You might have noticed that we created a YLF fan page on Facebook. With so many people using Facebook, we thought some of you might like to bring YLF into your Facebook world. A few people have already found the panel at the bottom of every YLF page and have signed up as fans. Thank you!

Note that your accounts on YLF and Facebook will still be completely independent. We think this is the way it should be, since a lot of people would like to do general social networking on Facebook, and use YLF as their “style social network”.

If you do become a fan, then your Facebook friends will see this in your Facebook profile. Your home page in Facebook will also show a little notification each time there is a post on YLF.

We would love to have you as a fan, but if you would like to keep your participation on YLF completely private from your friends on Facebook, then feel free not to do so. We won’t be offended! We know that some people may be worried about their Facebook and YLF worlds colliding.

Columbus Day brings with it the opportunity to save. Autumn collections are on sale virtually everywhere at the moment as retailers make space on their floors for holiday collections, resort wear and real Winter merchandise.

Here are a few specific ideas on how you can save in style this week:

• Bluefly is taking an extra 15% off all sweaters (today only). If you’re after designer cashmere at a good price, this is the first place to look.
• Express is offering 30% off all jeans and outerwear this weekend. There is an extra $15 coupon for any purchase over $60. Look for layering T’s, boyfriend jackets and new look cardigans. Good for Mum on the go.
• If you’re not sick of ruffles, my favourite Ann Taylor sale item right now is this cashmere ruffle top at 40% off.
• Two footwear bargains at Nordstrom: robust Franco Sarto “Moto” boots and hip Cole Haan “Air Penny” loafers. I’ve had both on my feet and they are comfy too.
• The Macy’s Columbus Day Sale is always great. Head straight for the coat and dress areas.
• The Budget Fashionista is giving away one $500 shopping spree at TJ Maxx every week during October.

Happy bargain hunting.

I’ve been in the international fashion game for 17 years and there is still so much about the industry that I want to know and experience. People I want to meet. Places I want to see. Jobs I want to do. Events I want to attend. Head Offices I want to crash. Secrets I want to know. Clothes I want to wear, and accessories I want to sport.

In some instances I want to be me in the flesh living my fashion fantasies. But in other instances, I’d prefer to be a discreet fly on the wall. So in no particular order, here we go:

• I’d like to be a front row guest at a Chanel fashion show in Paris. Afterwards I’d meet up with Karl Lagerfeld who’d take me into the House of Chanel and graciously offer up a vintage Chanel gown that I’d wear to the Oscars the following year.
• I want to own this Valentino handbag.
• I’d love to meet Kate Moss, who after Twiggy is my favourite model. Her fearlessly fabulous style, interesting look, flair for design and controversial behavior has kept her in the modeling game longer than any other fashion model. Impressive.
• When I was a fashion buyer, I started off by buying baby wear for the age group 0 to 2 years. I did that for years and absolutely loved it. I regard it as one of the happiest times in my fashion career. At the time, I said that I wanted to be a baby wear buyer for the Gap. And guess what – part of me still does. And this brings me to my next fantasy.
• I’d love to spend a month as a fly on Mickey Drexler’s office wall. He’s currently the chairman and CEO of the J.Crew Group but he’s probably better known for his incredible legacy at the Gap. He goes down as one of the most influential and brilliant merchants the rag trade has ever seen. To get a peek into his work life would be sublime.
• I’d love to have tea with Vera Wang. She embodies a sense of trendy avant-garde grace and elegance that is second to none. And she’s 60! A true style inspiration and role model.
• I desperately want to know how trends really get started. How do all the haute couture and prêt a porter collections end up showcasing so many of the same trends in one season. It’s uncanny. Much of the direction is set at Premier Vision and other trade shows, but I wonder whether they attend some other secret conference where they all agree that skinnies, shoulder pads and neon pink is coming back into fashion. I’d love to be a fly on a wall at this conference.
• Zara is one of the most successful retail chains in the world and they don’t even advertise. At all! They are able to design, produce and deliver their merchandise in 15 days when normal lead times on this are usually three months. I am a huge fan of their product and business model. After magically learning Spanish, I’d love to spend a month with Zara’s fashion buyers and design team.

I’ve let you in on my fashion fantasies. Care to let me in on yours?

Earlier this year I wrote about shoe alterations. In the comments to that post, Lisa pointed out an option I had never considered before: shortening the heel.  Forum member Danja gave it a bash and the results were stellar. So I decided that I, too, would jump on the heel shortening bandwagon.

My favourite heel height is between one and two inches, but I have one pair of cream booties that measured more than three and a quarter inches, making them a mere 2-hour shoe. With a cushioning foot bed, sufficient support and a very stable stacked heel, they were comfortable in every other respect. If it weren’t for the towering heel height, we’d have been be a match made in heaven.

I took the two year old lovelies to Nordstrom’s footwear department, where I have all my shoes and handbags fixed and spruced up. I couldn’t have the heels cut down to two inches without distorting the entire shape of the shoe. A third of an inch was the most they could do. Not quite the reduction that I had hoped for, but I decided to take what I could get.

I was worried that the shoes would feel odd and imbalanced after the heels were trimmed, but they actually felt really good once I’d put them through their paces. The front of the shoe has lifted ever so slightly, but the balls of my feet are much relieved as a result of a less steep arch. Overall, this was a worthwhile exercise for $18 and I’ll definitely consider doing it again. I now have “new” 4-hour shoes. Fabulous.