The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is drawing to a close (prices go back up on the 2nd of August). For me it has been a very busy three and half weeks. I started off by preselecting merchandise for myself and then preselected items with several clients – both locally and further afield. I also had loads of fun preselecting with sister-in-law Keri, who visited from London. She was absolutely thrilled with her purchases and modeled them for us.

Hours after the sale commenced at midnight on 16 July we provided a list of my top picks to help you navigate the sale. The bargain hunt was on, both online and in stores, and the forum was immediately a hive of activity. Once their purchases were made, members were excited to show them off and receive feedback on what to keep and what to return.

It’s been a treat to see NAS items modeled on the forum. Thanks to everyone for sharing your loot with us. You make stunning models and I adore the stuff you got! We have showcased some examples at the end of this post, but there are many more in the forum.

Unfortunately, there were also disappointed sale shoppers this year. Nordstrom under supplied several sale items and ran out of stock fast. Some of the items were gone in the middle of preselections and never made it to the first day of the sale. Even some preselected sale orders went unfulfilled. That’s the worst because avoiding this situation is the reason you preselected in the first place. However, NAS shoppers return heavily so some items came back into stock during the course of the sale.

For the most part it was a great sale with many happy clients and forum members. I too managed to find a number of superb pieces that you’ll probably see in blog posts over the next few months.

Did you shop the NAS and find fab pieces? I’d love to hear about your purchases. I’m sorry if you were one of the unlucky and disappointed shoppers. I hope the sale is better to you next year.

• A — Miss Sixty Faux Washed Leather Motorcycle Jacket
• B — Bobeau Tiered Flyaway Cardigan
• C — KUT from the Kloth Skinny Stretch Jeans
• D — Hinge Crop Tweed Jacket
• E — Frye ‘Jane’ Tall Boot
• F — Caslon Ruffle Front Jacket
• G — Naughty Monkey ‘Rock Out’ Bootie

• H — Bellatrix Printed Silk Chiffon Tunic
• I — Aquatalia Jack Boots (not Nordstrom Anniversary Sale)
• J — Halogen® Crop Collarless Jacket
• K — Robbi & Nikki Stripe Oversize Cardigan

• L — Halogen Merino Wool Boyfriend Cardigan
• M — London Fog Iridescent Double Breasted Trench
• N — UGG Australia ‘Abilene’ Flat Boot
• O — Miss Sixty Military Pea Coat

People often use the contact form to inquire about engaging me as a fashion stylist. In some cases the people live in or near Seattle and we have subsequently worked together. In other cases people have traveled to Seattle to work with me, or we have used email and the telephone to work together remotely. And in a couple of cases I have traveled to clients.

In many cases, however, when a client lives far away it doesn’t work out. It is expensive to travel, and sometimes the situation really does warrant face to face interaction to be truly successful.

This got us to thinking that it might be useful to set up a directory of fashion stylists on YLF. As a starting point we’d like to hear from the fashion stylists out there. Please respond in the comments (or using the contact form) and let us know what you do and where you are based. If you have a website, feel free to link to it in your comment. Also, if you’ve worked with a fashion stylist and were happy with their service, feel free to recommend them below.

And if you have ideas on how to connect stylists to clients, we’d love to hear them.

I’ve written several posts on closet editing. Why it’s fab and why fewer wardrobe options are a good idea. Getting into the habit of regular closet editing is a very worthwhile exercise.

Following guidelines to edit a closet seems like a simple task. The tricky part is deciding to let things go. Sometimes it is obvious: the item is unflattering, it is uncomfortable, it doesn’t fit, it is the wrong colour or the wrong size, or you simply can’t stand it.

The decision gets harder when it was an expensive item, when you know it’s wrong for you but you wear it anyway, when it might fit again once you’ve lost or gained weight, or when it’s a closet orphan that is still in great condition. The initial reaction in these situations is often “I’ll just keep it anyway”, especially if you find it hard to be ruthless and typically hang on to stuff longer than you should. This is not a good solution. The operative word here is “edit” and that means ending up with fewer closet items at the end of the process.

There is a simple way to overcome this problem: If you are in any way unsure about parting ways with an item, create a hidden holding zone. Pile up the stuff that is questionable and store it away from your closet and out of sight. Give yourself 6 months to gauge whether you miss any of the items. If you do, welcome them back into your wardrobe. But if you don’t, then pass them on permanently.

It is very important that your holding zone is hidden. You are testing what it feels like to let go of the items. There is no use in holding them somewhere close by where you will see them and they won’t get a fair chance to disappear from your life. A box in the garage, attic or basement is what most people choose.

This strategy has been an absolute saving grace when I edit closets for clients. Do you create hidden holding zones, or do you have another strategy for questionable wardrobe items? Has this strategy worked for you in the past? Do you generally find it hard to let go of closet items? If you do, I’m paying a visit.

Almost 2 weeks ago my hair stylist, who I adore, cut my pixie do shorter than usual. This was not planned. It just sort of happened. I left the hair salon feeling a little like a Star Trek Vulcan, my fringe a good inch inch shorter than the last bang trim. That’s a short fringe on my already super short hair and I wasn’t used to it.

I walked in the door and to my amazement Greg loved the super short crop because it was more edgy and mod-looking than usual. Although I also liked the shorter do, I didn’t feel it was as attractive as when my hair is a tad longer in the same style. It’s softer and less severe that way.

Surprisingly, the severity of the extra short fringe started growing on me over the next couple of days. Now it’s almost two weeks later and I love the shorter layers now that they have grown a bit and relaxed into shape.

Thank goodness hair grows and bless Greg for being complimentary straight off the bat. Positive feedback and two weeks grace did the trick. Sound familiar?