Jenn -- We just crossed!!! Funny -- I had the same thoughts about that necklace... definitely an ornamental corn vibe. Perhaps that is why I tend to wear it more this time of year. Your elk bugling/leaf peeping trip sounds like fun. Enjoy your getaway!

Jenn, what a great description of that gorgeous necklace!! I kept looking at the photo thinking it seemed familiar... BTW I also love your outfits and wish you'd had photos of them all. Stellar layering!!

El Cee, thank you for your kind words. I am enjoying the culottes and crops in this warm autumn! (And I am loving your comments to others as well...way to keep a thread alive!! You make the best observations...)

Carter, Sterling, I hope you are both okay. Love the new blouse, Carter.

El Cee and Stylefan, thanks for your stream of inspiration.

Jenn, you’re definitely rockin’ the challenge. Tell me, how do you wear the lovely cardigan when it gets colder?

Carter, I love your rich burgundy blouse. I’m really sorry you’re beset by the storm.

Suz, I really admire your effortless ensembles for such a packed weekend; thanks for helping me see my own long vest and culottes
in a different light.

Shedev, You have bunches of pieces I just love. I’d be interested in learning which ones you consider signature pieces.

Bonnie, what discipline you have with the returns and restyling. Aren’t the harems shorter than what you usually pair with tunics? I do like them, though.

Like you, Sterling, I keep finding that I have items that don’t fit into one single ensemble. How great to have such a structure for your
shopping. You and Texstyle have got great focus in that: good luck.

Elizabeth, LOL at “Don’t put the toes away,” but I’m with Jenn -- mine happily went into hiding weeks ago.

I’m joining Bella, Sisi, BJ, and Carter in the “real life has its own challenges” department this week. 

My current challenge is simply learning to capture legible outfit pics (I sent my fairly primitive and utterly familiar DSLR off to my son in art
school,  and the only slightly more sophisticated, new-to-me model is making me nuts)!

My style challenge has been to create outfits starting with my shoes so I can sort through them and weed out pairs that don't work. I am back to work finally, and I have decided that I should also include my new shoes to make sure they are comfortable. I think I should be creating my outfits ahead of time, and that may be my next challenge. So far, I haven't had enough time.

I have focused on a few types of shoes so far. Booties, loafers and flat sneakers. I have two more pairs of flat sneakers to wear. One is gold. This pair challenges me. I am not sure what to pair them with other than maybe a simple pair of jeans and a neutral knit top. The second pair of sneakers is light blue. I like to pair them with light denim, red and grey or white.

I haven't had time for pics, but I was very happy with my Navy Pointy Toe Aquatalia Block Heel Booties. I paired them with my Navy Cropped Sailor pants, and a red and blue striped turtleneck. I wore my Navy Velvet blazer for warmth. I wore gold jewelry which stood out and looked great because of the brass buttons on the pants. I think this was a sharp outfit and an unusual silhouette for me. The booties felt good on my feet all day.

I ordered two bottles of Meltonian Spray so I can start my annual winterize get of my shoes. We are supposed to get some flurries soon, maybe this weekend.

I'm back with more comments, working my way through the updates.

Suz - Love your outfits! I find writing events really fun to dress for. I haven't been to many in the past few years as my business has grown and my writing life has shrunk, but it's still my fantasy life.

shedev - Yay! I think you'll find this challenge pretty intuitive, since we're managing our wardrobes in a similar way.

bonnie - You're wearing the harems in a different silhouette than I've seen most people here doing. It might just take some eye adjustment and getting used to.

Carter - I love that new blouse! Fingers crossed that your new place comes out unscathed.

Cerinda - The cardigan is actually super-warm (it's an alpaca blend). I wore it with a sleeveless top under today, but on colder days, I put long sleeves under and use it as a top layer without a coat. It wouldn't work for below-zero days in Colorado, but I wore it over a weekend in Seattle in December last year and it was just fine.

Staysfit - Snow already?! It sounds like you definitely should get those loafers and sneakers out of the way first, with boot weather fast approaching!

I inadvertently discovered something during this challenge.

Favorites: things that were absolute favorites when I put them in storage at the end of last season are not so much in favor when I pull them out of storage now.

This made no sense to me whatsoever. Then it hit me. I have added new things to my wardrobe all through the year. Those new things are for lack of a better word, new and current. Those newer favorites replaced the old in my heart. Unintended consequences.

This discovery is huge in terms of future wardrobe planning and management. I'm not sure what to do with it just yet.

