Today’s blog post is extra special because it comes all the way from Australia! Fabulous forum member Theresa lives in Queensland and is a stay at home Mum to two gorgeous little girls. Theresa recently organized a YLF gathering in Brisbane and this is how the day went down. I have to say, Greg and I are honoured to have such an amazing bunch of sassy, fun-loving and loyal YLF readers Down Under. Love YLF’s global spirit.

Regular visitors to the YLF Forum will know there is a small, but loyal and passionate Australian following. Unable to bear reading about all the fun to be had at a YLF meet (and not being a nation to willingly be outdone by the US or UK!), plans were soon underway for a meet of our very own. So on Saturday, October 9th 2010, the city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia played host to the Inaugural Australian YLF Meet! The day was very overcast, rainy and windy – unusual weather for Queensland at this time of year. But that didn’t dampen any spirits!

The day started early for Tam (yublocka) & I, who flew into Brisbane, arriving within half an hour of each other. I was feeling bland at this point because I had forgotten the scarf I had intended to wear. However it was soon forgotten as Tam was waiting in arrivals! We had no problem spotting each other – Tam looked amazing in her purple and red ensemble with stirrup leggings. We were met at the airport by Karen (Puffenstuff) who so very generously played chauffeur for the morning and is much more petite in real life, but just as gorgeous – her red hair was complemented perfectly by her scarf, dress and leggings.

Our first stop was a visit to the Gallery of Modern Art to see the Valentino Retrospective Exhibition. After spending the morning oohing and aahing over some of the most glorious, and famous (think Cate Blanchett, Julia Roberts, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly…) gowns we had ever seen and deciding we could never look at clothing the same way again, it was time to head to the Queen Street Mall to meet the rest of the girls.

Shortly after 11am, Tam, Karen and I met Tara and Sharon. Again, we had no trouble recognizing each other and shared some very excited “OMG it’s SO good to meet you’s!”  before heading into a cafe to prepare for the busy afternoon. I fell in love with Tara’s red jeans under her black & white dress, and Sharon’s gorgeous purple coat and polka dot blouse.

After an hour or so of eating, drinking and much festive chatting, we set off down the Mall. The first store we visited was Valleygirl. Here, Tara and I became “Vest Twins”! After spotting Tara trying on this vest, I couldn’t help myself and soon fell in love with it too. With our first purchases of the day under our belt, we headed to Ladies Wear in Myer where Super Saturday Sales were taking place.

Shortly after arriving at Myer, Kirstie (Katiepea) arrived after her morning at work. Again, there were many excited squeals of delight at finally getting to meet each other! Kirstie was wearing a lovely new purple top with black skinnies, and courtesy of some gorgeous new heels, was taller than I expected.

For the next couple of hours, we browsed and tried on an enormous amount of clothing (OK, maybe it was just me who tried on an enormous amount, but we all ventured into the change rooms at least once!). We did find ourselves split into two groups for a little while here, but for some reason kept running into each other at the change rooms! We were all commenting on how particular we had become regarding fit, courtesy of YLF, and had no problem parting with the items that weren’t perfect.

At the end of this time Karen and Tam left with a dress each, Tara a dress and a pair of shoes, and myself with a top. Karen and Tara had the bargains of the day, with Karen’s dress being reduced to the value of a Gift Card she had received, and Tara receiving 75% off a truly magnificent pair of booties that were the last pair left and just happened to fit her perfectly despite not being her usual size!

Sadly, at this time we had to say goodbye to Tara, who was continuing on her Queensland holiday. After a round of farewells, it was back to the shops for the rest of us. Quite often throughout the day we would comment on how particular items struck us as being perfectly suited to one of our fellow forum members’ style!

During this shopping session, Karen and I took advantage of a little store selling $5 scarves, and I scored a pair of much wanted red, low-heeled shoes. I must admit I was quite in awe of the variety of stores – it was quite a change to my local shopping options! By this time, we all needed some fresh air, so we found a lovely outdoor café, and decided cake was the order of the day. I took this opportunity to review my shopping list and happily cross off several items that I had been looking for and found!

As we finished our divine sweets we chatted like old friends who had known each other forever. It was now almost time for Tam and I to head to the airport to catch our flights home. But not before we visited one last shoe store where I bought a fabulous pair of brown cage wedges.

After a final round of farewells, with talk of planning our next meet in Melbourne (Tam’s home town), in Winter, it was time for us all to head our separate ways. The last stop of the day was the airport bar, where Tam and I shared one last drink, before heading in opposite directions home, after a truly fantastic day.

We would like to take this opportunity to say an enormous Thank You, to Angie and Greg – without you two, we would never have had the opportunity to spend this day together and it was a day we will always treasure.

Surprisingly at age 40, I’ve become a huge fan of faded and distressed denim. Not torn, frayed or ripped denim, but lighter washes with lots of fading. Here’s why:

• It’s “new”. Faded denim refreshes my existing wardrobe making it look and feel different. Ever since I bought my cropped faded Diesel denim jacket (see it here), my dark wash denim jacket has been hibernating.
• It dresses down an item of clothing like nobody’s business. I love wearing a faded denim jacket or shirt with a formal dress, glitzy skirt, pearls or dressy boots and bags because of the sharp contrast created by this sort of combination.
• It lightens up my outfit. I wear lots of black and charcoal grey tops in cold weather. Pairing them with light wash or faded jeans creates more contrast and a lighter feel than unfaded dark wash denim. My faded Gap Legging Jeans are favourites in this regard.

Obviously, I still like and wear my dark wash jeans when I need a smarter look. But at the moment I’m not grabbing them as much as I used to. Am I alone in feeling this way about faded and distressed denim? Are you still a dark denim fan at heart?

A leather jacket or leather item made my seasonal must haves list for Autumn and Winter 2010 (pleather instead of leather is fab too). Leather jackets are more predictable, but how about a pair of leather baggy shorts, pants or a skirt? You may have noticed that these items are trending quite strongly this season.

I vote yay. I’d wear the right pair of leather pants in a heartbeat. I’d probably also wear a leather skirt but am past my prime for baggy leather short shorts, although I like the look on others. For my style, the key is keeping the rest of the outfit very soft. In other words, match leather bottoms with either a pretty blouse or fine gauge item of knitwear. The stiffness of the leather contrasts well with the drape of a soft top.

So I like the edge of leather bottoms when paired with feminine pieces. How do you vote?

A few months ago I asked our forum members what is YLF’s most important rule? In came 58 responses and I so enjoyed reading them. Here are some of the answers: “always be kind”, “sport perfect pant lengths”, “keep an open mind with fashion”, “make it your own”, “leave no retail stone unturned”, “keep experimenting”  and “’dress the body and for the lifestyle you have now because you are FABULOUS’’.

These are all important guidelines and I am proud  to associate them with YLF. But as I mentioned in this morning’s post, there is really only one hard and fast rule and a handful of forum members guessed it correctly: you must have fun with fashion.

At the end of the day, the reason we take an interest in expressing ourselves through our personal style is because the process AND the end results are fun. Life is too short not to have fun with what you wear – after all, you have to clothe your body every day.

Are you having fun with fashion, or are you breaking the rule? What gets in the way of having fun with fashion and style?