Whenever I have a client who is on a tight budget and is starting their corporate or business casual wardrobe from scratch, we head straight to Express. In fact, regardless of budget, they are a great destination for business casual wear, business formal wear, modern classic trousers, tailored jackets, or suits for women of all ages. It’s hard to believe that a junior store that stocks skimpy club wear also makes good corporate wear, but there you have it. For the price, the fabrications, cut, drape, quality and longevity of these items cannot be beat. It’s great value. 

Express generally makes two cuts of corporate trousers, namely the “Editor” and the “Columnist“. Editors are usually suited to a curvier figure because they are roomier all over. They have a great wide waistband, mid-length rise, and the fabrics are thick. This makes them drape so well. If necessary, a waist adjustment is a small price to pay. Columnists are cut slimmer and straighter and usually suited to a less curvy body type. The waistbands are narrower and the fabric less thick. Both trouser styles have stretch, are available in short, regular and long lengths, and across many colours. The odd pinstripe and check too. They cover sizes 00 to 14, and are machine washable. They run pretty true to size, but smaller than corporate wear from Ann Taylor. The pants retail for $59 to $79, but you can often get them on sale. They were 40% off last week and my client came home with three pairs of Editors. 

Warning: The Editors and Columnists are available in a variety of fabrications and colours. Although the cuts are pretty consistent across the board, I’ve found that different fabrications can slightly alter the fit. 

Once you’ve sorted out which pants fit best, you can find jackets in the same fabric, and occasionally a pencil skirt. And while you’re at Express, you might want to try their Essential Shirts if you’re after a very tailored fit. One caveat: I’ve found that their shirts are not so fab on a full busted figure. 

If you’re doing an interview loop and you don’t have a suit, check out Express. My only wish is that they covered plus sizes. Hopefully they will at some point in the future. 

I am not a sporty gal, but I do enjoy wearing aspects of the Sporty Trend. Despite my magpie gene and preference for dressy clothing, there’s a modern simplicity about sporty items that appeals to me. And as long as I mix sporty items with tailored pieces in luxurious fabrications, they feel absolutely right. 

I wore this outfit yesterday while out shopping with a client. I wouldn’t ordinarily dress this casually on the job, but it was at my client’s request to see a casual outfit with sassy sneakers. I drew inspiration from this outfit on my pinterest board. Although the two outfits look quite different, the formula is the same. Match a classic shirt and blazer with narrow bottoms and hi-tops. The formula incorporates modern classics and current trends, which is my favourite way to dress. The shirt and blazer are updated classics, while the hi-tops and day clutch are trendy. 

A tuxedo shirt was on my Spring shopping list to wear as a new wardrobe essential, and I found exactly what I was looking for at J. Crew. The shirt is soft, yet crisp, and I am in love with its unstructured structure. I find the cut extremely comfortable because it isn’t tight and it’s made of soft cotton. It also creases very easily. But I like that feature because it relaxes the formal aspect of the tuxedo style. Wear it untucked with a white camisole over a pair of jeans or trousers, scrunch the sleeves, and you are set. No need to button right up to the top either. I’m duplicating the item next month. 

I have a few dead simple, classic blazers, and this one belongs to my Theory suit. It’s a grey pinstripe that’s made of an all-season wool that I find versatile. It works as well with fancy pumps as it does with cowboy boots and fashion sneakers. I like to scrunch the sleeves so that the shirt cuffs do not show in order to create a more minimal effect. 

The stretchy black cigarette pants are a couple of years old and still going strong. I like that they are looser then my Gap Real Skinnies and scrunch in a more exaggerated way at the hems. To my eye, super skinny jeans would have looked less chic with the sneakers.

And that brings me to the sneakers. These are my new hi-tops, the Converse “Hi-Ness”, which are my nod to the sassy sneaker trend. They’re a more refined and less chunky hi-top sneaker, which works better with my style and narrow ankles. Oversized wedge sneakers swallow up my feet. I tuck away the ends of the laces without tying a bow because that’s how they look the most streamlined. I put them through their paces for many hours while shopping with a client yesterday, and with the help of an additional cushioning insole I had happy feet. 

I finished off the outfit with white specs, gold watch, wedding ring and my newest wardrobe pet. I’ve been dreaming about this Alexander Wang clutch since I first saw it. The design of the handle and colour blew me away. So I saved up and I’m now a proud owner of the little darling. It also has a sporty integrity, so I guess I like sporty items more than I thought. 

This outfit feels “very 2013” because of the irregular juxtaposition of items, which, ironically, will feel completely regular before too long. As Greg put it, it’s formal on top and casual on the bottom. He took one look at the outfit, nodded his head, and said, “It’s very you because of the white shirt. I love the sneakers because they look modern”. How fun it is to hear the perspective of my in-house fashion stylist, who’s not afraid to tell me like it is, shaking his head sternly when he’s not fond of an outfit. 

