*VERY HAPPY DANCE*

I am sooo touched. Thank you for the kind words, and ongoing support. YOU are what make the community what it is.

I am so enjoying reading everyone's replies. Like me, several of you got here by searching for answers for a very specific dressing dilemma for which it isn't always easy to find advice. And others got here from a broader interest in fashion, following links on blogs and social media, plus quite a few from searching stylish blonde short hair cuts (love those and I can see why Angie's lovely photos would show up).

Angie, I am so grateful for YLF. There's nothing like it anywhere, and it's amazing that you and everyone can share this so generously. You've changed my wardrobe (never thought I would be at a point where I'm happy with it--and with my style again--and without having to spend a fortune!) and given me renewed appreciation for myself inside and out. Fashion is so much more than looks and that's why YLF is not like all those other "fashion blogs" out there.

I can't remember exactly how I found YLF, but I remember the journey.

In the fall of 2016 I learned about extrapetite.com through an article in the Boston Globe newspaper. I don't get that paper but my Mom does, and she saved the magazine section for me because it had an article about my town. I that same magazine, the owner of extrapetite was featured in one of those "under-30 people to watch" lists. I had no idea what a fashion blog was but thought I'd check it out. At that time she had something called a "blog roll" which had a list of pointers to other bloggers she liked, and I started following those links. Down the rabbit hole I went to other lists of fashion bloggers and perusing countless fashion blogs ...eventually landing at YLF. Once I poked around YLF a bit and found the archives section I was totally hooked! After looking at all those blogs where the owners represented their own personal style, it was so refreshing to find a site that was about EVERYONE's personal style!. That was early 2016 and I've never looked back. I've even met a few fabbers at a meetup about a year ago.

and.... EXACTLY what KM said above about being grateful....:-)

I asked people at Corporette their opinions on various looks (without being able to post pictures) many times. They told me about YLF, but I didn't actually look it up until I was going to a wedding last summer.

What made me want to stay was how warm and welcoming people are, and how free with advice. Jenn, Suz, Le Ped, Staysfit, JennNZ, and many others spent a lot of time responding to my questions and got me started on thinking about my wardrobe and my style.

Angie was off at NAS, but it was her birthday, and I could tell from the greetings people posted for her that she is a great person.

I hope the forum remains a warm and inclusive place where discussions and difference are welcomed.

I found YLF through notdressedaslamb Catherine Summers blog. Read the blog posts and archives and then dipped into the forum.

It is a rare positive fun internet community. I enjoy the people here and appreciate Angie so very much. Her wise oversight of the forum, her own stylish looks, and the great blog posts. I have a better wardrobe than ever before, am more confident in my appearance and own looks, and a wider appreciation of other looks. I love seeing others looks - especially from those with very different climates, lifestyles, fashion preferences to my own.

Thanks for the great post KM.

Thanks, Sal! I had been curious about this for a long time! I've "gotten to know" so many of you by screen name, posts, and sometimes faces, and it feels like a community. And so I always wondered how everyone else got here.

I think that I saw a link to YLF on either whowhatwear or corporette. I followed the blog for awhile before even checking out the forum. I've always loved fashion (subscribed to many magazines even before internet days) and was happy to find a community of like-minded individuals. I believe it was in early 2014, just because some of my earliest posts involved a trip to Italy I made that year. I didn't lurk very long before my first post, but I have not always been a voluble poster. Like so many of the rest of you, I have stayed because of my fondness for Angie and so many of the participants on the forum. YLF is pretty much my first read of the day.

I’m sure I’ve posted this somewhere before, but 10 years ago, I was about to move to Seattle and did a search for “Seattle street style,” where I found Angie. It took me another 7 or so years to join the forum.

What a fun thread to read! A few years ago, after a certain significant birthday, I felt I was in need of a style revamp. I felt it was going to be increasingly important for me to dress well for my work as I aged. I was searching around the internet for ideas about how to do that, and some link took me to YLF. Angie had just posted a fall casual capsule, and I was inspired--and hooked!

As DD24 was ending her high school years, I decided I wanted to up my style; actually there was no place to go but up! I must have done some type of internet search, but I don't remember the question. This is the only place (blog and forum) that I read daily (other than Dubs Daily about the Golden State Warriors!).

I stay because of the warmth and civility here which cannot be taken for granted. I enjoy learning about trends and how to wear them and the variety of styles and ages reflected here. So much wisdom!!!

