The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale ends at midnight on Sunday August 5, so make sure you’ve had a peek if you want to participate before prices go back up on Aug 6. We create a special area on the YLF forum where members showcase their potential purchases along with excellent discussion. It’s a good way to see items worn across a range of body types and age groups, as well as get detailed input about sizing and quality.

I usually do well at the NAS and this year was no exception. I bought ten items across a range of wardrobe items and price points. I put the lion’s share of my budget into footwear, threw in a wild card, prioritized the pretty, was careful with black, added earthy browns, and found another two smashing midi dresses with waist definition and sleeves. I’m so enamoured with the 1901 midi Shirtdress in navy, that I plan to duplicate it in either red or a light blue stripe.

All the Top Picks

Here are the full collections of my top picks of the sale. If you follow the links below you can read my notes for each item. Feel free to ask further questions in the comments section too.

• Footwear
• Jackets, Coats & Vests
• Knitwear & Tops
• Dresses
• Skirts, Pants and Jeans
• Accessories, Lounge & Active Wear

I hope you’ve had a good experience at this year’s Nordstrom Anniversary Sale.

I’ve yet to buy one, but every Summer when temperatures start rising above 77° F, I’m seriously tempted by kaftans as a breezy loungewear option and work-from-home outfit.

Bonus: These days kaftans aren’t just for lounging around the house or covering up your swimwear anymore either, they make excellent Summer dresses for all sorts of occasions.

The Guardian posits that “the kaftan is the new political fashion statement to make.”

Alyson from That’s Not My Age has tips on where to find a good kaftan. I love the asymmetrical lines of this kimono kaftan dress she links to in her blog post.

One of my favourite images is this photo of Grace Kelly with vintage camera, sporting a Pucci kaftan.

Need inspiration on how to wear one yourself? Then have a peek at these Pinterest images.

Fab Links from Our Members

B. Jones Style and KarenBritChick are two YouTube channels that put Shevia in a good mood and remind her of the joy of dressing. She is a long-time fan of their blogs as well.

Some of you may remember that we featured Beth of B. Jones Style in our Outstanding Outfit Bloggers series 5 years ago too.

Vildy also follows KarenBritChick and likes Emma Hill’s YouTube channel as well: “Even though I have most physical characteristics opposite to her and a completely opposite style, I love her style and her terrific personality.”

Meanwhile, Joy has been enjoying the videos by Danish fashionista Signe, like this one about how to look good in loungewear.

As I write this I’m wearing a skirt with an untucked top and flats that illustrates a few of the styling strategies I suggested earlier this week for lengthening the leg line when wearing flats. 

Here are the exact components of the outfit:

The skirt is a breezy and light Summer lace pencil that finishes below my knee like you see on the model. I often use strategy #6 — tuck or semi-tuck tops into bottoms — to lengthen the leg line in flats, but instead opted for strategy #10 by wearing a cropped untucked top. The shorter top raises the horizontal line of the hem which shortens the waist and thereby lengthens the leg line. This is especially noticeable since the top is high contrast against the skirt.

The boxy volume of the cropped top is tempered by the narrow silhouette of the pencil skirt which adds structure to the outfit.

I chose flat white sandals which are low contrast against my pale skin tone, thereby putting strategy #3 into action. The low contrast makes my foot look like it’s an extension of the leg thereby visually increasing its length without heels. My lower legs would look shorter if I wore dark sandals in this outfit. Bonus that the white sandals bookend my hair and pick up the colour of the white top and sunnies, which help create a cohesive statement.

Despite traditional guidelines of how to create a long lean line by wearing a column of colour with heels – I feel sufficiently long limbed wearing a knee-covering midi skirt with a high-contrast untucked top and flats when I manipulate the proportions of the outfit.

This poll was inspired by a couple of friends who never carry a handbag. This surprised me at first. I thought, how can you not want to carry a beautiful bag? Of course, like everything in fashion and style, there is no right and wrong. There are merely preferences that vary from person to person. Some people prefer to carry a bag, while others don’t. 

Instead of using a bag, they carry their wallet, keys and phone in their pockets, or pop a credit card into a pocket and hold their phones. Sometimes they stash their phones, a credit card and some lipstick into their significant other’s pockets just so that they don’t need to carry a bag.

The shift also seems connected to broadening and changing views of gender. More women are forgoing bags than ever before, and more men are carrying some sort of bag than ever before. It is nice to see this being less of a gender stereotype over time.

That said, I still LOVE handbags. They are my favourite accessory. I have a large collection of bags, and swap my bag out daily so that I can choose the best one for my outfit. They add a fun dimension to a look, function as a colour vehicle, and are practical for me. My significant other pops his personals into my bag so that he doesn’t have bulging pockets.

I always carry a bag and feel naked without one. I bat for Team Bag.

Over to you. Do you bat for Team Bag or Team No Bag? Tell us why, and no batting for both teams. If you don’t carry a bag, tell us how you carry the items you need.