What a lovely surprise to log into the Forum and see this post from you! You may have taken a hiatus from YLF, but you obviously didn't take one from fab personal style! I'm looking forward to seeing your new items in action, as you have time.

Has it only been a week? Seems much longer. I like the picks you posted. It's awesome when a designer gets us, isn't it. Cant wait to see the new style in action.

Your style shift intrigues me! Can't wait to see more of it. I think my style is changing too, but I'm on SYC right now.

So glad to "see" you pop in! EF is one of my favorites too! I love how her tops/cardigans skim hang so well and fit my pear-shaped body! Looking forward to seeing your outfit posts once again....and your new EF styling!

You make me want to try Eileen Fisher!

Glad all is going well. And I totally hear you on comfort. I want to be comfortable. I want to get dressed, be happy with my look, and not have to think of it again. I want ease, comfort and simplicity. Yes. There. I said it!!

I am waiting until post baby, but I can feel a similar purge coming . . .

Been missing you and your stylish am posts (what I read with my morning coffee). But, glad to learn that you are making time for yourself.

What a treat to see your post, Shannon. I'm traveling with a carry-on and at least half of what I took on this trip is Eileen Fisher. Some of it has been to Germany, Austria, Italy (3times) England, Japan, Spain and now Ireland as well as all over the US, worn very heavily and still looks good. I so wish I had bought the metallic EF trench coat that was an Angie pick maybe last year. I wonder if it is on EBay.

Seems like much more than a week
I love all your thoughts about style & comfort & agree with you 100%.

Great epiphanies! And many EF items seem perfect for your style shift.
I hope you don't give up all your blazers--even if you focus on ponte or stretch. You rock those. But it sounds like you are getting focused on a wonderful "polished business casual" look, or similar, and EF can be great for that, especially since many are in very lovely fabrications.

Shannon, I have been missing you heaps and wondering how things are going. Love reading this post. I think I relate a great deal to your style evolution. I hope you are ebaying your purged items to recoup some funds for your growing EF wardrobe

EF is not availble here either so I may have to PM you re how you successfully locate her items on Ebay and any advice you may have.

May I ask you a couple of questions, do you feel you heading towards a more streamlined wardrobe? Do you see it remaining the same size or becoming a little smaller? The reason I ask, is since I feel I have really nailed down what I want to wear, I am happily wearing less pieces more often... I find I dont need as much.

Has your need for variety lessened? Is there enough variety for you within the scope of this more comfort based, fluid wardrobe you are developing.

I notice in your new 'acquisitions' there are no patterns, has there been a shift here also?

Love your work:) xxx

So nice to see you back again! I thoroughly relate to your style shift and I've also recently fallen in LOVE with EF (mixed with other items to avoid the frump factor). I never want to take off my harem pants. Would you be willing to share the ebay seller links? We wear different sizes so I wouldn't be competition.

Wonderful to hear from you, Shannon, and so excited to see your new style direction. I have been scarce around here for a few weeks also, and always miss the community and fun when I'm not around.

Like Deb, I noticed that most of these are solids and wondered if that is also part of the allure -- the simplicity.

I was also thinking that all of Angie's lessons on creating structure with fluid fits have probably been revelatory, because you now have some ways other than strict tailoring or stiffer fabrication to create a structured appearance.

I am huge on comfort, too. My at-home wear basically has to be as comfortable as workout gear or pyjamas. And my out-of-the-house wear has to come very close to that. I find that fabrication is really key and I have become a lot savvier about which fabrics work for me and which will not, over the long run. I think a lot of shopping "mistakes" have to do with not paying enough attention to the way an item feels vs. how it looks. It's a mistake I still make occasionally, but not all that often anymore. Because whenever I neglect that aspect, I end up wearing the item less.

Shannon it is so delightful to hear from you! It does feel like much longer than a week and a half since we have seen your smiling face. I love all of your insights and epiphanies. For me Eileen Fisher will always be the little shop on e 8th st. (I think) in New York with the beautiful, expensive clothes but the basket of discounted items. I was so intimidated (20+ years ago). I love that you found an ebay seller - ebay can be an amazing source once you know exactly what you want and your size. Do what's good for you, and if it happens to include treating us with a WIW I won't object!

Shannon, I missed you! And wow! I think you and I are somewhat in tune. My style priorities have shifted towards comfort as well, and it was mainly due to my foot problems! But I hear you on the pinching and bunching! Good lord, I hate that. I stopped wearing longline tights just so I can breathe!

