Link Love: Fragrance Facts

“All-natural” perfumes rarely contain only natural ingredients, but The Guardian reports that “a growing number of independent perfumers are creating genuinely natural perfume, even if this means they have to make smaller, more personal products.”

Both Nivea and Weleda are branching out into the world of scents: Nivea is launching an eau de toilette in Germany and Austria, while Weleda is now selling a trio of fragrances under the name Eaux Naturelles Parfumées / Jardin de Vie.

I enjoyed this piece on Lyn Harris who, after establishing fragrance house Miller Harris in 2000, has now launched Perfumer H, a new niche brand that will offer bespoke services and bring out new collections twice a year.

Fab Links from Our Members

Annagybe thought that Tom Ford’s Spring/Summer 2016 music video featuring Lady Gaga was a pretty fun alternative to the traditional runway show.

Murpheleven came across this article about how entrepreunerial designers are coming up with fashionable ways to wear your activity tracker.

After reading this post on Five Challenging Fall Trends, Marlene asks: “Is a trend worth it if it requires a step-by-step work-around just to make it wearable?”

She was also happy to see that ModCloth is retiring the separate plus-size categorization for clothing.

Celia likes the on trend mix of colours and ladylike feel of this outfit.

Vildy enjoyed this conversation about clothes and the hidden anxieties of getting dressed.

Suz directs us to the REDress Project, a powerful aesthetic response to Canada’s missing and murdered aboriginal women.

Diane G would like to share this post from Catherine that provides food for thought on the ever thorny subject of age.

Sally shares a list of vendors and brands with sustainable, conscious, or worker-focused practices. Angie thought it was great to see Karen Kane, Eileen Fisher, Everlane, NYDJ, Bailey 44, Munro, Frye, ECCO, Stuart Weitzman, Rag & Bone and J.Brand on the list.

New: Control Your Price Alerts

If you use the YLF Finds feature then you have probably seen the email alerts we send you when we know that an item in your collection has dropped in price. The alerts are sent out on Tuesday and Friday mornings, and include all items in your “Shopping” and “Wardrobe” folders that have dropped in price over the last 7 days.

Now we have added the ability to control the alerts that you receive. If you go the the “Email” tab on your profile page, you will see a new section entitled “Finds Price Change Alerts”. Underneath that are three checkboxes where you can turn on price alerts for your “Considering”, “Shopping” and “Wardrobe” folders independently. Currently “Shopping” and “Wardrobe” are on by default. We guessed that you would want to see price alerts for items on your shopping list, and for items in your wardrobe (in case there is a chance of getting a price adjustment).

If you don’t want to receive any alerts at all, just uncheck all three boxes.

Just in case you use Finds but haven’t got around to organizing your items into folders, I should elaborate on that a little. When you collect an item it automatically goes into the “Considering” folder. So if you have never moved your items into different folders, they are all in “Considering”. But you can easily move an item from there into “Shopping” and from there into “Wardrobe”. Folders are really easy to use and Angie explained them in some detail last year.

If you aren’t using Finds, please consider giving it a try. You can easily collect items from online stores, include them in your posts, create collections, and as I mentioned above, receive alerts when the items in your collection drop in price.

The Wear Quotient of Wardrobe Items

No matter the size of your wardrobe, the “wear quotient” — the frequency at which you wear the items — will vary. For a variety of reasons you’ll wear some wardrobe items more frequently than others. 

I find that there are generally three levels of wear quotient across the items in a wardrobe. Items that are packed away in a holding zone are not included. 

High Wear Quotient: The Workhorses

These items are worn very frequently and I call them wardrobe workhorses. They can be wardrobe essentials, like jeans, black T-shirts, cardigans, eyewear, stud earrings, or a puffer coat. They often are wardrobe basics, like underwear, sleepwear, loungewear, workout wear or socks. 

But it isn’t only essentials or basics in this category. They can also include items that are comfortable, practical, flattering, or in your happy colour. They can be items that add extra pizzazz to an outfit, are of-the-moment trendy, or sentimental in some way. New items can become instant wardrobe workhorses as they refresh your style and breathe life back into old wardrobe items. 

They can be subtle pieces or statement pieces. They can also change over time —  workhorses one season and orphans the next.

Medium Wear Quotient: The Backbone

These items are worn less frequently than wardrobe workhorses, but are still in quite frequent rotation. They constitute the bulk of your wardrobe. This is the part of your wardrobe that provides maximum variety, and increases in size the larger your wardrobe becomes. Over time, some of these items will graduate to workhorses and others will move into the lowest level of wear quotient as they move out of rotation.

