We often talk about the shape and height of a heel, but the shape of the toe box is just as important. We’ve reached the stage in fashion where just about all toe box shapes are in style: blunt, pointy, angular, and everything in-between.

For several years round toes and almond toes have been popular, probably because they are flattering on most feet and body types. But I have a hunch that things are about to change. High end designers are showing lots of square toes, which means that it won’t be long before we’ll see them filter back down into mainstream fashion. Maybe in a big way.

The ’90s were all about extra chunky square toed black footwear. Although I wore footwear like that back then, square toes are much more refined right now, and hopefully it will stay this way. There’s also the snip toe, which is like a pointy toe with a snipped off nose. It’s less angular than a real square toe but square all the same.

I have all toe box shapes represented in my wardrobe because I like the variety and all the shapes. As long as the square toe and snip toe is refined and not chunky, I enjoy it just as much as a round toe or almond toe. But I have clients and friends who do not like square toed footwear at all. They find it overly masculine and unattractive. Some also find it stumpy, dumpy and leg shortening. How do you feel about square toed footwear?

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Welcome to an updated YLF!

The biggest change you will see today is a completely overhauled front page. We wanted to highlight visual content, like Angie’s outfits, and also surface some of the most popular posts from the deep archives. We wanted to do a better job of featuring forum activity on the front page, so instead of separate recent posts and recent photos on the left, the area now shows the two combined as they should be.

We’re very excited about the new front page. It was almost a year ago that we created a front page for YLF that was separate from the blog front page, and although we refreshed that layout a few weeks after launching it, we were never completely happy with the design.

New design elements on the front page had a ripple effect throughout the site. Most of these updates are purely visual and probably won’t change the way that you use YLF.

We got around to a few items on the honey-do list. Some forum members will be happy to see a little button near the bottom of most pages that takes you back to the top. Others will be happy that both recent and permanent role badges are visible beneath your profile picture. Previously this area only showed the role badges you had accumulated over the last 30 days and you had to go to your profile page to see your permanent roles. Now if you have a permanent role that you haven’t earned recently, it appears as a faded badge in the list. In the example below you can see that in Inge’s case this is true for the “helper” role.

For the last year or so veteran members have had the additional ability to flag forum posts as spam. This has been an enormous help to us. Today all members get the ability to help us moderate the forum using a “Report Post” option that appears underneath every post. After pressing this you can type in some more details about why you’d like to bring this post to our attention before sending the report to the team. Feel free to report anything you think we need to know about, whether it is suspected spam, something you find offensive, a copyright violation, or even if it is just to tell us that your spidey sense is tingling.

Last, but not least, there is a new forum category: Inspiration. This is a place to post anything that inspires your personal style, or that you think might be inspirational to others. It could be an outfit you saw on someone else, a new item in the store, an interior design theme, or a flower you photographed over the weekend.

That’s it. Be sure to let us know if you experience any problems. We will definitely be fixing little issues and tweaking the design as it settles in over the next few days.

We’ve talked about the power of heels, and how they take an outfit from fab to drab. I’ve also suggested adding heels to an outfit if it doesn’t feel right with flats. And Team Heels reigns supreme as our poll clearly demonstrated.

Heels create a longer leg line, accentuate calf muscles, add a dressy aspect to your ensemble, and amplify your femininity. So ladies, do outfits always look better with heels?

I’m going with a no. I absolutely believe in the power of heels, but also think that some outfit combinations look just as good or even better with flats (in the category of flats I am including a chunky one inch heel on a sleek riding boot.) For example, leggings were made for ballet flats. Such a natural and pretty pairing! I also love the look of skinny cargos and skinny jeans paired with flat gladiator sandals and ballet flats as much as when they are paired with heels. And when it comes to the Equestrian look, one close to my heart, it looks best with a tall flat riding boot.

Remember that heels needn’t be dressy. Cork, wicker and wooden heels with distressed leather uppers are casual shoes. Slouchy suede boots with chunky heels and heeled Dr. Martens are casual boots.

Over to you? Can flats look just as killer as heels, or do heels always elevate an outfit?

