Today will be a slow day at YLF. After the July 4 independence day celebrations yesterday, today is a public holiday in the US. For those of you who do make it to the site, it is once again time to pick sides…

Most of us wear both heels and flats — heels for dressier occasions and flats for more casual settings — but I’m asking you to pick a side anyway.

I don’t ever wear heels higher than three inches and platform shoes are out of the question unless I don’t have to move at all. Three inch heels are reserved for “sitting occasions” only and for the rest of the time I’m in flats or low heels (one to two inches). As much as I adore wearing low heels and the occasional three incher, I’m most comfortable in flat boots and ballet flats.

So without a doubt I’m Team Flats. We might not have the much sought after long leg line, but we’ll outrun Team Heels for sure.

Are you Team Heels or Team flats? Tell us why you chose that team and no batting for both sides. Sorry!

I know these items as “sleeveless denim jackets” because in English-English a vest is an item of underwear. But in the US these rugged little darlings are called denim vests. So be it! I just became more American.

Denim vests are extremely versatile because they function like denim jackets sans the sleeves. Their ventilating advantage is a great idea if you’re after the visual effect of an extra layer without quite as much warmth. We often leave off our jackets in Summer because it’s too hot. But by leaving off our jackets our outfits can lack the edge or arty interest that the right jacket provides. A denim vest is one solution.

I like denim vests best in stonewashed blues because that’s when they look the most rugged. But they are lovely in white and black denim too. Wear them over dresses and with breezy skirts, with white or black jeans, clamdiggers or shorts, harem pants, cargos, pencil skirts – you name it. Every gal needs a denim jacket or denim vest. The item has the genius ability to dress down just about anything and add the perfect cool vibe. Love the look over a sleeveless top or dress too.

Forum members Greenglove, Chewyspaghetti, Louise, Tanya and cciele rock their denim vest outfits in this thread. Very, very fab.

My wonderful friend Lori, who lives in hot Los Gatos, CA, bought the hinge denim vest on sale from Nordstrom when we went shopping together a few weeks ago. She looked sensational in that vest!

Yesterday evening we sent out the email newsletter for June. We hope you enjoy it. If you aren’t signed up to receive it in email you can read it online. Here are the two previous newsletters too:

• April Newsletter
• May Newsletter

Remember that we don’t automatically add new YLF forum members to the newsletter email list, so please sign up manually if you would like to receive it in your inbox at the end of each month.

The way you sign up will depend on whether or not you already receive daily updates:

1. If you are not signed up for daily blog or store updates, then please go to this page to sign up for the newsletter. If you like, you can also sign up for daily updates at the same time.
2. If you are already signed up for daily updates, but would like to add the newsletter to your subscription, then please go to the footer of one of the daily update email messages we sent you and click on the link that says “Update your Profile”. This will take you to a page where you can manage your YLF subscriptions. Click the checkbox alongside “Monthly Newsletter”.

If you prefer RSS updates to email, then please read Greg’s post on all the feeds that are available from YLF.

Enjoy!

It’s so much easier to love a person’s style when they wear items that you can picture yourself wearing. Things get trickier when you see well dressed people wear items that you wouldn’t wear. Yet they wear them perfectly because it’s THEIR personal style.

When a person has a dress sense that is flattering, well executed, individualistic and “effortless” – they have great style no matter whether its trendy, arty, bohemian, romantic, bombshell, sporty, earthy, vintage, classic, spunky or edgy. When an outfit is perfectly styled and the wearer is confident, it’s a style I can appreciate.

I haven’t always been able to do this though. It is an ability that I was forced to develop because of my line of work.

As a ladieswear buyer you often buy in for an area of the retail store that you wouldn’t shop yourself. For example, in my early 30’s I was a specialist buyer for both junior fashion, where my target market was a decade younger than me, and high-end branded classic fashion, where it was quite a lot older. Not only were my customers in a different stage of life, but they also had a wide range of personal styles that were very different to mine. In order to be successful I needed to identify with the styles that excited them most.

In the beginning I did this by mapping my customers to people I knew. For example, when I was buying classic fashion I imagined what my mother would think of an item. Over time I needed this device less and less — my definition of stylish became more independent of my own personal style. Appreciating other personal styles was like a muscle that I developed.

And I am grateful that I did, because there is an almost infinite number of spectacular ways that people can express themselves with fashion. There is so much more wonderful style to appreciate than the small subset that works for me. And having an open mind to different styles also helps me to evolve my personal style.

These days I find myself wanting to help other people to develop their style appreciation muscle because without it they are only having a tiny fraction of the fun they could potentially have with fashion. Not only testing the boundaries of their own style, but also by enjoying things on others that they will never wear themselves.

When I started to write this post I immediately thought of Audi from geekthreads. She is theatrical and creative in a way that is very different to my own more clean cut style. My looks are about strong simple statements, where she loves to pattern mix and layer many interesting and complicated items of clothing and accessories. I never wear muted colours, but Audi wears both bright and muted colours in dramatic combinations. In my opinion Audi’s daring ensembles are amongst the most creative in the blogosphere. They are always flattering and perfectly executed, which is why I appreciate them and adore her style.

How well developed is your style appreciation muscle? Can you appreciate a style that is different to your own, or do you struggle with this? Can you like a bohemian style on someone else when you’re sporty? Can you love a modern classic look when you’re an edgy rocker gal? Can you appreciate well styled, fringe trends when you’re modern classic at heart?

For a quick flip through Audi’s fabulous style, look at her anniversary post. Her outfits are impressive and inspiring. Above all, I love that Audi has fun with fashion.