Cerinda -- I am currently shopping for one thing. A white button down tunic that is opaque. This will bring a lot of those orphans into play. I've tried several tops from Brooks Brothers to J Jill to Loft. All too sheer to meet my purposes. I am continuing to look.

Sterling, have you tried Foxcroft for a white button-down tunic?

http://www.foxcroftcollection......unics.html

Cerinda -- Only just now had a chance to comment on your successes on your week 2 challenges. (Just posted to last week's thread.) All I can say is WOW -- you really had a great week with lots of interesting insights. I like your WIW pic taking challenge idea (I also need to perfect that) as well as the ones you mentioned on the last thread: "My fun challenge for the coming week is to act on the lessons learned in the 10 x 10: 1) plan for winter; 2) style the pale flares and the patterned black silk slouchy trousers that went unused; 3) and spend some time considering my dominant season and the distinctions I make between WAH, Casual, and Casual Chic." That "dominant season" thing is so very important and can be a big bugaboo if not addressed. You are so wise to consider this issue.

Sterling -- That really is a big and potentially important discovery. I have had that happen in the past. If I were you, I wouldn't toss any of those items just yet. You may fall back in love with them as the season gets into full swing. If not, you can cull them down the road. I am finding new love for some items that I did not wear much last Fall, but I had adored back in 2014. Go figure!

Staysfit -- I really love your challenge of creating outfits from the feet up. That is a fantastic way to make sure that all your footwear gets enough love throughout the season. Regarding your gold shoes -- I would treat them as a neutral and perhaps try a bit of bookending with jewelry (necklace or bracelet?) or even with a handbag that has gold hardware. I love the description of your recent navy/red/gold accents outfit. It sounds fabulous.

Suz and Jenn -- Thanks for popping back in. Your supportive comments are such a big boost to all of us.

My Challege this week, dictated by the weather, is to autumnize summer and hot autumn outfits for cooler weather. I also need to decide about a few pieces that are K/R or alter/toss. My part of the closet is too crammed full right now but I'm not sure what will be needed for a new-to-me climate except for a longer winter season and shorter summer, maybe more like Seattle summers without the rain.
Right now we can see mountains with new snow but have not had it yet here..
ElCee, thank you for this thread.

UGGs- to anyone who was interested. I am keeping these. They are true to size with just a little extra room, very comfortable, light weight, waterproof, and accommodate my thick wool socks.

The LL Bean Boots are fantastic quality, lined with very soft fur like material, nice and warm, but too heavy and "gear like" for me to wear walking in my typical scenario. I don't like it when my ankles feel too restricted and for traveling these would be just too heavy for my small suitcase.

ETA: I should say, I ordered the taller LL Bean boot, the one I showed earlier was the wrong pic. Sorry for any confusion. Either way it would be too heavy for my needs.

Joy, having lived both places, I can tell you that summers here are nothing like Seattle summers. You can expect intermittent warm (and sometimes even hot!) weather starting in April, but snow is still possible up through Mother's Day. July and August will linger in the mid-90s, but it's a dryer heat than the Midwest (where I grew up). We joke that it always snows on Halloween here. It doesn't really, but that's about when you can be expecting the first snow of the year. I think you'll find winters somewhat mild, but it'll depend on the year. And, of course, it depends on your elevation! I'm speaking for Denver-Boulder-Ft. Collins, but temps drop the higher you are!

Joy -- What a smart challenge! (I am doing something very similar as we are still having cool mornings with warm days... and I cannot wear my heavier fall items just yet.) I will be very interested to see what strategies you utilize to get through the transitional period and how you adapt your wardrobe to meet your new climate needs. Jenn chimed in with some really great-to-know information on that subject. (Thanks Jenn!) This forum rocks!

My challenge is coming to an end. My challenge included:

• Rotate out summer/spring clothing and rotate in fall/winter clothing. Done. Since coming to YLF, this is not as much work as it used to be. Things have become streamlined.

• Develop a series of templates that can be used for work, casual, gym, and lounging. These templates are what I am calling "ensembles" They are loosely based on Janice's work from the Vivienne Files. Done.

• Identified ensembles that can only be worn during a few months of the year. Arranged closet so that those pieces are front and center. Done.

• I included a few examples of those ensembles. Now that I have the skeleton in place, I will add shoes/jewelry/toppers. Continuing to build each ensemble. I will continue to build ensembles for the rest of my life. I found my groove.