Greg and I are huge foodies. We love eating out, sampling cuisine from all over the world, and tantalizing our taste buds with good eats. That’s why we always highlight the food when we write about our travels. Furthermore, I LOVE to cook and to throw dinner parties. I consider it a therapeutic treat to spend hours in the kitchen putting together a four course meal that’s tasty, colourful, nutritious and texture-rich. When we lived in France I had a small catering business that I ran with two good friends. We made South East Asian food and laughed up a storm. Cooking is a creative outlet that gives me great joy. 

I don’t want to run another catering business. Crazy schedules and challenging logistics are to name but a few of the reasons. But I do want to share my passion for food and cooking with you. I’ll be 43 in July and if I don’t spread my wings and fly now, when is it going to happen?

This brings me to our big news. We’ll be changing the focus of YLF from fashion and style, to food and good eats. Given the recent redesign, this was a difficult decision — the new YLF was obviously created with fashion and style in mind. On the other hand, many aspects of the new design lend themselves to food, which is just as visual as fashion.

To kick things off I’m going to share my recipe for melktert, which is a South African “milk tart”. I have a sweet tooth and this is one of my favourite desserts of all time. Let’s get cooking!

I also should mention Rosie, my little Sous Chef. 

The Crust

Before you begin the prep, start pre-heating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Here are the steps:

1. Cream together the butter and sugar. 
2. Add the egg, flour, baking powder and vanilla. Add a little water to bind the mixture if necessary. Kneading dough is the BEST manicure by the way. I like the way my hands look and feel after making this crust. 
3. Press the dough into a greased fluted 11 inch tart tin. Pierce the dough several times with a fork to prevent air bubbles from forming. 
4. Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes until the crust begins to brown.
5. Set aside to cool.

The Filling

Here are the steps:

1. Mix together the flour, custard powder and cornstarch adding a little of the cream to create a smooth paste. 
2. Place the remaining milk in a saucepan with the sugar, egg yolks, vanilla and cornstarch paste. 
3. Bring to the boil, stirring continuously. Allow to boil for 3 minutes till very thick. 
4. Remove from heat and stir in the butter.
5. Whisk the egg whites till they form soft peaks.
6. Fold the egg whites into the mixture.

The Tart

Time to bring the ensemble together. 

1. Spoon the mixture into the tart tin with the cooked crust. 
2. Sprinkle with cinnamon and top with powdered sugar. I am very generous with the sugar and cinnamon. 
3. Place tart in refrigerator to set and cool for at least 6 hours.

4. Serve cold, or reheat a slice in the microwave for a warm version. I highly recommend both warm and cold versions.

Serve for dessert after supper, at teatime, or even for breakfast. Actually, just have a slice of tart whenever you feel like it. I’d happily skip supper and have two helpings of tart with several cups of Earl Grey tea instead. Tea and tart is one way to celebrate the good things in life.

I’ll be changing my style a little to suit our new direction. For one thing, I’m back to sporting a super short pixie because it’s an easier style to maintain now that I’ll be spending a lot more time in the kitchen. And my minimal, modern and no-nonsense style has become even simpler. Lots of apron wearing over comfortable layers with scrunched sleeves. 

Let the feasting begin. Bon appétit!

Note that by “nude”, I mean “nude for you”. So in this context the colour of nude hose is matched to the skin tone of your legs.

I believe that nude hosiery is fabulous. To think that they are frumpy is a dated style concept. Nude hose keep people like me warm in Spring, when the Seattle temperatures are far from mild. The beauty of nude hose is that it provides the aesthetic of “bare legs” with the insulation of tights. I like to visually lighten my outfits in the Spring. Dark hose makes my outfit feel heavy and too Wintery, making nude hose the perfect solution. 

I did not always feel this way about nude hose. I wore the shiny lycra variety a lot in the late ’80s, and then stopped cold turkey for many years because going barelegged or sticking to darker hose was more fashionable and modern. I did continue to sneakily layer nude hose under fancy textured hose for extra warmth, and under jeans and trousers for insulation. So I’m never without a couple of pairs of nude hose in my basics capsule. 

Then I went to Japan last year and my perception about nude hose was changed forever. The women there ALL wear nude hose. With everything. From the shortest of skirts and shorts to contemporary and classic outfits. And they look extremely stylish. Zero frump factor. So right then and there in Tokyo I bought nude hose to wear with my dressy outfit for a wedding. It was a chilly day and I was relieved to be wearing hose. I did not feel frumpy at all. 

These days I often wear visible nude hose with skirts and dresses. In fact, here’s a recent example. I keep them sheer and a close match to my skin tone. I firmly believe that nude hose make as stylish a statement as bare legs when it’s just too cold to go without. They do not need to be reserved for conservative settings or women of a certain age. So wear nude hose with fashionable pride.