The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is my favourite sale of the year. Hands down. Yes, Nordstrom is an advertiser here on YLF, but this has nothing to do with my love for the NAS. The thing that makes the Nordies sale so special is that unlike most end-of-season sales that mark down old merchandise, the NAS marks down “hot off the fashion press” merchandise from the upcoming season. It makes for a uniquely exciting sale experience. 

It also makes for an incredibly busy few weeks. Many of my clients want to take advantage of the NAS so I spend lots of time with them combing through the Fall ranges and putting together their important capsules. Wednesday was the first day of “preselection”, where Nordies account holders can get an early look at the range and pick out items before the actual sale begins. Between shopping for myself, familiarizing myself with the sale merchandise, and working with two clients, I spent 14 hours on my feet on the first day of NAS preselections. 

We also do a lot of NAS coverage here at YLF. There is my top picks post, which I publish as soon as the sale merchandise is available online to all (July 20). That means waiting until after midnight for the site to go live and then spending a couple of hours matching items from my notes with the online range and putting the post together. 

This year Nordstrom has asked me to do some outfit builder posts using items from the NAS range, and we will publish these posts when the sale is open to the public. We hope that you enjoy the NAS coverage. We do know that lots of our readers aren’t in the USA and can’t participate in the sale itself, but I will try to make the coverage useful nonetheless.

This post has some pictures from my first day at the NAS. The ones above are a small glimpse of what’s available on sale (the tip of the iceberg), while the ones below show what I ended up purchasing. The sale is definitely my biggest single wardrobe expenditure of the year, and I set a strict budget for my NAS indulgences. I shop the sale with a clear idea of my style goals and wardrobe capsules, but I also take the opportunity to try something new. For example, I’m still into trousers, masculine inspired styles, and bright colours. But I unexpectedly added a blush pink leather jacket into the mix and built onto that capsule. 

If Autumn and Winter are your dominant seasons, or if you live in a four season climate, the NAS is a great opportunity to get statement pieces and good basics. This is my seventh NAS and each year I love my items even more than the year before.

By the way, I am using Instagram to take quick snapshots, so if you use the service you can follow ‘youlookfab’ to see these photos in realtime as I take them. I will also tweet them so you can see them if you follow me, @youlookfab, on Twitter.

From overalls and embroidered details to railroad stripes, Flare Magazine shows us the top 13 denim trends for Fall 2012. I’m quite taken with the tuxedo stripe jeans, which trend are you eager to give a go?

If you can’t wait to go check out these jeans trends in store, then this list with the 17 best denim stores in Canada might come in handy. For each store we get a sneak peek of what to expect on the shelves this Autumn.

The style experts at FocusOnStyle are smitten with this “attainable chic” head-to-toe denim look by Balmain, and give us pointers on how to recreate the look with more affordable pieces.

Fab Links from Our Members

It’s funny that both Rae and I had denim on the mind this week. Rae recommends this video tour of a jeans factory because it really made her appreciate the work that goes into her favourite pairs.

Angie is not a high-top sneaker gal, but says this outfit is glorious. For a second she even thought the high-tops were white booties. 

Middle school student Julia Bluhm started a petition for Seventeen Magazine to stop overusing Photoshop. It quickly went viral and was signed by over 84,000 people. Laurinda thinks it’s odd that the magazine only responded with an eight-point plan to maintain the retouching status. 

Kari kept struggling with silk scarves that didn’t want to stay put, until she found MaiTai’s tips on anchoring square silk scarves. MaiTai is quite the scarf expert and has many other great tutorials on her website, this scarf with pearls made Kari think of Angie.

“Go to the mall, get scanned, and walk away with a list of shopping recommendations for your body size and shape.” Kyle would like to know if anyone has tried Me-Ality, a free service that makes it easier to find clothes that fit.

Just when she had internalized Angie’s guidelines for wearing cropped pants, Gaylene came across these tips from Ain’t No Mom Jeans, with an opposite view of “the danger zone”.

Annagybe informs us that this holiday season Neiman Marcus is teaming up with Target for limited-edition lines from no less than twenty-four well-known designers. The collection goes on sale on December, 1, and most items will be less than $60.

And last but not least, Diana really enjoyed reading Franca’s thoughts on clothing challenges with a limited number of items. She brings up some interesting issues that are usually glossed over or ignored with this type of minimalism challenge.

First you saw graceful Karen look cool, calm and collected in a skirt with a denim jacket. Then her favourite outfit of the season, white jeans, a tee and jacket. Next up are cropped pants and fuchsia flats. Fun! 

Black is one of Karen’s favourite colours so there is never a shortage of black bottoms in her wardrobe. Cropped pants at this length are Karen’s Summer shorts. She will wear breezy cotton trousers at this length in scorching high dessert temperatures when she’s on vacation, and feel fabulous. At age 71, Karen is uncomfortable wearing shorter jeans or trousers unless she’s cycling, in which case the correct gear is all important.

Karen wears all sorts of patterned and solid tops with her lightweight cotton black cropped pants. From blouses and fitted button down shirts, to layering t-shirts and knitted tops. Here, we paired them with a tiered mesh top in an animal print. It has elbow length sleeves so that Karen feels adequately covered when taking off her jacket. Karen’s favourite patterns are stripes, animal print and polka dots. Her favourite colours are purples, pinks, blues and greens. It’s no wonder that she loves this top!  

The white blazer is a new, timeless classic that will be worn season after season. In Seattle, it’s often chilly on a Summer’s morning before it reaches a lovely 75 to 85 degrees during the day. That’s why toppers in all sorts of weights and styles are ideal investment pieces for our climate. Scrunching the sleeves relaxes the formal vibe of the blazer, and makes Karen feel fashionable.  

We paired the clothes with several seasons old fucshia flats because matchy-matchy is on trend. Karen calls them her “happy shoes” because the colour and comfort factor always make her smile. These shoes make me smile because before we started working together, Karen didn’t think that she could wear non-neutral shoes. They drew too much attention to her feet and were not age appropriate. Well, those thoughts are history and now, these fucshia ballerina darlings have bright yellow wardrobe friends. 

Earrings, a cuff and sunglasses are the outfit finishing touches that make Karen the most happy, so she sports those items daily. The black patent handbag is a good basic that Karen sports year after year. She is not a bag gal, which is why we’ve built “a five bag compliment” for her style. Black, grey and red for most days, a vintage wicker bag for the Summer, and a clutch for fancy occasions. Minimal and practical. 

Five years ago, Karen did not wear denim, pattern or very much colour. Today, these are the elements of Karen’s style that make her feel modern, hip and youthful. We make sure that Karen’s outfits are a mixture of both the classics, a trend, and an element of surprise. A classic blazer worn with on trend crops, a vibrant print and bright burst of fuchsia create the ageless look that puts an extra spring in Karen’s Summer step. And my goodness it is an elegant and ladylike step!

Also on Karen’s Summer Style

1. Skirt and Denim Jacket
2. White Jeans, Tee and Jacket 
3. Cropped Pants and Fuchsia Flats (this post)
4. Denim Skirt and Linen Blazer
5. Cold Shoulders with Flares

I’m sure that you receive compliments on many of your wardrobe items. But if you had to choose one or two items that draw the most compliments when you put them through their stylish paces, which would they be? It can be an article of clothing, a pair of shoes or boots, or an accessory. The compliments can come from anyone — strangers in the street, family, friends, kids, work colleagues or your partner, for example. 

I have a tie for first place. My jodhpur jeans and tomato red coat are at the moment my most complimented wardrobe items. One item is edgy, while the other is a classic. Interesting.

Over to you.