Short (calf or ankle length), “tough-looking” boots are back in style. A bit of biker buckle, a sturdy low heel, a bulky toe and playful top stitching makes for a fab, casual and weatherproof Winter look. They are cute under wider jeans, over skinnies, with casual knitwear and with the odd skirt or dress. Their laid-back and untailored appeal is a nice alternative to fashion sneakers and Converse. I had a brown pair in the early 90’s that I wore with Levi 501’s and, you guessed it, a button down shirt.

Short rugged boots seem more mainstream and wearable than the classic Doc Marten because the design detail varies and you can choose a more refined style. I think the look is cool and I’d wear them again in an instant. Are they your cup of tea?

It’s great to see a wide range of footwear product in store – from the super pointy-toed stiletto to these boots. As much as I like pretty, dainty and feminine things, I fancy the look of boyish, hard-core looking items too. I’m thoroughly enjoying this fashion revival and suspect that it will be around for a while.

Update: The competition is now closed. Thank you for your entries. We will announce the winner after Thanksgiving.

Update 2: Winner announced!

As many of you know, TJX (the company that owns the T. J. Maxx and Marshalls off-price retail chains) recently invited YLF and several other fashion blogs to an event at their headquarters in Boston, MA.

We had a wonderful time and learned a lot about the company’s approach to retailing. But before telling all, we thought we would have some fun with a competition. The person who gives us the best and most complete set of answers to the following five questions will win a $250 gift voucher for T. J. Maxx and Marshalls stores.

1. How many T. J. Maxx and Marshalls stores are there in the USA?
2. Does T. J. Maxx carry same-season merchandise, or do they offer low prices by selling items from the last season?
3. What percentage of the T. J. Maxx merchandise is irregular?
4. Does T. J. Maxx offer couture brands?
5. What are the differences between T. J. Maxx and Marshalls?

We will use one final question to break any ties: TJX is passionate about keeping costs low, but they are also on a drive to improve the shopping experience in their stores. What suggestions do you have for them in this regard?

Please submit your answers as a comment to this blog post (one per person). Earlier answers to the tie-breaker question will get more credit for their ideas. The competition will close at midnight on Monday 24 November (Pacific Standard Time).

Today’s post on the recent YLF gathering in Boston was written by Massachusetts born and bred Nicole. A stylish East Coast lass, long time YLF supporter and fabulous forum member.

The YLF Boston Tea Party was a huge success!  Tanya was gracious enough to be the coordinator for this event.  She chose a wonderful restaurant, called “Stephanies” on Newbury Street in the heart of Boston’s shopping district.   We met on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, and greeted each other with hugs and kisses.  Strangers would never have guessed most of us were meeting for the first time.

Shiny, CarmenOhio, GreenGlove, Kellee, Tanya, Nicole and Shiny’s friend (click images to zoom in)

Dressing for the weather on a blustery November day in Boston can be tricky, but the Boston Tea Party Attendees rose to the occasion.  It was brought to our attention immediately that all eight of us were wearing boots.   The cold weather had us donning our warm jackets, a few hats and gloves and lots of colorful scarves.  The style quotient on Newbury Street runs from sub-casual to smart casual—and needless to say, we all fell into the smart casual realm.

Boots and bags (click images to zoom in)

Compliments of purses, coats, scarves and boots were shared, and I do believe we were drawing quite a bit of attention with how FABULOUS we all looked!  Once our table was ready, we wove our way through the crowded restaurant and the kibitzing began.  Surprisingly enough, our conversations were not centered around fashion.  We talked about our pets, our jobs, our families, where we lived in relation to downtown Boston, how much YLF has inspired us and how grateful we are that the members of our forum are so kind, nurturing and supportive.  There were no lulls in the conversation, no awkward silences—our topics of discussion were as varied and plentiful as the forthcoming food and drink!

We placed our brunch orders, which started with a fruit salad plate, ordered teas and coffees (and I think I saw a mimosa at the end of the table) and took lots of photos.  Angie has this adorable habit of declaring every photo she shoots as “BEAUTIFUL”.  I wonder if that is how models feel when their photographers are cheering them on.