This post is sponsored by Nordstrom. Shop the Anniversary Sale: Next Season on Sale Now. Prices go up August 1.

Capes and cape-esque coats are trending a little more strongly than usual for Autumn and Winter. They are the best type of cover-up to wear over dolman and bat winged tops and knitwear, which are also trending for Fall. This pairing demonstrates the very real ripple effect of fashion trends.

I think that capes are too much of an acquired taste to ever go completely mainstream.  That being said, with my encouragement, most of my clients tried on capes and cape-esque coats at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale because they looked fresh and “new”. Surprisingly, a number of them actually liked the look and became proud cape-owners.

Capes are quite hard to wear because they are unstructured, fairly rigid, and voluminous. But when a cape with a great cut is worn in a flattering way, they can look classic yet edgy, a little avant gard and really hip.

Tall ladies with broad square shoulders and long necks will find it easier to pull off, but don’t lose hope if this isn’t your body type. Capes can work if you’re discerning about the details. I’ll walk you through them using examples that I’ve drawn from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale.

To my eye, capes look particularly good in colours, checks and tweeds. They look less severe and “batman-ish” that way. However, I have also seen dramatic black capes work beautifully when the the rest of the ensemble is just so. But if you’re a cape novice, I’d suggest a colour other than black.

The next thing to watch out for is length. Don’t go too long, especially if you’re petite. I tend to prefer capes that finish on or above the crotch point. But if you’re regular height or taller, a few inches below crotch point is okay.

The Helene Berman Wool Blend Cape (1) is the perfect shade of camel and was my one client’s favourite items that she bought at the sale. She is regular height and does not have a strong shoulder line. But the yoke detailing ensures excellent shoulder definition while the button detailing at the hem creates a bit of a sleeve. The contrasting tortoise shell buttons work wonders to create a contrast against the expanse of camel wool. They also make my clients gorgeous brown eyes twinkle even more.

The Via Spiga Asymmetrical Cape (2) is black but the asymmetrical patent zipper adds a good amount of texture to the silhouette. The cut is sculptural with lots of seams and darts, which gives it great structure along the shoulder line. The Tahari Plaid Cape (3) is even more sculptured. It also has lots of good seaming detail and an overall less circular shape. Both of these capes have effective buttons at the hems which create the illusion of a sleeve.

If you can’t get your head around the floaty and wide aspect of a cape, try one with more torso definition like the Steve Madden Tweed Cape (4) and the GUESS Cable Knit Cape (5). These capes have voluminous sleeves, but the shaping around the midriff AND the coat collars go a long way to making you feel more grounded in the silhouette. The textures of these capes are especially lovely and so are the pockets.

Petite ladies are after shorter cape styles like the Trouvé Twill Cape (6) and the GUESS Asymmetrical Wool Blend Swing Jacket (7). I call them “cape-esque” because they are really more of a hybrid between a cape and a trapeze jacket, which is why you won’t drown in the look. I have a couple of strong shouldered petite clients rocking these babies.

Lastly, if you like the idea of a cape but don’t want to invest in a coat, try a knitwear version instead. The Frenchi U-Neck Cape Top (8) is utterly adorable and particularly great on petites because of the cropped integrity of the style. It’s like a poncho with sleeves. So fun! The Beatrix Ost Hooded Poncho (9) is super because its double button fastening feature at the sides is very structuring. Casual, cute and hip for a gal on the go.

In the past I liked capes, but I never really loved them. However, I am absolutely loving capes this season because of the great assortment. Seeing them work well on my clients has also helped to make me cape crazy. If the Trouvé Twill Cape came in a different colour, that would be the choice for my own wardrobe. Although I stand at regular height with a giraffe neck, my dainty frame is easily overwhelmed by capes. I have to follow the petite guidelines in order for it to work for my body type.

One final tip: Remember to keep the under layers of a cape fairly sleek because wearing volume on top of volume is tricky.

Capes are a super idea for Autumn and mild Winters, when it’s still too warm to wear coats. Are you feeling capes this season?