Socks in sandals has been a fringe trend for a year or so. This trend is not to be confused with wearing hose with sandals, which has been trendy and popular for longer.

I really like the “sandals with socks look” on younger gals in particular, and on older gals when executed with just the right amount of arty sophistication. The socks kind of dress down the outfit and add textural interest. It’s a fun look.

In order for this trend to work well for my eye, there has to be a low-ish colour contrast between either the socks and the sandals, or the socks and your skin tone. I don’t fancy the look nearly as much when the colour contrasts are high – like wearing red socks with black sandals, or neon pink socks with green sandals.  I also think the look is best with a chunky, almost clog type heeled sandal, T-strap pump, or mary jane (see pictures below).

So I absolutely vote yay for this fringe trend on others. But I vote nay for me because I don’t wear the style of footwear that’s a prerequisite for the look, and the overall effect is a tad too casual for my style. I’d rather wear a dressier sandal or peep-toe pump with pretty hosiery. What’s your vote?

YouLookFab turns five years old today and Greg and I are pleased. Our baby blog grew up into a bright and vibrant online community that gives us great joy every day.

The last year has been filled with incredible highs and lows. One of the highs was launching the new YLF in September last year. It was the most significant redesign of the site since we launched in April 2006. The biggest feature we added was the ability to upload photos with forum posts, which has turned out to be enormously popular. The front page of the forum shows that more than half of the topics have photos these days.

The low came just over a month ago when we lost an integral part of the YLF family. The loss of our blog star Jasmine continues to cause great sadness at YLF Headquarters.

I’m grateful to YLF for many, many reasons. I have the opportunity to do what I love every day, and I get to share my passion about fashion and style with a worldwide group of friends. Greg and I have never worked so hard in our lives, but we have an enormous amount of fun. And we have the hilarious outtakes from our photo shoots to prove it.

As I have said so many times before, what makes this all so special is YOU. Reading your insightful, witty and thoughtful contributions in the blog comments and forum posts enriches my life. You continue to give YLF your knowledge and support generously and unconditionally, and that is an incredible thing. It also blows my mind that some readers have been with YLF since its inception, and still log on daily. We are deeply humbled.

With Jasmine in our hearts, Greg, Rosie and I extend a very big thank you to all our subscribers, forum members, daily readers and occasional visitors. You are what makes YLF an extraordinary community.

Year 5 was fun, but year 6 is going to be even more exciting. We have some new things on the way and we can’t wait to share them with you.

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Update: I woke up this morning to a very precious gift on the forum. The wonderful, no… killer to the power of killer video below. My jaw dropped, then I smiled, then laughed and then cried. We are so happy and so humbled. Thank you our worldwide YLF family.

This article was sent through to me by a friend and my jaw dropped as I read it. A survey conducted in British Universities showed that almost one in every three women would be willing to die younger in exchange for their ideal figure.

Some 16 per cent said they would swap one year of their life for their ideal body and 10 percent were willing to trade between two and five years.

Many women valued their lives less, with 2 per cent willing to forego up to a decade, and one percent saying they’d give up at least 21 years younger in exchange for a slimline shape.

Most of the ladies taking part in the poll were in the normal weight range (some were apparently underweight), and they ranged between the ages of 18 and 65. Read the full article to see the other things that women were prepared to give up, what they viewed as the ideal body, and what they thought about eating disorders.

Although it is quite shocking to see survey results like this in black and white, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Women in society feel under enormous pressure to conform to some sort of ideal. I’m fortunate that as a fashion stylist I’ve learned that there isn’t one way to be beautiful in just the same way that there isn’t one ideal style. One of the best illustrations of this is the blogosphere, where an incredible variety of beauty and style is on display.

My white jeans have come out to play in what must be the soggiest Spring we have ever had in Seattle. Thank goodness the cherry blossoms and bright green grass brighten up the otherwise grey picture. I’m desperate to get out of blue jeans, so although it is impractical I’m already wearing white and paying extra attention to puddles and Rosie’s cute little wet paws.

They might not be your cup of tea, but white pants and skirts are an essential element of my Spring and Summer style. To my eye, they make coloured tops look fresher, bolder and more magical. I can’t help but love the bright effect, so my two pairs of white jeans get lots of wear each year.

I like to pair bright tops with white jeans, so the tomato red blouse is a no brainer. This silky blouse drapes well but it’s boxy, yet another acquired taste. I am drawn to soft boxy blouses because I enjoy the movement of the silhouette against my skin. I chose to wear it unstructured with white bootcuts here, but I also wear it tucked into bottoms and belted for a more waist-defining look.

The vintage-inspired square scarf is knotted once around my neck and held in position with a safety pin. I add gold tipped low heels, a gold watch and white specs to bring out the pattern in the scarf. I also chose to add an off white handbag because I like the mismatched effect of different shades of white in one outfit. (The scarf, jeans and bag are all different shades of white). For many, the mismatched effect might look unpolished, but I think it adds interest.

It’s still chilly around here so my citron trench went over the whole lot. The overall result was a blindingly bright outfit which is okay by me. It’s just what I needed on a wet and cheerless Seattle Spring day.

When we looked at these pictures after the photo shoot, they reminded both Greg and I of my late Mum. It’s similar to the type of trouser ensemble she would have worn in the late 70’s, probably with a matching white waistcoat and huge sunglasses. When my Mum wore jeans, she wore only white jeans and she loved Gucci silk scarves. She was also known for her raised brow and wide eyed glances which, for better or for worse, I have inherited.

We have posted these photos and a few outtakes on our Facebook page.