It had been a year and a half since I had my second kid and I was still wearing maternity clothes! And fleece jackets and clogs. Someone on my mommy board mentioned Angie's list of recommended pieces from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, which led me to her blog and the forum. I posted a lot of K/R threads and everyone was so helpful with advice for newbies. Major upgrade in my style in just a short time. Fun to look back on the early days in one of my first threads: http://goldenpig.lookfab.com/p.....r-ylf-pics
I have been here for almost 5 years now! My third pregnancy was on YLF...I hardly wore any maternity clothes (got by with mostly stretchy non-maternity clothes). Kept on posting right through postpartum and still posting now. I recommended YLF to a lot of other moms on the board and I think some of them joined here too. Maybe I'll still be posting senior style WIWs here when I'm 80!
Happy 10th, YLF!

Wow! Thank you all so much for sharing your stories. They are bringing back so many memories. While we have all landed here for varying reasons, it's clear that it is the generosity, warmth and wisdom of Angie, Greg, Inge and the YLF community that have kept us here. It really is the best place on the Internet!

Laura and Approprio's comments on their first posts made me smile. I remember mine was something silly about whether or not a pair of sandals were outdated. I think I felt it was fairly safe to start at my feet and work my way up. I'm still shy to this day about showing my face, as some of you may know!

I also remember how nerve wracking it was when I posted for the very first time. My teenage son helped me set up an account and upload a profile pic, all the while lecturing me on the dangers of the Internet. My heart was pounding and I'm pretty sure I was hyperventilating the very first time I hit the submit button. There was no need to worry, everyone has been unfailingly kind - always.
I've learned so much here.

I was reading/surfing about personal branding, I think. The MOTG outfits lured me in. I was in the process of rebuilding a wardrobe from scratch and also feeling the environment of my profession had really changed... It was makeover time

Lovely to see a post from Debora (my anniversary twin).

I think I found YLF after googling 'can blondes wear yellow?' Within five minutes I had left a comment on a forum question about edge and within a day I was hooked.

The combination of Angie's knowledge and heart plus the characters on the forum were such a huge draw.

Love this place xo

Hi Jules! Waving at my anniversary twin. This past September was number 35 for us, and I always think of you and Ben on that day. I still remember YOUR very first introductory post. You tantilized us with a few snapshots of your favorite things. You had us all charmed from day one!

I've followed the blog for a good long while. It started with finding posts about wardrobe culling and planning (those things are like flippin' catnip for me). I've only recently found the forum, though!

I found YLF through Color me Happy which is blog run by Maria Killam . Angie worked with her on some new outfits, it was about 2 to 3 years ago so I am a relative newbie :))

Googled 'fashion over 40' and while sifting through various blogs discovered YLF. Fell in love with the intelligent content rich narrative that runs through the site, as well as the positive, affirming voice of it's creators and most of it's contributors.

I think I was reading about budget dressing and one blog mentioned YLF. Got hooked and jumped in immediately

This is so fun! I love reading how people who joined before me found the blog and those after. So many paths!

I joined a bit after having my second child. I was on a mommy board looking something up and I saw a fashion topic--someone desperate to update her style. I've always enjoyed fashion and at the time I wanted to learn how to make the leap from "perfectly fine, but ordinary" to something more exciting. Someone on the mommie board recommended YLF as a very helpful and very welcoming place to learn how to update your style. I searched out YLF and fell in love! The forum is so rich in energy and intelligence, it makes the site much more than the "this is what I'm wearing" blogs I'd seen everywhere else.

An English blogger, Catherine, from "Not dressed as Lamb" did a blogger run down and I found YLF. Spent a few weeks in the archives then tested my feet in the forum, I think about 2.5 years ago. I am a member of one other forum (cooking) but rarely post there.

I especially liked that Angie is open to lots of different styles- and realistic about trends and classics. The blog is a wealth of information. And the community is a lot of fun.

Web search ... trying to figure out how I could spend so much money on clothing and yet never have anything to wear.

A friend from college mentioned YLF about 4 years ago. She said something about enjoying the blog despite having radically different taste than Angie. I was interested and lurked for a year before joining. I'm very busy and not naturally stylish, but I always enjoy the warmth, respite, aesthetic side of things, kind advice, articles, and discussion here.

