A Question About YLF Challenges - YouLookFab Forum

Category

Dressing

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

A Question About YLF Challenges

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Bella used to do the best job of co-ordiating YLF challenges because she was so into that type of thing. She's back in Turkey and life is hectic so we don't have her creative challenge juices flowing through the forum any more.

But you guys love YLF challenges, right? So perhaps we should start them up again.

I would co-ordinate the forum challenges but there was a problem with that the last time I tried to do this. Some members thought that I could not set the challenges if I did not participate in them. As a fashion professional, I post my outfits on the blog and not on the forum. But I can link to my outfits on the forum if they help solve a problem.

So, really, I'm asking for ideas on how to organize and manage the challenges - if there is enough interest in the idea. Remember that the challenges are supposed to be lighthearted and all in good fun. Not stressful

Thoughts?

Dressing

54 replies

Latest reply was from CocoLion

Jjsloane

Veteran

I love challenges no matter who initiates them (although Bella's were quite well thought out and executed) Angie - I would not fault you for not participating in challenges you initiated. Maybe if you post your outfits/inspiration on a blog related to the challenge and then let the forum participate in the challenge that would cover all the bases? You could also dedicate one day a month (or more) as Challenge Day (or week) and set it up via blog post in advance so we all have time to prepare? I am in need of a challenge to keep me from buying random items just to feel relevantly dressed so please hurry!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

*chuckle*

Good thoughts, Jeanne. I like your thinking cap

Jjsloane

Veteran

I think I overthought, but I do love a challenge. Just like to give all the possible options that my little brain will conjure up. Hope it's helpful

Thistle

Veteran

What are the challenges? I am not sure I have ever seen one before.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

That is the idea of brainstorming so you are spot on.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Oh - great question, Angie. I think one of us should step up to the plate to organize. It allows you more freedom.

Speaking for myself, I LOVED Bella's challenges. Loved them. Especially as a new member, they were so helpful to me -- getting me to try different combinations of items in my closet and generally just to think outside my ordinary box.

What if we did something like this:

1. Post a thread where people contribute ideas for different challenges.

2. Vote on some number of challenges (one every two months, maybe? -- open to suggestion here) and then vote on the challenges we'll do. We used to vote on the pictures used in the picture challenges, for example, so this would be a similar voting process -- a list of possible challenges and we just count the votes for each one.

3. If we have six challenges, then look for a volunteer for each one to coordinate and run that one, so as not to make the workload too heavy for anyone in particular.

Does something like that make sense?

I have an idea for one myself.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Ooh - I love Jeanne's idea to connect to the blog, too, if that is not too much work for you, Angie - that would be a lot of fun!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Thistle, I'm going to try to find the links to some of our challenges. A recent one we did without Bella was the Copy a Blogger challenge. Every day for a week we copies a blogger's outfit. But with Bella we had picture challenges -- so we'd look at paintings or photos that she posted and try to use those as our outfit inspirations.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Here's a link to the final day of our Inspired by Nature challenge: http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....re---day-5

Here's our "Dress the Decade" Keepsake thread.

You can see how much fun these were.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

More great ideas, Suz. Thanks!

Challenges needn't be inspired by photos or artworks. That was how Bella did hers, and they were very involved. We could do much simpler challenges too. We had lots of great challenges before Bella introduced her artwork series. Years ago we had the BEST challenge on YLF. It was a thread where one person challenged the next with the help of a random generator. There was a completely personally focused challenge for each person - who then stepped up to the challenge when it was her turn. And after that series, the entire forum challenged me and I posted three outfits on the blog. It was a lot of fun

Thistle, someone sets a challenge and people dress according to that challenge either for the day or the week.

Jamie

Veteran

Bella's challenge threads were a bit before my time here on YLF, but I've done a bit of re-reading of her threads. I'm afraid I'm not too much help with suggestions, but I love the idea of the challenges. I do like Suz' idea to have different leaders for the challenges so we can all share the load.

Anonymous

This seems awesome.I will most definitely participate!

