These items are tried and tested on myself or my clients, and some are already on sale. Be sure to browse through all the colour options. 

• Zara Sweater with Asymmetric Hem: I bought this darling in blush and I love it. The crew neck is high and the fit on the fluid side of tailored. The fabric is crisp, and the asymmetric hem with slit quite flattering. It creates interesting lines under a boxy jacket. Runs small. 
• Zara Flower Print T-Shirt: Here’s that great diagonal sleeve again. The fit is oversized and the patterns are bold so consider yourself warned. Add structure by partially tucking the front. Soft, breezy and fashionable. 
• Julianne Hough for Sole Society Olyvia Pointed Toe Pump: These are very comfortable on low volume feet. Like WOW comfy thanks to super soft suede. They might work on a slightly higher volume foot, but will not work for wide feet. They are a similar fit to the Sam Edelman Okalas, but with a lower heel. The ankle strap is also positioned lower on the ankle which is more of an acquired taste. I bought them in the silver sconce and will wear them with skirts and boyfriend jeans. Read the rave reviews.
• Club Monaco Darla Stripe Sweater: Unfortunately, the photo does not do this style justice at all. It looked much better on my client than it does on the model. The top swings at the hem and has a fab back box pleat feature with a low back V. The back covers bra straps, with built-in bra strap keepers on the shoulder to hold your bra straps in place. 
• Club Monaco Marlow Shirt: The photo does not do the blouse justice, which is even more striking in motion. The back knife pleat detailing drapes and swings with elegance. The front is simple and refined. Gorgeous fabric and like most items from Club Monaco, it’s well made. Arty, breezy and fun. Runs large. 
• Franco Sarto Hawk d’Orsay Flat: One of the few flats with d’Orsay styling that stay on my feet. Soft, comfortable and very flat. Surprisingly, this worked well for both low and higher volume feet. Size down half size. 
• AllSaints Drina Cardigan: An avant-garde piece that’s especially fab in the marbled cream for Spring, or to wrap over a top in arctic air conditioning during the Summer. The style looks best zipped up at the shoulder. A fun, unique style.  
• Calvin Klein Sleeveless Shutter Pleat Dress: This dress is made for the small busted pear or hourglass body type. It’s very waist defining, and gently drapes over the hips and thighs. It also has a bit of length. Easy to launder, and pull-on-and-go. 
• Ralph Lauren Short Sleeve Lace Illusion Dress: The photo makes the dress look formal, when it’s actually quite casual because the lace is cotton. It’s more of a crocheted dress than a dressy lace frock. The idea is bohemian, but the look is much crisper than that. It fell just above the knee on me so not that short. I love this dress and would have bought it if I lived in a warmer city. Great with metallic gladiators. 

It won’t be long before Fall collections hit stores, which means that end of season sales for Spring and Summer are drawing near. Wow. Time flies faster each year. 

The rash guard used to be an athletic swimwear item reserved for water sports like surfing. They protect surfers from rashes that occur when skin chafes against a waxed and sandy surfboard. Over time, the rash guard also became a fashionable and practical swimwear look — especially for kids — because it offers effective UV protection. In other words, it provides an alternative to wearing sunscreen, which can rub off when spending long periods of time in the water. 

Rash guards, which some retailers refer to as “swim shirts”, are made of swimsuit fabric and vary in style. They can be bought as mismatched standalone items, or as items that match a one or two piece swimsuit. Most are long-sleeved and hipbone length to provide extra protection. But short-sleeved, sleeveless, and shorter lengths do exist. For extra sun protection, most necklines are high, but half zip, full zip, and notched V-neck styles are also available. Lands’ End offers styles with side ruching which are forgiving on the midriff. The styles with zippers seem like an easier option to pull on and off. 

The ladieswear rash guard is designed to wear over a swim top (full piece, tankini or bikini), although you can wear them on their own if you’re comfortable with the lack of support and the sheerness of the fabric. The idea is that you swim in them, lie or walk in the sun, or pop them on when things cool down by the pool or beach. 

My experience with rash guards is limited because I have never worn one, nor have I assisted my clients with the look. Most of my clients wear tankinis or one piece swimsuits with cover-ups, and pop rash guards on their children. So I started a discussion about rash guards on the forum. It’s well worth a read. Apparently rash guards dry quite quickly after a swim because they’re lightweight. They aren’t nearly as uncomfortable as they look, and they provide effective protection from the sun.  

Visually, I love the sporty vibe of the rash guard. Call me crazy, but I think that in a matching set it’s an attractive swimwear silhouette despite it covering the top part of the body. The sun protection factor is a bonus, and so is the warmth it may provide when it’s breezy by the water. On the other hand, when I’m at the beach or pool, I do enjoy the warmth of the sun on my bare skin (slathered in sunscreen of course). It’s relaxing and therapeutic somehow. That said, perhaps wearing a rash guard won’t feel all that different. And since I’d be wearing it over a swim top, I can take it off at any time, which achieves the best of both worlds. 

Over to you. Would you wear a rash guard? If you already wear one, do you find it comfortable and attractive? Or do you wear it purely for practical reasons.