After our brunch, we walked as a group to Angie’s hotel.  She took a few “must have” photos, and we all waited in the lobby while she returned her large camera to her room.  At this point, Anne and Shiny’s VFBF, Jane had to depart so we bid them farewell.  The remaining group bee-lined our way to H&M.  Greenglove bought a beautiful teal wool coat and a gold scarf that got high ratings from Angie.  Kellee bought a very pretty scarf, that the group confirmed was a good color for her.  Shiny and I tried on some hats, and Tanya and Angie browsed and offered valued opinions on color, style and quality.  We then made our way further down Newbury Street and hit a funky second hand store.  Tanya admitted to never having bought anything second hand, she was eyeing a pair of animal print wedges, but alas, they were too small.  Shiny tried on a fur hat—but decided it was too big for her small frame.

Unfortunately, at this point, my husband and kids arrived to whisk me away from all the fun and excitement.  Angie and Tanya were able to meet my family briefly.  My son was “hiding” but my daughter was chuffed to meet my online friends.  She asked me all kinds of questions about my “fashion friends” on the drive home.  Since my husband was double parked, I didn’t get a chance to say good bye to Shiny, Greenglove and Kellee, who had gone to the second floor of the consignment shop to look at designer dresses.

On a personal note, I’d like to thank Shiny for opening her home to me, and Tanya for making the plans and reservations.  I’d like to apologize to Kellee, Jean and Shiny for not saying goodbye.  Finally, I’d like to thank you, Angie.  Your ability to engage people has set a chain reaction in people’s lives.  The confidence you help people find in themselves creates friendships and interactions that may never have occurred.  You are a beautiful person (inside and out) and I am blessed to be part of your life.  I’d also like to thank Greg for making the forum possible, but also for sharing you with us today.

If anyone ever has the chance to meet up with YLF members, I highly recommend it.  As a matter of fact, I think it should be on everyone’s “bucket” list.  We hear all kinds of horror stories about online meetings, but we don’t hear enough about the positive encounters—which far outnumber the negative ones.  I know we have to be careful in this day and age, but we have to be careful with everyone we meet—not just internet friends.  So, to everyone who puts themselves out there, opens their hearts and minds, offers help and guidance and is willing to make this world a more fabulous place—I thank you!

Our downtown Macy’s store has a new “Brow Bar” that’s run by Benefit Cosmetics. A friend who was impressed with their service in California mentioned that her eyebrows had never looked better. I believe that eyebrow maintenance is important so I promptly went down to check it out.

You can drop by without an appointment and have your brows gorgeously groomed for $20 (either tweezed or waxed). The painless process took 15 minutes. The cosmetics consultant did a super job with the actual tweezing and shaping of my brows. At her encouragement I purchased the two Benefit products that she had demonstrated:

1. Brow Shaping Kit – a sweet little box that comes with eyebrow wax to keep your brow hairs in place,  brow shadow to fill in the sparse areas, and the tiniest tweezers for plucking.
2. Brow Lifting Pencil – a whitish pencil that resembles eye-shadow. The idea is to apply the pencil under the arch of your brow and blend. This gives the illusion that the brow has been physically “lifted” (the assumption being that lifted brows equal younger looking eyes).

I was in a rush and the light at Macy’s wasn’t perfect, so it was hard to see the full effect of the brow shadow, wax and lifting pencil until I got home. After having a closer look at the results I think that the products are good, but not my cup of tea.

• The brow lifting pencil is very effective. Too effective actually. I have naturally arched brows at the moment so I looked like Doctor Spock after the shadow enhancement. I won’t be using this product for now, but I’ll know what to do if I need to “lift” my brows.
• The brow wax and powder offers a perfect brow finish for an evening event, but it’s too much for daytime. I’m sticking to my Anastasia eye brow pencil for daily use because the finish is more natural (your brow hairs are still visible after application which is not the case with powder).

Even though I won’t be using these products regularly, the Benefit Bar is a worthwhile stop the next time you are in Macy’s. It’s quick, clean and convenient.