Good morning my beautiful Fabbers I've been missing you while on a brief YLF hiatus, but wanted to let you know that I still peek at all of you daily (hmmm...that sounds slightly creepy doesn't it?) and of course, read Angie's blog posts regularly.

It's only been a week and a half without posting and this is what I've discovered:

1. I miss you ALL like crazy! YLF has truly become part of my life. Not taking daily outfit pics and posting them has been both liberating and restrictive all at the same time. I have more time in the morning to have a leisurely breakfast 'cause I'm not taking my picture so that's been nice but on the flip side, I don't feel quite as willing to experiment with a silhouette or color combination without YLF feedback. You are like my "style meter".
2. My craving for comfort in both footwear and clothing has now become my #1 priority in dressing. No, I'm not going to live in sweatpants and tees I promise, but I'm no longer willing to wear anything that rubs, pinches, bunches, restricts, itches, doesn't breathe, rides up (or down), etc. I will dress appropriate for the occasion but comfortably. As a result, there was a massive purge last week of clothes and shoes/sandals that was utterly freeing.
3. Related to craving comfort, fabric content has become extremely important to me. How a fabric feels against my skin and how it moves is crucial. I'm madly in love with linen blends, hemp (and hemp blends), cotton, silk and the new and ever so soft, polyester blends.
4. I'm in LOVE with Eileen Fisher...well, her clothes, not her personally...although I'm sure she's a lovely woman - lol! I know many find her clothes physically overwhelming on their frames and somewhat shapeless, but I don't have a slight build and her clothes (for the most part) GET me. My desire to wear her clothing started with the metallic drapey tee I bought last year and has grown thanks to the two drapey dresses I purchased and my "chicken soup" cardigan. When I wear these items paired with sufficient structure, whether that be with a more structured topper or with scrunching/footwear/skin, I feel at ease with myself. It's hard to explain - the clothing FEELS good on me and I FEEL good in it, if that makes sense. I am reaching for these items more and more frequently. Plus I find the quality to be excellent.
5. Following my huge purge (#2 above) I was left with items I really, truly enjoy wearing but a wee bit limited in choice. I do like a fair bit of variety although I don't want a large wardrobe. I found two eBay sellers who carry Eileen Fisher items exclusively at very reasonable prices, great return/refund policies, and most of them new with tags. I've taken advantage, adding the items below to my summer wardrobe. I have received a few of the items and the others are en route. In fact today, I'm wearing the grey cotton cargo pants with the white hemp v-neck sweater, topped with my white blazer (sleeves scrunched) and bone/silver sandal shoes and feel fab.These new items will complete my needs for summer. There are no stores in my home town that carry EF and although the EF website does ship to Canada, the fees are exorbitant. For me, eBay is the way to go if I want to purchase EF items.
6. My new work environment is much more casual than I had expected. I don't mean casual like wearing jeans to work, but there is an actual conscious choice to not dress too "corporate". I had a discussion with my boss about this last week and starting about two years ago, the new President wanted to work on the corporate offices being seen as more approachable for staff, visitors and patients alike. As a result, there are very few seen in suits (except when Government officials are here for meetings) and crisp button down shirts. In fact the President himself wears polo shirts tucked into khakis and casual shoes. This ties in beautifully with my desire to be more comfortable.
7. My shoe and sandal choices are now whittled down in my wardrobe but I'm soooooo ok with that. My feet are happy in what I'm wearing and I don't feel frumpy. It's all good.

I'll probably be back to posting next week because I really do miss you all. And I'm not going to stress myself out if I'm unable to comment on all of your posts - we can only do what we can do, right? I've got most of my garden in, my son's surgery all arranged for next week and gotten my head a bit more together. What more can you ask for?

Pic #1 - black linen 3/4 sleeve open cardigan. Great for chilly summer evenings and in the office if the A/C is out of control.
Pic #2 - black light weight ankle pants. I have received these and wore them yesterday. They look fab with longer length tops. I wore them with my drapey animal print top and black heeled Clarks sandals.
Pic #3 - blue linen hi-lo tunic. Not received yet.
Pic #4 - grey cotton cargo pants - wearing these today.
Pic #5 - cotton/silk blend asymmetrical drapey tank (just the tank). Not received yet. I can picture this with all sorts of different bottoms, both pants, capris, BF jeans and pencil skirts.
Pic #6 - silk ombre sleeveless top. Not received yet. Again, will work with various bottoms.
Pic #7 - white ankle length pants. Not received yet. I promise not to wear them with a short top like the picture - lol! They are made of the same fabric as the black ankle length pants I purchased so will not be see through.
Pic #8 - hemp white pull over. Wearing this today with the grey cargo pants. Deliciously soft.
Pic #9 - linen sleeveless tank. Not received yet. Great for layering under various toppers for work and for wearing casually without a topper on the weekends.

I must say that for the items I have already received, the pictures here don't do them justice.