A new careers platform for fashion talent, Instagram testing video ads, a platform heel version of the Birkenstock Arizona, and more news from this week’s fashion trenches.

• Instagram is testing video ads, and Burberry and Levi’s are among the first fashion brands to participate.
• For anyone interested in pursuing a career in fashion: this week BoF launched its very own careers platform, “a global marketplace for fashion talent”.
• Japanese label Sacai has created a 2 inch platform heel version of the Birkenstock Arizona sandal.
• Starting next week, 239 years of wedding fashion will be on display in London’s Victoria & Albert Museum.
• Wearable tech, you say? Have a look at these sunglasses that will text you if you misplace them (via Bluetooth technology).
• Yesterday Fendi opened a new flagship store in London, filled with a series of rare art commissions.
• In the spirit of Spring cleaning season, car service Uber has teamed up with Goodwill. Request the ‘SPRING’ option on the Uber app tomorrow (3 May) and a driver will come pick up your old clothes and donate them to Goodwill on your behalf.

Fun Fashion Fact

Did you know that a person who collects ties is called a grabatologist?

A long time ago I asked Angie what new feature she wanted most on YLF and her answer was “a place for collecting products for myself and for my clients“. A sort of wishlist feature. And since then many people have asked for the same thing. It took a long time to figure out exactly what a feature like this should be, but a few months ago the concept took shape, and today it finally comes to life. 

Take a look at the little card to the right of this paragraph. Angie collected that item from the Nordstrom website earlier this week. On the top right of the item’s card, you can see a little heart with a number alongside it. The number tells you how many people have collected the item. Angie collected it originally, and I know Inge did too, so the number is at least 2. If you are logged in, you can click (or tap) the little heart to add it to your own collection.

Try it now! Click the heart on the picture and you will see the number go up as the item goes into your collection. Click the heart again to remove it from your collection.

Now take a look at the bottom left of the card. If you click that little info icon a popup will appear with more details about the item. The little yellow checkmark on the top left of the item means that Angie has made it a “YLF Top Pick”.

Create and Manage Your Own Collection of Finds

If you are a YLF member, then each item you collect goes into your collection of Finds. And you and other members can see this collection on its own dedicated page. You can reach this page in four ways.

1. Click the “View Finds” link that appears under your profile picture.
2. Go to your profile page and click “Finds” under your profile picture.
3. Use the member dropdown menu at the top right of the page.
4. Go to the front page of the Finds area and click “MINE”

Collect Your Finds from Retailer Websites

But how did Angie originally collect the item from Nordstrom? There is a new YLF bookmarklet that you can add to the bookmarks bar of your web browser (in Internet Explorer the bookmarks are called “favorites”). Then when you’re on the page of a product you want to collect, you click this bookmarklet and it will pop up a window that allows you to optionally add some info and then add that item to your collection. The next time you go to your Finds collection page, it will be there waiting for you.

You can get the bookmarklet (and see instructions for using it) on the help page for the Finds area. One limitation right now is that the bookmarklet isn’t easily accessible from phones or tablets.

We are launching with support for 25 popular stores, but we will be adding new ones all the time. In fact, every time you try to collect an item from a store that isn’t supported yet, we get a little message about that. 

So to recap, there are two ways to collect items.

1. You can collect them directly from retailer websites using the bookmarklet, or
2. You can collect them by clicking the little heart icon of an item someone else collected

Searchable Fab Finds and Top Picks

In future we will be adding Finds to YLF blog posts whenever Angie considers the item to be a “Fab Find” or top pick.

For example, check out the most recent roundup post and you’ll see the items in the post, ready for collecting. This also means that going forward, every item that Angie selects will be available in searchable form in the Finds page. No more hunting around for an item you know Angie mentioned in a previous blog post.

We know that these collections are going to get quite large, quite quickly, so you can filter them by store, brand and category, and you can search for text that appears in the title or description of the item.

Add Finds to Your Forum Posts

The Finds pages and blog posts are not the only places that you will see Finds. YLF members can easily attach items that they have collected to their forum posts. Just below the post form (for new conversations AND for replies) you will now see a chooser that allows you to select Finds from your collection.

A few minutes ago I started a new conversation in the forum to show all this in action.

And of course, ANYWHERE that you see a Find — in the Finds page, in a blog post, under a forum post — you can collect it. Just click (or tap) the little heart icon and it is yours. 

To say that we have more plans for the new YLF Finds is a massive understatement. Now that the foundation is in place we’re going to move quickly to add features that we know will be useful, like the ability to group your Finds into different categories (e.g. “Considering” versus “Must Have” versus “Purchased”) and to create collections for other people (e.g. for your spouse, or your children, or in Angie’s case, for a client).

This is a big new feature and although we have done quite a bit of testing, there are sure to be teething problems. Please let us know about these bugs using the contact form, the technical support section of the forum, or by sending us email at feedback@youlookfab.com. If you have comments or questions about the feature, please leave them below or feel free to start a new thread in the forum.

Thanks to Angie for her patience in waiting so long for her wishlist feature, to Inge as always for her attention to detail in testing the new feature, and to our friend Suja for her feedback and testing. Enjoy!