What a great thread! I discovered YLF about nine years ago when I was googling a party dress that my daughter had bought. Turned out Angie had posted about this particular dress and her site popped up! This was before Angie was showing her face on the blog and I remember how exciting it was when she did. I'm thinking it was the Paris post, but my memory may be faulty.

I pop in and out of the forum, but always keep tabs on the site and continue to learn from it. So thankful for all the friends I have made here. I've been lucky enough to have met Angie, and she is as lovely and kind in person as she is online. I've made so many friends through the forum, including two that I chat with every day, and I'll be forever grateful to Angie and the site for making this all possible.

WOW. I’m humbled and blushing, ladies. Thank you so much.

It took 2 years for me to show my face on the site. That was ten years ago, when we came back from Paris (YLF is almost 12 years old). I can scarcely believe that people are here all these years later. Touching.

It was years ago now that I found the blog. I can’t remember if it was a blog roll or googling for fashion blogs that weren’t strictly filled with posts like “OMG you MUST BUY these 50 items this month.” I wanted something more substantive. I’ve always found the advice Angie dispenses to be extremely sensible without being too reductive and taking the joy out of things.

On a side note, Angie’s blog is also well written, which appealed to me since I used to teach writing. Many websites, even those with paid writers and editors, are filled with nonsensical sentences. (Informal writing is fine; nonsense isn’t because it denotes unclear thinking.)

I was finally inspired to join the forum in 2017 because I had been shopping a lot, and wanted help figuring out which things worked best on me, so that I could shop more mindfully in the future. My tastes had been changing, and I needed help thinking through that process.

Christina, those are excellent points about Angie's writing. It is clear, correct, upbeat and not a hard sell. That really sets the tone for discussion that is intelligent, analytical, and kind, even in critique.

Just looked through the archives and found the original blog post that led me to YLF. Happy, happy day!!! Took me another year or so before I got up the courage to join. Thanks for the fun post, K.M.!
https://youlookfab.com/2007/11.....y-dresses/

Deborah, I'll be looking for your sequined WIWs Wonder if Angie would post retro pix?

I found it through friends in the sewing community!

Christina, yes, I'm with you on the writing! Angie's writing is a delight to read, in form and content.

Also, I love that Angie puts a little food that goes with the outfits in her ensemble pics. Whimsy makes everything special!

DEB, that's amazing. 11 years ago....WOW.

Oh my word Christina, Fashintern and K.M. Thanks for the awfully kind compliments. I'm not a writer - and don't enjoy writing, actually. But I can manage a blog post because it's like I'm yakking to a friend - which I enjoy. I'm very chatty.

I stumbled upon YLF over 2 years ago when I searched Google for "boots for narrow calves" and found this gem of a place. I don't comment often, but I read every day, and I have found some amazing pieces thanks to Angie's sound advice and accurate descriptions.

I can't remember how I happened about YFL. For several years I just read Angie's posts and occasionally the forum. At the time I was working crazy hours and just wore whatever I found that fit and looked OK. I have always enjoyed fashion so reading YLF gave me a "fashion fix" during those years. Now retired, I have time to indulge my love of fashion and plan to become more active within the wonderful community here.

I'm late to this thread as I have been away almost "off the grid". I came across Angie's blog in 2007 or maybe 2006. I was googling something like current fashion for body type. I came across it a few times in searches and later started reading regularly. I loved the Ask Angie section the blog had then and followed the forum when it started, and surprised myself by participating. I think of Angie and many people here as friends and have enjoyed meeting some in real life too.

Fascinating to read how others have arrived here! I'm not sure how I found YLF, but it was either a link from another blog or a search for capsules or colour. Whatever the reason, I'm so glad to have found this site - the only one I participate on - as I continue to learn so much from Angie and the lovely forum members here.

Angie, your writing is good because it's smart, super knowledgeable, well reasoned, and most of all empathetic. You and your blog are truly beauty and brains

Summer, this is also the only forum where I participate. I've dabbled in food forums and parenting forums, but it's always short-lived. This is the only place where I come back regularly. I do have periods when I participate less for sheer lack of time (or if I'm traveling), but right now I actually come here more often than I visit Facebook. I wouldn't call YLF social media though--it's so much more and so much better. I hope one day I'll get the chance to meet some of you in person too.