https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Sat, 18 Apr 2026 13:08:42 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362558 Thu, 25 Sep 2014 12:06:22 +0000 Anonymous 1362558@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Congrats!</p> <p>I can't be a minimalist either, although I'm impressed with people who can.&nbsp;</p> <p>And I'm curious to see more gamine/gentlemanly looks too! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362550 Thu, 25 Sep 2014 11:40:53 +0000 Neel 1362550@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I loved reading through your style journey .... Congrats on becoming a veteran ^_^ </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362529 Thu, 25 Sep 2014 08:06:41 +0000 Ornella 1362529@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Congratulations, this IS a milestone. Looking forward to your future eloquent musings and insights, and of course fine-tuning of&nbsp;your style. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362488 Thu, 25 Sep 2014 04:34:43 +0000 Jeweled 1362488@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thank you for posting these insights! &nbsp;I've been on my style journey for about a year now, and I appreciated hearing about your realization of&nbsp;things that you are and are not - and how you are embracing your gentlemanly style. &nbsp;Well done! &nbsp;I feel like I'm on the verge of some realizations of my own, after my first&nbsp;year of&nbsp;research and experiments! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362428 Thu, 25 Sep 2014 02:47:46 +0000 Jaime 1362428@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Interesting! (and congratulations for becoming a veteran)! Grown up gamine - how is that different than tomboy, androgynous, etc. Is it Caro's distinction between Katharine and Audrey?&nbsp;&nbsp;Sort of rhetorical question, although I would love everyone's opinion! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362372 Thu, 25 Sep 2014 01:09:50 +0000 SarahTheWhite 1362372@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Congrats! I have so enjoyed your posts (and your style) and thoroughly enjoyed your analysis here. I can't wait to see how office work and your exploration into gentlemanly clothing influences your style. I just love style journeys... So fun! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362369 Thu, 25 Sep 2014 01:02:12 +0000 Style Fan 1362369@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Congratulations on becoming a veteran and for landing a job!!!&nbsp; Yeah!!!&nbsp; Loved reading your post.&nbsp; Great insights.&nbsp; I also thought I could do Stevie Nicks and then realized it was too much work.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362318 Wed, 24 Sep 2014 23:17:55 +0000 fuzzylogic 1362318@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Woot! &nbsp;Thanks for sharing your insights, MG!</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362254 Wed, 24 Sep 2014 22:14:04 +0000 Caro in Oz 1362254@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Congratulations on becoming a vet :)<br />These are great insights &amp; I understand the need to balance the "gentlemanly" side. I always felt more drawn to Katherine's rather&nbsp;than Audrey's look (for me). </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362252 Wed, 24 Sep 2014 22:13:12 +0000 Susie 1362252@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Congrats on the veteran status! It has been a pleasure getting to know you. I love your analysis; very interesting and insightful. It will be fun to see how your new professional life shapes your wardrobe in the coming year. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362227 Wed, 24 Sep 2014 21:41:18 +0000 Anonymous 1362227@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>A very well-written and interesting read! &nbsp;Thank you for sharing this, and as a relative new-comer here,&nbsp;&nbsp;I look forward to getting to "know " you . </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362184 Wed, 24 Sep 2014 20:31:22 +0000 shedev 1362184@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Can't wait to see where this takes you. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362169 Wed, 24 Sep 2014 20:03:59 +0000 E 1362169@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Great insights MG! (And thank you for the shout out: it made me smile.)</p> <p>I'm very much looking forward to your plans for your second year. A dandified MG will be lovely indeed. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362135 Wed, 24 Sep 2014 18:44:51 +0000 Alexandra 1362135@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Congratulations, MG! And what a great analysis. I'm looking forward to seeing where your insight leads you this second year. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362130 Wed, 24 Sep 2014 18:31:44 +0000 Sal 1362130@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Congratulations! It sounds like you have had an important realisation. This could be fun, there is a lot of potential with a gentlemanly style. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362100 Wed, 24 Sep 2014 17:13:32 +0000 fern 1362100@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I think your insights are terrific, and I appreciate that you are sharing your experiences with us!<br />I am developing an interest in "gentlemanly" fashion too - I'm thinking those tweedy bike-riding outfits might be really good for bike riding. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362081 Wed, 24 Sep 2014 16:34:01 +0000 kkards 1362081@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>congratulations, and thanks for taking us along on your journey (both fashion and professional) this year. looking foward to being part of the next adventure. