We don’t normally post on Sundays, but I’m just too thrilled about this project to wait until tomorrow. It gives us GREAT pleasure to announce the making of “Ladies of YLF, The Calendar”. It’s been my dream to start my own modeling agency — one that celebrates the diversity of women across body type, age and ethnicity. Of course, finding the resources to follow through on this dream is easier said than done. So we came up with the more manageable stepping stone of a calendar, and I’m so very excited. 

We want our calendar to scream YLF mantras like “style is beyond size”, that “there is no one way to be stylish”, and that “style is an expression of individuality”. We also want to celebrate the human body because it is a miraculous art form. Its fascinating curves, colours and textures combine to create a beautiful whole. Although this won’t be a calendar prerequisite, we will encourage at least partial nudity. By all means celebrate your confidence level and your body. All photography will be tasteful, artistic and in line with YLF’s high quality standards.

We are planning a calendar where there is a different YLF lady for each week in the year, so we will be needing lots of models. In the near future we will be asking those who are interested to submit photos. 

Please do not send us your pictures yet. We will have a more formal launch of the competition later in April. Greg will also be posting some guidelines and suggestions for taking good “glamour” shots, including things like which digital SLRs are best for this sort of photography, and how to use a prime lens to get a nice depth of field effect that blurs the interesting bits.

And just to pique your interest, we have already done the photography and design for one page in the calendar, with a very special lady of YLF as our model. She was happy to pose “au natural”. Love that. 

Take a peak by clicking this link. WARNING: This image may not be suitable for children or your work environment. 

“The key to looking stylish is confidence and older people have had time to develop not only a personal sense of style, but a comfort in who they are.” That’s the firm belief of author and blogger Ari Seth Cohen. He started his street style blog Advanced Style to pay tribute to a large, often overlooked, age group: stylish ladies and gentleman over 60. “To show that beauty, style, and creativity don’t disappear at a certain age”. His views are very much in line with Angie’s philosophy that style is universal. It’s not a dress size, a height measurement, or a certain age. 

This is something I personally feel very strongly about too. In today’s youth-driven world the older generation sometimes runs the risk of being ignored, becoming invisible even. So it’s always a delight to read a different perspective, and to see strong, independent, well-dressed women of all ages featured in the media and on the internet.

Mr. Cohen mixes interviews and videos full of snippets of wisdom with outfit photography. From designer ensembles to thrift store finds, from simple elegance to movie star glamour, from eccentric over punk to avant-garde… his real-life models celebrate individual style with confidence and joie de vivre. 

Now, his first book, also named Advanced Style, combines the best of the blog “with all-new material featuring wardrobes, interviews, stories, and advice from a cadre of his most chic subjects”.

Are you, like the Advanced Style ladies, looking forward to many more years of having fun with fashion? How do you see your own style evolving? Do you feel you are growing more confident and daring in your style choices as you get older?

This was the third and final event we attended during our recent trip to Chicago. After attending the absolutely divine morning wedding and luncheon, we had some time to take a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s house and studio before going back to the hotel to change for the evening banquet. 

Greg and I were focused on the ceremony earlier in the day as the main event, and we underestimated how dressy the banquet was going to be. What we thought was going to be a fancy, yet relaxed dinner, was actually a full blown, lavish banquet in a large ballroom. There were hundreds of people in attendance, all dressed to the nines in the most spectacular Indian attire. I was mesmerized by the utterly gorgeous outfits! And we both felt quite underdressed. 

I wore a sparkly grey midi dress, which is the same frock that I wore for the holidays last year. But a long formal gown would not have been out of place. I matched it up with a silky patterned blazer in a similar neutral colour palette. I changed up the vibe by sporting the blazer both buttoned and unbuttoned.

I wore the same red patent heels and carried the same clutch as I did for the second event. I also kept the specs, watch, wedding ring and hose just the same. I brightened up the lipstick and that was that. 

Every item in this outfit was shiny, from the frock and blazer, to the bag and shoes. And while I was not dressed to the nines, I was sparkly. I also felt extremely pattern-mixed against the carpet of the banqueting hall!

We flew back home to our Yorkie Rosie the next morning. As much as I love dressing up, I was also relieved to be back in socks and casual boots for the plane trip after sporting high heels for three events in a row. We had a fantastic time in Chicago, and are looking forward to visiting the wonderful city again soon. 

Astrid enjoyed an informative post by No Signposts in the Sea on how to buy a good pair of trousers. 

MaryK and I both liked Already Pretty’s post on being too old to have fun with fashion. YLF’s number one rule is to have fun with fashion AT ANY AGE. Sally and I both feel very strongly about the fact that you are never to old to have fun with fashion. Currently, my 74 year old client is having more fun with fashion than she has ever had before. 

Cora recommends reading about garment quality control on Empty Emptor. 

Ironkurtain found this uncomplimentary New York Times article about top Spanish clothing retailer Zara very interesting.  

Kappy loves the festive collection of Bass shoes that are designed by Rachel Antonoff.

Emily found a fun slideshow of Mad Men Fashion on Slate. 

Have you ever wondered who put Americans in jeans and t-shirts? Well, Laurinda found out how this all started in the Etsy blog.

Annygybe informs us via an article in Women’s Wear Daily that Swedish budget retailer H&M is doing a luxury line. I’m interested to see how this will unfold. 

Inge found a fab article in The Guardian on Autumn and Winter 2012 trends that we can wear right now. Of particular interest was the map-printed dress. How conversational! 

Vildy likes Constanza Pascolata’s style sensibility on Women of Style because she has a great way of feminizing masculine pieces. 

mm88 recommends these 10 Great Clothing Tricks in 60 Seconds from Lifehacker. Very fab, especially for blokes. 

Jonesy found these jazzy suits for women on Stylesight ultra inspiring.  

Debora informs us that Club Monaco merchandise is now available online. Finally!