Greg, Rosie, Jasmine and I are celebrating our eighth Thanksgiving today. For me, the tradition of this holiday becomes more meaningful each year because I have a great deal to be thankful for.

From a fashion and style point of view and in no particular order, I’m very thankful for the following things:

• My absolutely KILLER local and international clientele. I find it extremely rewarding working with you. We work hard when we’re together, but the friendship that is fostered along the way is priceless – not to mention the incessant laughter that ensures a lasting connection. Thank you for trusting me to help you find your sense of style, and above all for making it a fun process.
• Launching YLF’s new look in September and hitting over a million page views a month.
• Attending New York Fashion Week twice this year and sitting front row at the Tibi Show.
• Comfortable boots and flat oxfords – especially at Fashion Week.
• Our incomparable and fabulous readership whose intelligence, generosity, wit and infinite wisdom knows no bounds. You ROCK.
• All the veteran forum members, who continue to give so much of their own precious time to help and support others.
• My better half Greg. You are the reason we started a very small blog several years ago. I can scarcely believe we now have a bustling community. You continue to inspire me in more ways than you know.
• Last but not least, Yorkshire Terriers Rosie and Jasmine for being our little angels from heaven. Your loyal companionship when I write my blog posts is a constant source of therapeutic comfort. And you always perk me up when anything gets me down.

We’ve had a bitterly cold couple of days in Seattle, with temperatures well below freezing. Our first Snow Day this season! When the storm is gone and the sun comes out, the whole family likes to bundle up and play outside. So that’s what we did and our red and yellow style was (accidentally!) matchy-matchy all round.

I wore tights under faded skinnies tucked into weather-proof 20 eyelet Dr. Marten boots. I hauled out my warmest knitwear and undergarments, threw on a warm wool scarf, metallic gold puffer coat, gloves and red animal print newsboy hat. Rosie and Jasmine wore chunky red turtleneck jumpers over little grey sweatshirts with yellow harnesses. The girls had fun and so did we.

We at YLF wish you a very happy and peaceful Thanksgiving Weekend.

You are on Team Dressy if you prefer dressier, more formal ensembles over casual outfits with a more relaxed vibe. You jump at the chance to dress up whenever the opportunity arises.

You are on Team Casual if you are happiest and most comfortable in casual ensembles. Perhaps dressing for formal occasions is just not your thing.

Just to be clear, Team Dressy is not necessarily more stylish than Team Casual. Casual clothing can be fabulous. Think of Jennifer Aniston’s simple, yet pulled together relaxed looks. They are inspirational to those who aspire to great casual style.

I am Team Dressy. Despite my love of faded denim, even my casual outfits err on the side of dressy. I adore dressing up, wearing formal clothes and luxurious fabrications. Dressy clothing makes my heart sing! For me, daily dressing is more fun when I can wear smarter clothing, footwear and accessories. I am very comfortable in dressy attire.

Over to you. Are you Team Dressy or Team Casual? And just because it’s Thanksgiving tomorrow, JUST THIS ONCE you can bat for both Teams if you’d like. Let’s hear it.

Fabulous Maria from Colour Me Happy recently went to a Colour Conference in Oregon. There incoming president of the Color Marketing Group Mark Woodman posed an interesting question: What is the colour of fun? He added that the colour of fun is NEVER beige.

As someone who adores vibrantly bright colours, I am so with Mr. Woodman. It doesn’t matter how saturated, sparkly or iridescent the colour beige, for me it cannot conjure up feelings of fun. Even dull colours like black and grey seem more fun than any shade of beige. Why is that? Is it because I perceive beige to be lifeless?

In January I wrote a post on what makes a colour happy. I believe a happy colour is a personal thing, a colour that makes YOU feel happy. For some its bright colours like yellow, red and green, for others its pastels, jewel tones, neutrals or muted hues. And for some it might even be beige!

How do you feel about the colour beige and could it ever be the colour of fun for you?

My previous guidelines for smart casual dressing suggested that a pair of dark denim jeans (either boot cut, trouser, straight or skinny) are best because they look dressier than faded and distressed denim. Well, my recent passion for faded denim is challenging my own guidelines.

When I work with clients my outfits are either creative business casual or smart casual. Over the last six months I’ve been bored with dark denim and reach for my faded washes whenever I wear jeans. So I’ve been combining smart casual ensembles with faded denim instead of dark denim, but when I do I take care to combine them with particularly polished pieces AND heels to offset the casual flavour of the faded denim.

On the right is an outfit I’ve worn out at night and on half day shopping trips with clients (the heels of the booties are a little too high for them to be 8-hour shoes). It’s quite a ruffle-y outfit! My relationship with ruffles is no longer a passionate love affair, but we still thoroughly enjoy each other’s company from time to time.

I matched the faded jodhpur jeans with a black dolman sleeve sweater. I topped it off with a tailored Victoriana wool jacket (that I scored at this year’s Nordstrom Anniversary Sale), grey suede booties and my Valentino.  I chose my white and black specs because the white against my face softens the harshness of the black and grey tops.

I would definitely look dressier and less edgy if I swapped out the faded denim jodhpur jeans for dark denim straight leg or skinny jeans. I would not wear this outfit if I felt the client or situation demanded a more formal look, but for some of my work settings the faded jeans are appropriate as long as I keep the rest of the outfit polished and tailored. It might be an acquired taste but I enjoy the contrast that is created between dressy pieces and faded denim.