Argh, I lost my post! Steph, you said it so well, thank you. I admittedly don't subscribe to any blogs, other than this one. I should looks yours up. Transparency is very important to me, in all aspects. I'm the gal who will post her 'at home sick' looks in the interest of conveying what my real life entails. Of course, I'm not trying to drum up visits! We all value different things. I tend to want to get right at the meat of the matter, and not dance around. Maybe it's the years of bartending and dealing with what comes at me across the bar day to day, I don't know. Maybe it's just how I'm hard wired. I appreciate where you are coming from, immensely.

When style blogs first became a thing, everyone was just doing them for fun. Then it became possible for ladies to make a living with all the referral fees and advertising and sponsorships and what not, so they became more aspirational in style, and it didn't really reflect what most people could afford or be able to wear to work every day. Nothing wrong with that, but pretty soon I realized that I didn't really enjoy reading any of those blogs anymore. The few blogs I still subscribe to are women who blog 'regular day outfits' and most of them blog for fun, not for a significant income stream. It's why I love YLF, and the forum especially - I get a lot of inspiration from what people here are wearing every day with their budgetary and practical challenges. I don't really need any more aspirational style in my life - if I want more of that I can just read a fashion magazine or watch a runway show or heck, turn on the TV.

I really appreciated Alicia's outfits and felt they were very trendy and chic. I will also, however, admit to some teeth-gnashing when I saw her bare feet in pumps in the snow ;). Anyone who lives in a cold climate like Alicia (Alaskans and Canadians unite!!) will know that it's 100% impossible to do this and I really appreciated Alicia's clarification that these are inside outfits and that she changes out of boots into shoes, etc (again - Alaskans and Canadians unite!! We all do this!)

All of this being said, I totally get all of the frustration that has been vented on this thread and in the comments on the blog post. I don't think anyone meant any harm. To me, though, it blatantly indicates how mind-numbing and soul-destroying it is to wear the same ankle-length black puffer and practical winter boots (or whatever you wear) day after day and month after month with no end in sight, particularly in a winter when people are freely using the phrase "polar vortex" to describe its harshness. I've worn my puffer so much this winter that I'm convinced my husband will not recognize me when he sees me in shorts in the Spring!

Perhaps a little blog post/ensemble/thread on dressing up our winter coats will get us through the next few weeks. Thoughts?

It occurs to me that part of the reason for the reaction some of us experienced might be the high bar that Angie sets when she showcases her outfits. I confess that I find most fashion blogs excruciatingly boring--a series of pretty pictures that have no relevance to my own fashion aspirations. One of the reasons I got hooked on YLF is because Angie is so careful to explain the reasoning that went into her choices to keep the focus on inspiration rather than emulation or admiration. I like Inge's commentaries on the blogs she features, but, as for the blogs themselves, I admit that I rarely see much that is relevant, or even inspirational, to me.

Krista, I think you truly hit on something. It's been such a brutal winter for those of us east of the Rockies in North America, that we are feeling unusually sensitive and frustrated about having lost considerable fashion mojo over the season. I know I barely wore the fab booties I bought in the fall...last winter, I wore booties all the time! I barely even wore the tall weatherproof boots I so carefully chose this year....because true snow boots were my only option. And I barely wore my wool coats...it was all puffer, all the time.

And I am sick of it!!!!!

So to see someone wearing heels in snow just feels like a taunt, almost. But of course I know that it was not intended that way! And Alicia is beautiful and has a great style sense.

I haven't read the other responses, but I had the same reaction, Mo. It's not just that her feet will get cold. If someone wore heels like that in the snow, yes, serious injury could result! I'm afraid to wear even *booties* with heels, unless the heels are relatively low and on the chunky side. The photos were very nice, but it makes it difficult to copy an outfit you like when it's not a safe outfit! And changing heels to booties (especially booties that are not so dainty) can really change an outfit's whole vibe.

Nodding with Suz and Krista. It seems that ever since November, I've barely had a chance to wear things that were not 1) gear, 2) grungy ranch wear, or 3) foul weather appropriate. And I don't even live in a part of the country that normally sees much brutal winter weather! I have utmost sympathy for my neighbors to the north.

Echoing Gigi's call for safety...I have a friend who was tired of enduring the winter from hell that we have had and went out with heels in the icy snowy conditions...She has a serious broken arm and is having all sorts of orthopedic problems...Our winter in the northern midwestern US has just been a challenge and I could not imagine wearing the shoes that Alicia has chosen...The pictures are lovely with the clothes, etc, perfect match but these wouldn't do for safety sake...Sorry to sound like a broken record but she needs some clunky boots and warmer clothes...

So my first thoughts on Alicia's beautiful outfits also related to shoe choice. I think a lot of the cognitive dissonance here stems from pictures of indoor outfits taken outside, implying they are actually outdoor outfits. Obviously they are inspiring, pretty and appealing, but don't realistically reflect the setting in which the outfit will be worn. It was clear to me Alicia's outfits were for a warm indoor setting. There is no way anyone is walking the dog in those high heels in the snow!

What would be fun and helpful that I have yet to see anywhere (except for maybe Sal, or Kasmira's commuting posts, and sometimes our own Shannon) is indoor outfit pics taken indoors and the outdoor version with adaptations (perhaps heels in hand, gloves, hat, boots, down skirt and puffer) taken outdoors. That would reflect the reality of a winter life and needed style shift.