I want to second Smithies' and BettyCrocker's comments. What a fun and health hobby. If I knew you in real life, I would be fascinated by the pieces you designed/constructed.

I may dress in the same general categories as my local casual dressing peers, but I also am likely to have more fun putting outfits together and thinking about style than many of them do.

I'd say I dress in a similar way to most of my friends and acquaintances, although I tend to choose pants instead of skirts and dresses. I actually see very few women my age in ultra casual clothing--that look seems to be reserved for a younger, suburban demographic in my city.

As for trends, I'd say looking current is interpreted as adapting instead of adopting. Many of my friends travel and live internationally and I suspect a restrained style fits their lifestyle better a fashion-forward, trendy style might. It's also interesting, while dressing well is obviously important to the women in my circle, we rarely comment on each other's clothes or discuss fashion-related topics. I'd have no hesitation wearing something that was from the YLF website if it fit my personal style.

I dress very differently from my coworkers and peers. Mostly I'm more formal, but also because I use my closet as a way to have fun. It's also a reflection of our different roles/lifestyles.

I have been thinking about this for days, and I still don't know the answer. Many of my closest friends are male, so there's not really much of a comparison. Most of my female friends are artsy/maker types who work from home like I do and while our dress varies, I think most artists and makers have a sense of fashion as part of our image, especially when selling to the public. I will say, though, that when my maker group is all sitting together at a coffee shop, newcomers generally have no trouble pinpointing us, and I always feel more in-line with my "work peers" than I do running errands in my town.

If I feel comfortable in a trend, I go for it but I'm generally not a trendy person so I don't think my clothing stands out. I do adjust formality to the occasion, but really everyone in my main circle has somewhat different styles and are fashionable and appropriately dressed in their own way. I skew a bit dressier but I'm fine with that. The director of one of my volunteer groups said I'm always polished and perfectly put together, I took that as a great compliment especially considering the required uniform is a t-shirt.

I don't really have a group at this point in my life, EXCEPT YLF, and most of my non youlookfab friends are not interested in style/fashion. My mom and sister are more artsy/boho and sporty chic than I am.
So yeah, I do my own thing!

Interesting about family. My mother was a classic dresser, and my sisters are, too. My sisters are much older than me, though. Interestingly enough, my mother was the one who enjoyed sewing for me and encouraging me to try the trends (this was back in the '60s, '70s and '80s). I try to follow trends and adopt the ones that suit me, but I'm sometimes slow to change. It all depends.

Thanks, smittie, bettycrocker, and sterling! Perhaps if I subbed in less-full skirts, and tried to curb my enthusiasm for loud patterns, some of these could go to work. I don't want to hijack this thread, but eventually I'll post some example dresses and get some feedback. I have photos of older makes but not the more recent ones.