Caro in Oz

Veteran

Sounds like fun. Ilove the idea of individual challenges. I'm away for a few days. Will ponder while I'm away. Challenges that dovetail with our style goals? Sorry for typos ~
on my phone.

shedev

Veteran

I love the idea of challenges.

anne

Veteran

I have never been a big participant in the challenges, but I did enjoy the one Angie mentioned where we had a challenge chain!!

Anonymous

I think individual challenges sound like a lot of fun! If you need help organizing anything, I would be happy to volunteer.

Anonymous

Angie, I think you do enough by just allowing us to have this fantastic space. I would not expect you to participate on the challenges too. We all can take turns and be assigned a challenge to organize. We could do one a month, for example. You pick the theme to then delegate it to whoever volunteers.

MaryK, Joanne, Natalie, to name a few, also have come up with good stuff.

Sara L.

Veteran

I always liked the idea and seeing how people responded to the challenges but almost always missed the initial thread. I like Suz's idea of having a set schedule. I think that would allow more people to see the challenges and participate.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Thanks for chiming in with your enthusiasm, ladies

Ceit, that was a kind offer and I might take you up on it.

Zap, you are thoughtful and I appreciate that - as well as your ideas.

Anne, you are showing your true Veteran status here. The chain challenge as you called it happened 4 years ago. It was a GREAT one!

Kyle

Veteran

I would love it if the challenges originated with Angie. She has the most complete and robust perspective of the forum overall and, of course, is the fashion expert. She leads and anchors the forum, so who better to lead the way and link the challenges to what is relevant, topical and useful? I would not be a fan of making it structured or regimented with a schedule, lots of rules and voting, etc. And I'm not quite seeing the issue about her participation.

Anonymous

I love the challenges as a way to reimagine my clothes, and I don't think that Angie has to participate unless she really wants to. I like those best that extended for a week but one could pick how many and which days they want to participate.

Karie

(website)

Veteran

I think challenges will be a lot of fun! While I wasn't around for the older challenges, I loved MaryK's blogger challenge. I don't know much about challenges, but I like Suz's ideas.
Question: If we have a different person coordinating each challenge, would there be one person to oversee everyone - like, with a reminder "it's your turn" kind of thing - would that be needed, or no?
I also see no problem with the challenges originating with Angie.
Great ideas, I'm going to check out some of the older challenge threads!

amiable

Veteran

I would participate - sounds like fun! I really enjoyed the blogger challenge, and felt like I learned a lot in that week.

Transcona Shannon

Veteran

I have never participated in a challenge - I'm just not organized enough and to be honest, I find them a bit intimidating for some reason. But I love seeing what the rest of the fab ladies come up with and always follow them.

I think it's sweet of you Angie to think of originating these but I would worry about you taking on too much. In addition to the blog and forum, you have clients and a sometimes-sore arm to look after.

What about a compromise where you come up with the challenge idea but the running of the thread and organization is done by others on some sort of rotational basis? Your participation in terms of adding your own interpretation/outfit would be completely up to you.

TraceyLiz65

(website)

Veteran

I would love the challenges as long as there is a lag time between when they are announced and when the actual challenge began. Just more helpful to me as a busy home schooling mother...

Sounds like there was so much fun in the previous years....For those of us who are newer reactivating these would be wonderful!

rae

(website)

Veteran

I loved Bella's challenges! I've challenged myself before with Manspiration Month and the jacket challenge, I guess because I missed the way the challenges forced me to try new combinations. I know I haven't been here much lately, but if you need another organizer, it sounds like a fun thing to do right now, and I will throw my hat in with Ceit as a volunteer.

MsMary

Veteran

I love the idea of kicking off the challenges with a blog post!!

unfrumped

Veteran

I haven't participated before but if I were to do so, I need the "slow" challenge! I like the idea of the challenge for the month. As in, if it's February, it must be ____ challenge, or something . If I'm having a crazy month it might pass me by , but then try next month. But more challenge- worthy folks should have the most input.

Day Vies

Veteran

I love challenges -- I just wish there were a way that members could see the challenges upon logging in no matter how long ago they were started. Is there a way to create a challenge button in the upper right corner that would blink or show as a brighter color when there is an active challenge?

12