A smile is not a tangible item but it’s certainly something that you wear. It costs nothing to give, but offers much in return.

When your smile is sincere, people smile back. The infectious act automatically makes you friendly, approachable and attractive. Obviously there are times when you don’t want to smile because you’re focused, serious, stressed or feeling blue. And that’s okay. A fake smile does not fly. It’s got to be from the heart.

Sometimes I am so enamored by a person’s smile that the rest of their style falls by the wayside. That’s pretty powerful. I like to smile (my prominent laughter lines are proof of that), and I like smiley people. Do you think that smiling increases your style quotient?

Every Mother’s Day I like to dedicate a post to the Mothers on YLF, our own Mothers and in particular my late Mum who passed away nine years ago.

My Mum loved clothing, footwear, handbags, cosmetics and expensive jewelry. Needless to say she enjoyed shopping and I adored shopping with her. She was also a superb seamstress (a skill she did not pass on to her daughter) and occasionally made clothes for herself and for me. As much as I enjoyed shopping with Mum, it was the prospect of getting something new that she had sewn especially for me that delighted me the most when I was a little girl.

Often my Mum would sew herself an outfit and make the appropriate childlike version for me in the same fabric. That way we would have matching ensembles and look like twins. At that age I absolutely loved looking like my Mum and I felt like royalty wearing grown-up looking clothes. We’d confidently parade around in public holding hands in our twin outfits, which for me was the height of style. It’s a little cheesy I know, but I guess this was acceptable fashion in the 60’s and 70’s, and it certainly strengthened our mother-daughter bond.

Thank you Mum for making us matching outfits. They are my fondest fashion-related childhood memories and I was prouder than proud to mimic your look. You are still amongst the most impeccably groomed and stylish people I know. I wish you were here to share your thoughts on fashion and style, because there is still so much I could learn from your wise and wonderful self. I love and miss you more than you know and think about you every day. Know that your presence is with us on YLF because your style is alive in me.

Over to you ladies. Do you have fun fashion and style moments with your Mothers and daughters? I’d love to hear about them.

One of our twin outfits in 1976 when I was 6 years old. We’re wearing matching maxi dresses, a style I would not wear today, but I remember feeling fabulous at the time. We at YLF wish you a very happy Mother’s Day.

I don’t stop wearing black clothing, footwear and accessories in warm weather, but I do like to wear these items in different ways so that I feel seasonally refreshed. It’s all about adding enough contrasting white and/or colour to the ensemble to make it feel more Summery:

• Match black tops and jackets with white jeans, a white skirt or clamdiggers.
• Freshen up a look with a white camisole under a black top.
• Add a white or colourful jacket, handbag or shoes to a black top worn over blue jeans, a denim skirt or slacks.
• Throw a bright contrasting belt over a black top or frock to liven up the look.
• Combine black bottoms with a white or colourful top and metallic, bright or grey shoes.
• Combine black flats with white jeans, Summery dresses/skirts and black leggings.
• Complement black clothing items with bold (non-black) necklaces, earrings, cuffs, specs or watches. This could mean anything from a chunky string of pearly beads and red earrings, to an earthy chestnut brown necklace, green watch and Lucite bracelet.

Some people are happy to sport black in dark, monochromatic and textured ways in warm weather, but that feels too Autumn and Winter for me. Theoretically, whites and brights also reflect more light and are therefore cooler under direct sunlight. How do you feel about wearing black when temperatures soar?

Today’s blog post is written by long time YLF supporter, forum member and good friend Eva, who hails from Hawaii but lives in Seattle. I asked our stylish and pretty modern-classic Eva and her dancing doggie Iniki to put these puddle stompers through their paces and this is what they thought. Take it away ladies…

Coming back from vacation in Hawaii, what did I have to look forward to? Cold weather, rain and work. But wait, my Plueys rain boots arrived while I was away. Yeah! Something to look forward to.

I’m sure Angie was thinking, who better to road test the Plueys than Eva, who lives in Seattle and has 3 dogs to walk, rain or shine. I was delighted to help out. I had been looking for rain boots since my brand new, stylish and comfy Sperry Top-Sider wedge rubber boots cracked and leaked. I jumped on Plueys web page and right on the front page is the silhouette of a woman walking her dog who looked so stylish in her rain boots. I was sold.

As soon as I got home I pulled them out of the package and tried them on. The perfect size. Love the purple sugar plum flowers. I was hoping for rain because I was going to wear them rain or shine (shine in April in Seattle?).

If you do a price search you’ll find that Plueys ($60), are in the middle of the price range for rain or rubber boots. Still, this does seem pricey. My hubby laughs because he worked on a ranch and says, “Can’t you just paint $15 dairy boots to get the same effect?” Or better yet, why couldn’t he come up with the idea?

On my first day in the rain, holding my dog’s leash stretched out as she ventured into soggy grass, I remembered: “Oh! I can slosh in the puddles with her.” No problem with walking through puddles to follow my pup in search of the perfect scent. They fit over skinnies and they look great with skirts. They also have a one inch heel and adjustable calf strap, which makes them even more practical and comfortable. I am now on the lookout for a purple umbrella to match my Plueys. Walking the dogs at six in the morning, they are often the most stylish article of clothing I have on!

One last note on my Sperry Top Siders: I returned them to Sperry who exchanged them with no problem. Now I have two pairs of super cool rain boots for any occasion.

Plueys has a special discount offer for YLF readers. Enter “youlookfab” as the coupon code at checkout and you’ll get a 10% discount (one use per customer only). The offer is valid until August 4, 2009.