There have been so many benefits from being a regular part of the YLF forum and from being a devoted reader of Angie's posts. One that is standing out for me right now may seem obvious and simple, but really is important, and as profound as I'll allow fashion revelations to be in my life

Quite often, I'll look at the ensemble posts, or single-item round-ups, or the newest look that is being passed around the forum......and think to myself " oh, I should have that ", "why don't I have that?" , or "I would have a better wardrobe if I had that" . It happens to me everyday.

I often think I buy too much of the same sort of thing when I'm shopping for clothes. I'm drawn to the same silhouettes, same colours, same textures, over and over again and sometimes think I need to shake it up a bit. Broaden my scope, so to speak. Because if Deborah can wear layers, and cropped tops over long white shirts, so should I! If Suz can wear fitted little bermudas and jeans, striped sweaters and faux-tucked t's, then I can too ! If Vivian can wear gorgeous little shift dresses and elephant print minis, then I'm quite sure I should be doing it too! You get my drift?

But whenever I launch into my newest "idea", I'm reminded that we all have our own style for a reason. It's our own. Where am I going with this ? Just recently, Angie did an ensemble post featuring printed pants. Well that did it for me. They are everywhere this summer, as we all know, and are at every price point, in every pattern, in every fabric, and in a few different styles. So what's wrong with me? Why don't I have any? It would add a breath of fresh air to my closet, right? I find a pair I "like" at Anthropologie. Black and cream with a strip of cotton lace down the side seam. They weren't cheap and I wasn't really sure what I thought of them. But everyone has printed pants, and clearly I am missing out on something , and everyone must know something about them I don't. So I lay in bed one night mentally concocting two ways to wear them - according to Angie's ensemble post. Next morning I am going to wear these things . But did I? Nope. I wore a pair of skinny cargos and a blazer. I don't love printed flowy pants. Period. Not on me, not on anyone else. I don't even love printed skinnies - on me. (If i had Angie's figure I'd be wearing the heck out of those Topshop ones of hers) Just the way it is. A printed pant wouldn't add anything to my wardrobe, it would just create two outfits that weren't really me anyways, and add clutter to my closet. And I bet after this summer, they'd never see the light of day again. They are going back to the store today.

It was after this whole mental exercise, that I realized this: I like a fairly structured and tailored look for myself. It flatters me better than layers and flowing pieces. It makes me feel pulled together and crisp, and I feel stronger and more confident dressed that way. Maybe we/I don't really need to broaden our scope as much as we think we do. Most of us have been dressing ourselves for , well, in my case 50 + years, and have a pretty good idea of what is going to work and what won't. Experiments? Not any more , not at my stage in life. I'm working now on total quality over quantity, and learning to trust my judgment . Trends in silhouette are usually not good in my closet either. I hope I have learned not to spend too much money on anything straying outside my norm. That's why I don't mind blowing the wad on a tailored jacket. It will never die in my closet the way a vest, a drapey pant, or a boxy sweater will.

Without YLF , I would not have worked through this process, nor would I have realized WHY I make the decisions on clothing that I do. Here's to more learning!

If you are still awake at the end of this post, I want to hear your thoughts on this. Do you feel the same way? Does this make sense? What were your particular purchases that ended up going back for this reason?