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362078 Wed, 24 Sep 2014 16:28:06 +0000 celia 1362078@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Congratulations!<br />Love to read your realizations, self-knowledge is empowering in itself.<br />Can't wait to see how you will translate it into your outfits.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362075 Wed, 24 Sep 2014 16:10:47 +0000 thimblelina 1362075@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Very cool... It's great to see &amp; participate in the style evolution of others! Bravo to you! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362071 Wed, 24 Sep 2014 15:58:37 +0000 Quietgirl 1362071@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>You HAVE learned a great deal! Congratulations. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362068 Wed, 24 Sep 2014 15:50:35 +0000 Alassë 1362068@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Congratulations, MuseumGal! The gamine revelation will be key in your future style evolution, I'm sure. I'll be interested to see where that takes you! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362025 Wed, 24 Sep 2014 14:41:53 +0000 Angie 1362025@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Chiming in quickly to say congrats, and love having you on the forum. Fab analysis and rock on.&nbsp;xo </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362023 Wed, 24 Sep 2014 14:40:16 +0000 Tina 1362023@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Such a well written piece. I totally enjoyed reading it and had to laugh at the metric tons of jewellery:-)<br /> I agree, this site is a wealth of information, encouragement, inspiration and humor (who doesn't need that daily?!)<br /> I don't post much but I read and take it all in. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362019 Wed, 24 Sep 2014 14:37:15 +0000 Suz 1362019@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>What a thoughtful post, MG! What you say sounds consistent with what I have observed of your style journey so far, and I am intrigued to see where your new "gentlemanly" focus may take you.&nbsp;</p> <p>I've recently come to some similar recognitions re the gamine influence. I have known for a while that I love androgynous looks (I am an urban prince, after all!) but it is also to do with a bit of lightness and humour, I suspect. Anyway...I very much like some of your menswear influenced or "dandy" pieces on you -- the monk strap shoes, some of your boots, your velvet jacket. And I think this branch of your style may lend itself to work-appropriate outfits that still feel authentic to you. Hope so! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362012 Wed, 24 Sep 2014 14:26:40 +0000 Eliza 1362012@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>What a thoughtful analysis. &nbsp;You have made the most of your first year here and may your style journey continue to be so gratifying. &nbsp;Glad to have you here. &nbsp;</p> <p>I share your attraction to the role of masculine pieces in creating a wardrobe.</p> <p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/woot-im-a-veteran-what-ylf-has-taught-so-far#post-1362007 Wed, 24 Sep 2014 14:14:30 +0000 MuseumGal 1362007@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>So I noticed my status has changed to veteran!&nbsp; I still feel like a newbie beginner, but I guess I've been actively participating for a year now.&nbsp; Here are a few lessons I've learned (or re-learned) from my time on YLF.</p> <p>I AM NOT A MINIMALIST.&nbsp; While I am deeply attracted to a minimalist closet and aesthetic, it just doesn't work for me.&nbsp; I like to have a variety of colors, silhouettes, and fabrications - way too many for a small closet, and I am too much of a jewelry/scarf hound for the minimal aesthetic that is so popular right now.</p> <p>OTOH, I'm not as boho or maximalist as I thought I was.&nbsp; In my&nbsp; mind, I'm Stevie Nicks, swanning about in long tiered skirts, granny boots, a huge fringed scarf, feathered hair, and about eight metric tons of jewelry.&nbsp; In real life, I'll wear one or two of those elements, and then feel conspicuous.</p> <p>I <i>do</i> like clean straight lines.&nbsp; One of my favorite posters is Deborah with her black and blue architectural wardrobe.&nbsp; However, I always want to take one of her outfits, put it on, and then add some fab jewelry.</p> <p>Perhaps most surprising:&nbsp; I am a grown up gamine at heart.&nbsp; I credit this discovery to E, whose outfits I adore - but this confused me, because E is small, blonde, and young, and her outfits would look frankly ridiculous on me.&nbsp; So I started to think about why I'm so drawn to her outfits, and realized that I have always been drawn to <i>and worn</i> very boyish clothing,<br /> no/minimal makeup, and been very outdoorsy and active, but also quite bookish and whimsical (don't get me started on fairy tales).&nbsp; Now in my late<br /> 40s I'm still drawn to very gentlemanly clothing (especially shoes),<br /> wear almost no makeup, and am still a bookish playful outdoorswoman.&nbsp; Part of why it's taken me so long to realize this gamine influence is because even at my youngest and thinnest I was never an Audrey Hepburnish sprite; Ive always been sturdy, earthy, fleshy.</p> <p>Moving forward, I think my second year of YLF will see me exploring this gentlemanly side of my personality more.&nbsp; I am also transitioning from a graduate student to a full time professional office worker, so I expect a fair bit of sartorial experimentation as I settle into my new role, and I as I figure out more and more what not only looks good on me, but what I love to wear.&nbsp; </p> <p>Well that was a bit of a novel, thanks for reading (if you did), and I look forward to the next portion of my sartorial journey with you.&nbsp; I can't tell you how much I enjoy participating on this board, and how much I've learned.</p>