• Came to understand that I own separates that don't fit into any of those ensembles. I always thought buying separates was a smart idea. You can end up with orphans. Some pieces are orphans because they don't have a coordinating piece and I have no desire to hunt for coordinating pieces. The next phase is to decide what to do with those orphans. They are currently in holding a pattern.

Sterling: I am really impressed with your progress and am loving the templates that you developed.

All: After reading comments and suggestions, which I really appreciate, I reworked my outfits and added them to Deborah's Harem Pant Inspiration thread.

Sterling -- Wow! You are really going gangbusters on this challenge. Congrats on your multiple successes. I adore your templates. This is a perfect way to catalog your favorite outfit ideas.

Texstyle -- Glad you got the Uggs. They are fabulous!

Bonnie -- I am going to head over to Deborah's post right now to see your reworked harem pants outfits. (I get a lot of inspiration from that thread).

I'll read everyone's posts later for inspiration, but for now, I'm going to attempt to style the mid? light? gray jeans I bought on sale. I remembered why all my non print pants are very dark-the lumps and bumps don't show as much. I'll have to see if either I get used to it, or if I after I wear them for an hour they stretch out so it's not so noticeable. Otherwise I'll return them. Making the return is part of the goal.
And maybe get a haircut. My last one was in February before I needed a new DMV photo.

supportive bras bought--check
eyeglasses bought--check, have a free pair coupon elsewhere which i will use next week.

bonus accomplishment--returned my impractical suede boots and bought winter boots.

Thank you, Jenn and El Cee. I live a few minutes from Boulder. The mountains had a good bit of snow this morning while we had thunder hail.
Here is an outfit with furry vest for colder morning and evening temps and under it a light weight cashmere front top with silk sleeves and back. This kept me comfortable all day. Bonus photo from an afternoon neighborhood walk today. Much of overnight mountain snow was already gone.

(JOY! That furry vest is sooo glamorous. I totally want it )

The vest got strange looks in Kansas but lots of compliments in Boulder. It is perfect for the weather.

Ok, so I am new to the forum and have read all your posts. I have been slowly curating my wardrobe and putting things together as summer, transitions (fall/spring) and winter. My goal now is to pull together some nice transitional work outfits-business casual/modern classic.

I'm back at work... this week..a bit depressing but more motivation to dress up. Anyway I'll carry on with my pinterest copycat but I'm going to add a new element to decide on the copycats....I'm going to do my weeks by themes....this week I'm doing boho...so everything I wear is going to have a boho element to it.
I'll change the theme each week by style or by channelling someone all week like an icon or tv character. Hopefully keep me occupied until Christmas.

Now that I've beaten my camera into submission, I'm going to copycat Kari (http://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/culotte-love) and Tanya (http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....ber-jacket), play in my closet, and just see what happens.

Hi Madeline. Welcome to the Forum and the Challenge. Have fun.

Barbara Diane -- I have had that same concern with gray jeans (and other light colored jeans as well). So frustrating. I found the best solution for me was to choose a pair with a lower lycra content or to pick a style with less close of a fit (e.g. -- slim straight leg jeans vs. skinnies or jeggings). Good luck with finding the right pair -- it is out there. Return any that do not please you. You have a right to be picky.

bj1111 -- Good for you. Sounds like this was a very successful week in terms of your challenges and goals.

Joy -- OMG -- that vest is fabulous! And so perfect for your climate. I adore your whole outfit. Thanks for sharing that gorgeous photo of your neighborhood complete with magnificent snowcapped peaks in the distance.

Madeline -- Welcome to the forum and to our personal challenge thread. I very much like your own challenge idea. A number of us on this thread are focusing our attention on creating transitional outfits whether it be for work or other parts of our lives. I personally find the transitional weather to be beyond challenging in terms of getting stylishly dressed for the day. Thank goodness for the terrific ideas on this subject on the YLF forum.

Sally -- Love your idea about having a theme for your weekly pinterest challenges. I look forward to your upcoming WIW threads... especially this week's boho-themed one. (I am a bit of a boho gal at heart.)

Cerinda -- Fabulous challenge for the week -- Kari and Tanya provide great inspiration for all of us culotte-loving (or at least culotte-curious) ladies. I look forward to hearing what outfits you come up with during your closet play session. (I will be doing something very similar later this week.)

Aida and Sterling -- Always appreciate your thoughtful and encouraging comments.

My style challenge: skirts
I'm tired of trying to find the right tops to go with skirts. I do much better with dresses - much easier.