Speaking of tights, If you wear tights/hose, I recommend the DIM Body Touch line. They tend to stay put (make sure you follow the chart - I sized up once and the tights slid off to my bum!).

And I really like that you're exploring the a Eileen Fisher brand! The items you showed are gorgeous and I really can't wait to see your next WIW in this new style!!!!

Oh my...so many wonderful responses and questions. I'm afraid I'm swamped tonight but if you don't mind waiting, I'll come back to this thread tomorrow and reply to you all

Welcome back!

Wow - I can't believe it. You took only 10 days off and you acheived this much!!!

Always lovely to hear from you Shannon!

Shannon, it's so great to have you back, and your new style direction is so exciting! Can't wait to see it in action!

Hi Shannon. I too have been away, but have been checking in from time to time. You are so right that comfort is all important. Like you, I have just recently discovered Eileen Fisher. Isn't she wonderful? I've just bought a pair of slim ankle pants and a great denim shirt that makes every other denim shirt I've seen look ordinary. The quality is excellent and, although not inexpensive, I think her clothes are well worth it. I'm happy to hear that someone else on this forum loves her.

Glad to hear from you, Shannon! Feel free to post when it works, and pass when it doesn't!

I can't wait to see some of your favorites! You have learned so much about what works for you in the last few years. Now's the time to take the next step forward!

Finally able to take some time to answer some questions and comments. First of all, thank you all SO MUCH for the warm welcome back and your well wishes for my new style direction. I see we have a few other EF lovers here.

Pil - it is true that my style shift is quite a change from my retro touches. I haven't felt the pull towards retro for a while now but I did keep a few things that I adore and suspect will want to pull out again at some point.

Vicki - it has been almost confusing figuring out this new work wardrobe of mine. For 24 years, I had two distinct wardrobes - work and casual. And now I find that so many of my items can do double duty. This has changed what I look for and purchase and also helps to maximize my clothing budget.

Joy - so nice to hear that your EF items are brilliant for travel and have longevity in their favor. And definitely check eBay for the metallic trench - you never know!

Unfrumped - no need to worry about purging all my blazers. Blazers will ALWAYS be a key part of my style and will help in keeping the fluidity factor in check. And I like your description of "polished business casual" - I think that is what I'm going for now.

Deborah - actually I did not eBay any of my purged items. Instead, I donated the whole lot to the local battered women's shelter. So many of these women need to escape their homes with nothing more than what they can quickly shove in a bag. It's all about "paying it forward". Do I feel a more streamlined wardrobe coming on? Yes, I think so. I used to enjoy having a lot of variety in my wardrobe but that meant there were times I was wearing something that didn't feel great on. I'm reaching the point where I would rather wear the same things more often when they feel great. I do still have a number of pieces in my closet with patterns but I have noticed too that I'm drawn more to solids.

Ariadne - I agree that EF can take a person into the frump factor range - for example I would not wear a drapey top with overly fluid trousers. But adding in a wee bit of structure takes care of that for me. And the fact that her petite clothes fit me so well really helps.

Suz - I am definitely leaning more towards simplicity. It's been a bit of a subconscious shift but when I look in my closet, there it is staring at me.

KatieKat - like you, it was my foot issues that started me down the path to rediscovering comfort. And thank you so much for the tights tip - will keep that in mind.

Catnip - maybe we should start an "I love Eileen Fisher" club on YLF - lol!

OK I'm totally late to the party, thought I replied earlier but apparently just did so in my head Such interesting observations, Shannon! And in only a week, my goodness you are efficient.

I'm 100% with you on #1, but in my case I think it's because YLF is my primary audience; most days I see only immediate family and whoever is at the grocery store.

I'm glad to hear that you are no longer willing to tolerate, as you said, "anything that rubs, pinches, bunches, restricts, itches, doesn't breathe, rides up (or down)". Life is too short! I'm starting to come around that this as well, especially regarding footwear and fabric content; even though neither of those are causing me any issues currently, why wait?

I'm so curious to see how you work your new EF finds in! It will be fun to see how they skew outfits in terms of your rubric; it'll also be fun to see those pieces juxtaposed against some of those things.

And lastly, I look forward very much to seeing your lovely outfits again. Abbreviated YLF time or not, your presence is always appreciated.