Oh! I wanted to add that I discovered this website by searching fashion, but I stayed because of the people.

My husband got a job with a Seattle tech company (not that one... or that other one you're thinking of) in 2007 and, when we decided to move, I went searching online for Seattle street style. Angie helped me go into a place with a new environmental norm with confidence.

I had just lost 20 pounds and realized I had no idea how to dress anymore. I knew I needed new jeans for a start, so an Internet search brought me here and I never left.

It's an emotional day, and these fun stories - of which some I remember! - have been the stylish cherry on top. THANK YOU for sticking around and contributing to this community in your special way.

Thanks, sweet Debora, for starting this thoughtful and lovely thread. Much love to you.

<waving at Debora (and Kindrex)>

So, I don't remember what brought me to the blog, but it was in the days of the second version of drawn-not-photographed Angie. And then I stumbled onto the forum, where someone was asking what others thought Angie wore to walk the dogs, and the response was universal agreement that Angie wore "smart casual" when walking the dogs. I had never heard the term "smart casual" and it intrigued me.

Then I saw a post by forum member Prudence (Prudence, still around?) that included photos of herself trying on leather jackets. One was a photo of a repeat jacket in a new size. In those days, there were no photos in the forum posts, you could only link to photos you'd put elsewhere (Photobucket was a popular one.) Thanks, Greg, for making it a whole lot easier! I found it fascinating and strange that people were posting photos taken in dressing rooms -- and I was captivated by the idea that the fit of a garment actually mattered.

Prior to YLF, my feeling was that if you could get it on over your head, or up over your knees, or if it buttoned all the way, that was good enough. Suddenly, I was getting everything tailored. And what do you know -- everything looked better. A lot better.

So that was my intro to YLF.

I discovered YLF because of a mention in another blog within the Fly Lady family. I was getting my house in order and needed to get myself in order too, but the other blog lumped women within body guidelines for suggestions and I knew that would never work for me. That was almost 8 years ago. I had also had a big weight loss and was needing help. At the time I hoped to create an end-all wardrobe but have gradually learned that it is a journey, not a destination. I have stayed because of Angie and the wonderful people here.

In 2008. I was attracted to YLF by the Mother-to-go formulas Angie would put up. I thought it was such a brilliant idea, plus there were examples, pictures of real-life moms sporting the prescriptions. I was posted in Morocco at the time, and longed for the freedom of dress and movement from back home. And for the quirky, hipsterish fashions I had experienced before, something now absent from what was my reality back then: either Raiders-of-the-Lost-Ark (- shorts) (+ head cover) gear by day or House-of-Cards's Claire-Underwood ad infinitum by night during diplomatic functions. YLF offered no-nonsense, funny, intelligent bits of style, outlook, life that I was missing so much. Then with the forum, I got hooked! When I came back home in 2011, amidst the Arab Spring (although it never got that severe in Morocco, but we didn't know at the time how it would turn out), YLF helped me to cope. I felt so lost, I had a kind of reverse culture-shock; putting outfits together, adapted to the new weather and lifestyle, and having them be commented by the forum and Angie was a life saver for me in terms of feeling at home again. It helped me feel grounded and confident in a time when everything was pushing me to feel shaky. Since then my style has evolved quite a lot.

I also went into my archives to find my first post from 2009 -- what a trip down memory lane! It's so interesting to look back because I've achieved a lot of the goals I first came here needing help/advice with! I'm now almost 29 and have a career and have a well developed biz casual wardrobe!

Here's a snippet:

Hi, all! I'm new around here. I've been lurking for a while, commenting here and there, and finally decided to reach out for some help! I'm 22, just graduated college, just got my first job (working in television production) and I am that transitional point in my life where I can't dress like a college kid anymore! I wear pretty much only jeans... jeans are my staple, my comfort zone. My chihuahua owns more dresses than me (no joke!). But now that I'm out of school and trying to really get my career started, I know I need to get out of the jeans....

Can't we "like" the comments? Such a shame... I would "like" so many of them!