Low Wear Quotient: The Specialists 

These wardrobe items are worn the least frequently. They can be special occasion pieces that come out a few times a year, or items that are comfortable or practical for short periods of time (like high heels, white jackets, bathing costumes, or slip dresses for very hot weather). They are sometimes particularly dramatic pieces that are too memorable to be worn more frequently. Items that are very delicate sometimes have a low wear quotient. They can be items that require you to feel perfect about your body. Sometimes they are items that are only suitable for a few weeks of seasonal weather – like blazers, loafers or ponchos. 

Sometimes older wardrobe items have a low wear quotient simply because you prefer wearing the newer additions to your wardrobe. Items with a low wear quotient aren’t necessarily on the way out of your wardrobe. Sometimes they will come back into favour and move up a level in the rotation. Specialists can become wardrobe workhorses. 

The overall point here is that it’s perfectly acceptable to wear some wardrobe items less frequently than others. It’s unreasonable to expect every item to be a wardrobe workhorse because we have a variety of dressing needs. Throw in the fact that our mood, the way we are currently feeling about our bodies, and our overall state of mind ALSO affect what we choose to wear each day. Our lives aren’t perfectly uniform, so our wardrobes won’t be either.

The important thing is to understand why an item has a low wear quotient. If it’s one of the perfectly legitimate reasons above, then that’s fine. But if the item is an orphan that doesn’t have counterparts in your wardrobe, or there is something about it that you just don’t like, then maybe it’s time to return it or pass it on.

Roundups

Simpler Items

This week's list of top picks list is about basic pieces.

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Assorted Items

Items for Summer, both in and out of air conditioning.

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Casual Summer Vibes

This week's top picks are good for a casual Summer vibe.

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Summery Earth Tones

These items are for those who like to wear casual earth tones in warm and hot weather.

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Hints of Spring

Some tried-and-tested winning items to refresh your style for Spring.

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Dressier Items

An assortment of dressier top picks might be just what the doctor ordered.

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Weekly Roundup: Colourful Items

Here’s a selection of colourful Fall and Winter pieces that can brighten a cold and gloomy day. Many of the items are available in neutrals if the colours aren’t your cup of tea. But if you are after colour, grab those pieces fast because it won’t be long before shop floors are a sea of neutrals for the rest of the season. 

Visit the collection page to see the items alongside my descriptions.

Madewell
Depot Cocoon Coat
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Top Pick
4
Boden
Karlie Coat
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Top Pick
3
Zara
Zipped Tote Bag
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Top Pick
11
Zappos
Dansko Larkin
$179.95
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Top Pick
5
Ann Taylor
Wrap Sweater
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Top Pick
6

The Mustard Trend

The ‘70s have been making a fun, fashionable comeback this year and there’s no stopping the Retro trend. Both the Glam and Bohemian vibes of the ‘70s bring with them a typical ‘70s colour palette of earth tones like brown, beige, burgundy, forest green, rust and mustard. Of these colours, it’s the rust and mustard that look particularly ‘70s to me.

Zara
Double Fabric Trousers
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Top Pick
3
Zara
Zipped Tote Bag
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Top Pick
11
Zara
Pleated Midi Skirt
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Top Pick
5
Zara
Basic Knit Snood
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Top Pick
5
Zara
Cotton Parka
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Top Pick
1
Zara
Wool Coat
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Top Pick
5
Zara
Hand Made Coat
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Top Pick
3

Mustard, is not an easy colour to like and wear because it’s intense, murky, neither crisp nor fresh, and not what I would call a “pretty colour”. It can make you look “ill and jaundiced” as one of my clients describes herself when she wears mustard. And for some, mustard brings back memories of the bad aspects of ‘70s fashion. 

That said, some of my clients absolutely adore mustard, and I adore it on them. It’s a way they can wear yellow because it’s less bright and acidic. Mustard looks particularly good on clients with dark skin tones and golden highlights in their hair. The golden highlights morph into a shade of mustard when a mustard item of clothing is incorporated into the outfit, creating colour harmony. My clients with warm complexions and red or auburn hair look fabulous in mustard, as do some of my clients with black hair and light skin tones. 

Mustard often loses its appeal when it’s worn with other murky earth tones, but it needn’t be worn this way. It is beautiful when worn with cool shades of blue denim, ink blue, teal or navy. I also like mustard paired with white and bright orange. Or with blush, white and cognac leather.   

Although mustard is not one of my happy colours, I do like it. To some extent it’s nostalgic because I saw my late Mum wear it so well. I prefer a bright, golden mustard as opposed to a tone that is more orange or brown. Mustard items — only one or two at a time — have made a home in my closet since I was a child in the ‘70s. I especially enjoyed sporting a mustard bag and scarf about ten years ago, and might go that route again (I have my eye on that vegan mustard tote from Zara). In the mean time, my new Timberland “Glastonbury” sneakers are a mustardy cognac, and I like wearing those with blue denim and ink. 

Over to you. Do you like mustard? Do you wear it?