I have started keeping a list of HEWIs on my phone to help to stay focused at sales or thrifting. Top is athletic or ballet flats in an aqua color to coordinate with a favorite bag. Others are a 40 inch ( knee length) sweater dress that is not black or tan. I would really love a warm shade of green, light grey, or winter white. I want a merino wool with no mohair or acrylic. Some rayon or silk is ok. Not cotton. Prefer a pull on shift style.
Light grey knee high boots that will fit narrow calves.

You know, I don't actually have one at the moment! That's never true... but I just tracked down a bunch of elusive things. This is a good reminder that I should take a break from hunting lest I create a new HEWI to fill the vacuum.

Meredith - I am not surprised that eye wear is a HEWI. As a fellow glasses wearer, the perfect frame has also eluded me.
Kaelyn - I can see you in a trench. I really love the patent leather YSL one that Catherine Deneuve wore in La Belle de Jour, you need a cool one like that. At least you found the perfect jacket this year.
Karen13 - now this is why I wish I could sew, you are very clever to be able to sew a top like that.
Stirling - I hope you find the right light weight hiking boots, they can be so heavy.
Smittie - you make me laugh at your description of your figure. You are very lucky to be so shapely.
JAileen - I too would love navy boots, but rarely come across them. It is very strange that they are not more prevalent.
KM - you are very wise, I can imagine that now I have the playsuit, I will move onto a new obsession. I am hoping that I can be done for summer now.
Angie - I know, can you believe that within 24 hours of writing "I don't wear orange", I bought an orange playsuit. I really should never say never....
Fashiontern - I will post pics when I wear the playsuit (it is only for weekend wear). I think it is nicer on me than shorts - that was the test, rather than needing to look fab in it.
Approprio - I am not surprised that you are in a good place with your wardrobe, you always look sensational.
Delurked - I know you have a rather specific set of requirements, but don't settle. Whenever I do, invariably not long afterwards, the right item appears and I get annoyed that I didn't wait.
LisaP - I am not sure why I too have struggled finding a great navy bag.
Cardiff Girl - Hilarious, a passive aggressive shopper! I can understand how after a while we just get 'over' the obsession, luckily you don't buy the items.
Suz - Those coats sound so perfect for you and your climate. We are like total opposites regarding our climates and I love coats so much.
Sal - it will be fun to see what you come up with in your quest for a summer jacket.
Brooklyn - How amazing that you are finding the right dress hard to come by. I can totally see you in a gorgeous dark floral dress...
Joy - the phone list is genius! I need this because I can easily go off track.
Greyscale - this is what I need to do too - not fall prey to a new want.

Bijou - what a beautiful romper and such elegant pieces to style it. You have such an amazing eye!! I stand in awe!! My HEWI is also a HEWN (highly elusive wardrobe need) THE perfect LBD. You know the one in the magazines that are so perfectly simple they can go from casual to cocktail with a change of makeup and accessories. I am looking for the perfect black crepe, preferably mostly wool crepe but that's negotiable but the fabric must be dressy, not ponte, 3/4 sleeves, jewel-crewish neck but any high flattering neck will do, shift not body con, 4 season weight. It must work with a blazer, esp tux jacket, preferably above the knee. I always feel that the conservative style looks best, not dowdy short, and I my best feature is my legs, so why not. I bought the max mara brunate dress and it's very nice but the material is vicose/elastane so I don't feel the fabrication is dressy enough but I am very happy to have it. I am looking at the Lafayette 148 tory and cyra dresses to try on next month (holiday shopping done and so is my allowance for this month) but this simple perfect dress is sooooooooo hard to find. It would set me up for years of events so I must not give up. I'm only hoping something will work out!!

Festive sweater that's figure flattering and not lightweight. It can't be one of those ugly Christmas sweaters, either.

Sterling, I got these for Chile, and they were fairly light weight. They also looked enough like hi-tops that I didn't mind them for city daytime wear.

Everyone's mileage varies with hiking boots (see what I did there), but I thought I'd point them out in case you'd never considered them.

BC here is my festive sweater, replacing one that had gotten too tight. I think it's cute and I can probably wear it the rest of the winter, too. Your mileage with critter sweaters may also vary...

A simple navy jeans belt with gold hardware has been a HEWI all year. I want 1" width or slightly wider and a simple not bulky buckle. I've scoured both womens and mens styles and have come up empty handed unless I want to spend over a hundred dollars (which I don't).

Oof. I think I just added patent leather to the list of modifiers on my elusive dream trench.

