flower to tone down the severity of a black pencil skirt. 
• Three Dots Ruched Print Midi: An elegant midi pencil skirt with side seam ruching. Soft and comfortable for the office. I like the way it’s been styled with an unfastened cropped boxy jacket. Would look great with an open bomber jacket too. 
• Theory Emery 2 Stretch Pants: These are suited to a straighter body type and run long and small so size up a size. If you do well with curvy fit trousers, do not try this style. They are a wool blend instead of pure wool, which actually makes them a lot more resilient during a day at the office and for travel. Read the rave reviews. 

I bet many are sick of wrapping up for a Spring that feels like the depths of Winter. I vote roll on Summer so that I can wear my loafers and ankle strap pumps with bare legs, leave off my topper, and wear skirts and dresses without feeling cold.

When stylish outfits aren’t conventionally flattering, but still attractive and fun, they are often what I call just flattering enough. The wearer usually achieves these proportions by creating sufficient structure, which usually means hinting at a waistline. Or the wearer has skillfully elongated the outfit, by increasing the vertical integrity of the outfit or lengthening the leg line. 

Here are ten ways to elongate an outfit. They might come in handy when you’re experimenting with conventionally unflattering proportions. Sometimes it will take only one of these troubleshooting tips to make the outfit look just flattering enough. And sometimes you’ll need to incorporate a few of them to get the outfit to work.   

1. Wear heels: This is the most obvious strategy because heels make your legs look longer. Even low heels of one and a half or two inches count as heels. 
2. Create a low contrast with your footwear: Keep the contrast between the colour of the shoe and your skin tone low. Or create a low contrast between the colour of the pants and the shoes. 
3. Wear pointy toe footwear: Pointy toe shoes are the most elongating, but almond toes also count. If you don’t like to wear heels, choose pointy toe flats.
4. Tuck or partially tuck the top: Tucking a top, or partially tucking a top in front, visually shortens the torso and lengthens the legs. This is particularly effective when wearing flats. Tucking also adds structure by adding waist definition. 
5. Create a column of colour: I have covered this strategy in great detail. It elongates and slims the body by emphasizing the vertical and eliminating horizontal lines across the middle of the body. This is one way for petites to look visually taller. 
6. Taper the hems of cropped pants: Making sure that the hems of cropped pants and boyfriend jeans fit closely to the calf will help to elongate the leg line. 
7. Wear flared pant hems at floor sweeping lengths: When you wear flared jeans or trousers at floor sweeping lengths, your legs look longer. Add a pointy toe heel and you’ve elongated the outfit even further. Wearing pointy toe flats with extra long flares can work too. 
8. Wear V-necks if you’re short waisted and short in the neck: The shape of the V visually lengthens the neck which further accentuates your long lean line. 
9. Raise the hemlines on skirts and dresses when wearing flats: The shorter hemline, which needn’t be shorter than just above the knee, elongates the lower leg which increases the length of the entire leg line. 
10. Leave a jacket or coat unbuttoned: The vertical line that is created down the centre front of the body by leaving a coat or jacket unfastened draws the eye up and down thereby increasing the vertical integrity of the outfit. It’s a magically slimming strategy. 

I also think that tucking away the bows of laces on boots, oxfords and sneakers helps elongate an outfit by making the eye flow up and down instead of to the side. It’s a very subtle strategy but one that can make a difference when laces are particularly long and bulky. 

I’m not saying that every outfit has to be about waist definition and elongation. Not at all. Fashion and style has moved on from that philosophy, which is empowering and liberating. You have to find your figure flattering sweet spots and incorporate them into outfits. These elongating strategies might help you wear an item or look that you thought wasn’t flattering, when all that was required was a little tweak, like partially tucking the front of the top, wearing low-contrast footwear, adding heels or unfastening the jacket.

YLF turned eight over the weekend and my word, I can’t believe it. Time flies when you’re having fun. I’m so grateful to Greg for suggesting that I start blogging in 2006, and for encouraging me to keep with it when I started my style consulting business. The two sides of what I do — in person with my clients and online with you — enrich each other in a wonderful way. 

Inge, who works for YLF part-time from Belgium, was amongst our earliest readers. She became a dear friend and joined the YLF team three years ago. They say you shouldn’t work with your close friends (or spouse for that matter), but in my case it’s worked out brilliantly. The YLF Team is a well-oiled machine, and if anything my friendship with Inge is even stronger since she joined YLF. We are kindred style spirits, because we share the same style sensibilities. And we have loads of fun shopping online together and sharing our new purchases. Thank you Inge, for being a wonderful, capable and thoughtful person. 

This year, the date coincided with a business trip so we celebrated YLF’s eight birthday in Boston with fifteen members of the YLF community. The gathering was magical and couldn’t have been more special. We shopped, ate, yakked and laughed up a storm. The positive and compassionate spirit of the members was, as always, energizing and uplifting. One of our members, Isabel, had secured a private room for lunch, and the group surprised us with a celebratory menu and cake. Greg and I were very touched, especially when we saw that the names of Jasmine and Rosie were iced onto the cake along with our own. Many, many thanks to incredible Isabel and Diana for organizing an extremely memorable Boston birthday gathering, and to the rest of the members who contributed to the fabulous day.

Most importantly, YOU are what makes YLF an exceptional community. You graciously continue to share your wit and wisdom in the comments section of the blog and in the forum. Your thoughtful, compassionate, intelligent and insightful contributions enrich my life and provide daily inspiration. With YLF CEOs and muses Jasmine and Rosie in our hearts, THANK YOU for your ongoing support. Cheers to another eight years! We’re looking forward to the adventure.

From crackers used to create portraits of supermodels to Saks Fifth Avenue getting a makeover and a Marc Jacobs casting call, these style stories all made the news this week.

• Diane von Furstenberg launches a yearlong digital campaign to celebrate the 40th anniversary of her iconic wrap dress.
• Here’s a very special sale: Iris Apfel is selling 800 pieces from her personal collection of jewellery and antiques.
• Tory Burch announces big expansion plans, including an activewear line for women and an accessories collections for men.
• Now here’s an unusual exhibit: Food artist Nathan Wyburn uses crackers to create portraits of Kate Moss, Twiggy and Cara Delevingne. 
• New designer names and new graphic branding. Saks is getting a makeover under its new president Marigay McKee.
• Yesterday Marc Jacobs launched the “#CastMeMarc” casting call on Twitter and Instagram to find a fresh face for his Fall campaign.
• In honour of the Jean-Paul Gaultier retrospective opening in London next week, Matches Fashion is putting a selection of the designer’s archival pieces up for sale.
• H&M will open the doors to its first Australian store in Melbourne’s GPO building on Saturday morning.

Fun Fashion Fact

In an attempt to raise extra revenue, the British government levied a hat tax on men’s hats from 1748 to 1811. Hat sellers needed to buy a retail licence, and affix revenue stamps inside each hat to make them “legal”. Both milliners and hat wearers who didn’t pay the hat tax received heavy fines. Forgers of hat revenue stamps got the death penalty!