Wow--sometimes trips down memory lane bring up some painful memories as well. I discovered YLF in mid-2007. I googled something such as style for a woman over a certain age. I started reading blogs and I found YLF. I was looking for a change--did I mention this was a difficult year for me? I got hooked.

I was scanning old photos and going through the years looking at myself and my family and friends, I do remember that I felt fuzzy and unfocused and wanted to find resources for keeping sharp and stylish as I moved from middle age into--whatever you want to call the next stage of life. I didn't have models--my mother and older relatives had mostly been stuck in the 1950s through 1970s. I had been posting on another site--can't remember what it was called now, but the trolls came along and ruined it, and it's long gone. It is so nice to have a safe place here.

Overall this has been a positive experience. I joined 8 years and 8 months ago. Aging isn't always easy. Besides keeping up to date on current fashion, I've had a chance to post some old photos of family and relatives--I came from a pretty fashion conscious crew, despite hard times and lack of money.

Congratulations to Angie and Greg for creating something so worthwhile. And beautiful.

Apparently, I joined YLF 4 years and 2 months ago. DD was in her last semester of high school, I was planning to stop coloring my hair, and I decided I needed/wanted to spruce up my look and would not have a teen around to embarrass. I must have stumbled upon the site via some type of internet search, probably on how to wear X or what is current.

I love the friendliness, general lack of snark, and the variety of ages, shapes, and ways to be stylish here. I check the forum more than I do FB.

I'm so enjoying reading all your comments. it is pretty amazing how Angie and Greg have made such an impact on so many lives. So many heartfelt stories. What a wonderful community we have here.

Angie, sending lots of love back at you! Enjoy your special day and best wishes for the next 10 years. xo

April, waving back! I had forgotten about Photobucket until you mentioned it. It was one more Internet hurdle I had to master (with help from DS) in order to post. Yes, many thanks to Greg for his technological genius and innovations on the blog.

Marianna, loved your little blurb about the chihuahua with more dresses than you. Lol!

Thanks to all of you for sharing. You girls are the best!

I found the blog back in early 2008, I think it was through alreadypretty.
I was living in The Bronx doing my externship. Angie influenced me to buy yellow patent snakeskin d'orsay ballet flats from the DKNY store in Soho. They were eventually sent to forum member jsloane.
I moved back to Seattle, still lurking. Until someone said something wrong related to designer fashion on the forum. I couldn't keep my big mouth shut anymore & made an account to respond.
Wasn't till 2009 that I posted an WIW. I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't for some gentle encouragement from Jules (roseandjoan).
The women here are tremendous. I've made some good real life friends from here. I thought I'd leave a while back, but it didn't happen.
And to those who haven't done it, meet ups are the freaking best. If you come to Seattle, I might even get you some Theo chocolate.

We had just moved to a new home with our pre-schooler and almost 2 year old twins. I was just coming out of shock having gone from 0 to 3 kids in rapid succession in my late 30s. My husband gently suggested that it was time for me to update my style. He had no idea what he was getting himself into. Anyway, as a learn by book/internet sort, I started researching and somehow googled myself to Angie. I remember how exciting it was when she finally revealed herself on the blog - I was in shock. It took me a while to join the forum, and even longer to post, but I was drawn in by the intelligent conversations and Angie's incredible ability to maintain civility and create a supportive and positive yet never bland nor trite community.

Like Anne, I found the blog when I googled 'how to dress your body shape'. Angie's guide was (and is) by far - the most elaborate and helpful. I started reading the blog soon afterwards but didn't join the forum until last year.

I needed a dress for my husbands retirement party and Google fashion for women over 50. The link for the site came up and the rest is history.
Can't wait to see what the next 10 years bring.

I was new to personal style and was trying to learn how to put together outfits to flatter my body shape. I was stuck on belts and didn't know how to properly wear a belt without looking like a dork (I am short waisted). I don't know what I googled, but I came upon a few articles from Angie's blog. I got on the YLF website and found a gold mine of information--the blog is so well designed! So I started reading and reading and reading. After several months of trying various things with personal style, I decided to start visiting the forum. After lurking for a while, I decided to join. It was a great decision!