Tall boots that fit my style which are narrow enough in the calf and not overly tall in the shaft, in cognac especially but also other light neutrals (i.e. NOT BLACK). Going on year four of looking now, I think. Also a tall slouchy pair to replace my favorites that are on their very last legs. And also also taller-shaft ankle booties which are narrow enough at the ankle, again in cognac especially but also other light neutrals (i.e. NOT BLACK). Common theme

That jumpsuit is lovely and I can see you wearing it so well.

My HEWI (since looong time): the Perfect Summer Dress.

Requirements: natural fabric, breezy, modest neckline, no sleeveless, not short, color that I like ... heh, not easy.

Gryffin - I hope you find that perfect black dress. It is definitely worth the search. I have a number of black dresses, but have yet to find 'the one'!
BC - Why wouldn't you want to wear an ugly sweater?? The Christmas sweater is not something I am familiar with (being in Australia, we have hot weather Christmases), but I always think of the movie Bridget Jones's Diary and how even Colin Firth could not look good in one.
ChristinaF - now I want that Christmas sweater. It is lovely!
texstyle - it can be hard finding navy items...we have boots, bags, belts on this list.
Kaelyn - well I didn't mean to make it even harder to find that perfect trench, but patent would be wow!
Aida - slouchy boots are supposed to be coming back in (well YSL did some amazing disco ball ones - picture below). Hopefully other designers will be inspired.
Sisi - I do sympathise, your requirements don't sound dissimilar to my requirements for the jumpsuit. It will be probably when you have given up looking that the perfect one will materialise.

Bijou, I'm referring to the tacky Christmas sweaters that only school teachers wear.

What does HEWI mean?

Violettt it means a "Highly Elusive Wardrobe Item". On the home page of YLF, near the bottom, possibly under About ( on my phone and can't easily check) there is a list of acronyms the forum uses.

Light tan knee high boots that don't cost a fortune. It's not a priority - I have plenty of shoes and boots, but nothing has turned up after several years of lackadaisical searching.

Great playsuit - it looks like something that will be fun to wear all summer.

All my sandals from 2016 (excepting one pair) were worn to shabby bits and discarded, and yet I could not find replacements in 2017.

I am always on the lookout for white jeans and shorts. I am down to 1 pair of white jeans, and even those may be lost. (I think I left them at my mother's during my last visit, but she doesn't think she has them. *Cry*)

I foresee a S/S shopping spree in my future, with white bottoms and sandals at the top of the list.

Corduroys! Real trousers, not the stretchy/jegging-style cords which still seem to be the only thing available for women. I almost kept a pair I tried in November, but the fit wasn't quite what I wanted -- so close -- but back they went.

SaraL - it can be hard not finding what you are looking for! Hopefully those boots turn up.
Runcarla - I too find comfortable sandals quite hard to find. I always wear mine out too.
La Pedestrienne - I do think corduroy is on the way back. Prada has done some this winter, so it is likely that in 2018, it will be a big inspiration. Good for you not to settle on those cords that were close but not quite right. I love the softness and warmth of cords and can remember wearing them as a child.

Congratulations on finding that HEWI! It is a beautiful romper. I have one romper and enjoy it very much.

I have a few HEWIs. My main one is a black leather moto, on the short side. I need a petite size because I am very short waisted, and there are few offerings in petites. When I do find one in a petite size, the style isn't right or there is too much hardware or the fit isn't right. I'm on I think year 3 of looking for this item.

I also can't seem to find a pair of wide-leg pants that suits my smaller, shorter frame and is to my liking style-wise.

Knee-high boots are always a HEWI because of my extremely narrow calf and short height. Boots are always either too big in the calf or too high in the shaft.

Gigi - I hope you find these items. The perfect black leather jacket can be hard to find. I found mine 3 years ago and think I will have it as a forever piece. I think you will know it when you find it - for me it was love at first sight and try on because it just fitted.

Mine has been a casual, lightweight, below-knee-length, flattering, sleeved, interesting black (or one of my preferred solid deep colors) dress. Something that is washable and not so precious. Something that can be worn on a casual day just as easily as jeans. It's harder than it should be. Everything casual is short and shapeless; everything longer seems to be too classic and workplace-looking for me.

I've also been keeping an eye out for a nice pair of black pumps that are distinctive yet not overly trendy -- something with a bit of edge but not a terribly high heel. That's also seeming harder than it should be. Some of my dress-up occasions seem to require black footwear, and my remaining pairs of pumps are either patterned or nude.