Style goals and progress - YouLookFab Forum

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Style goals and progress

Dee

Veteran

I was looking at my YLF profile the other day and my style statement says: "I'm in the process of fine-tuning and simplifying my style from feminine and ALGO outfits to a bit more minimal and would love to incorporate a more urban vibe. I'm working on adding more neutrals and darker tones to my wardrobe, but still have trouble with black. My work is casual, so I like having a wardrobe that can go from work to weekend with ease, but still look put together."

This is from a few years ago when I first joined YLF and I realized I've accomplished most of those goals! Obviously my wardrobe and style still evolves, but I'm much happier with it. So I wanted to say thanks to YLF for all of your advice, feedback and inspiration.

Did anyone else have discrete goals when they joined and if so, have you met any of them?

General

15 replies

Latest reply was from Style Fan

Sara L.

Veteran

That's great that you've met your style goals!

I never wrote goals but one big issue I was having when I joined YLF was the separation between my work and casual wardrobes. I had the work wardrobe in a fairly good place but my casual outfits were a mess. I feel like I've made huge improvements in this area. Casual is mostly sorted out now and there's more connection between the two wardrobes - some casual tops can be worn to work and vice versa.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Congrats, Dee -- that is fantastic! So glad you've had success in meeting these goals.

Mine have shifted quite a lot since I joined; I didn't really have a clear enough sense of my style when I began even to establish meaningful goals for myself, beyond "getting a wardrobe," which was really the biggie! And I can absolutely say I have managed that.

And guess what? It makes a difference. I'm now able to fine tune in a way that wasn't possible before when I didn't even have the core essentials to make a variety of outfits.

approprio

(website)

Veteran

Cool! It's satisfying, isn't it?

When I pitched in after years of lurking, I was interested in achieving something more defined and streamlined, which meant understanding my own preferences better and figuring out what really works for me. I think I've achieved a lot of that, mainly because I now find it much easier to get dressed in a way I like without fretting too much over this or that outfit, but like Suz says, it's a moving target.

shedev

Veteran

I didn't have goals for a long time after joining YLF. It led to a huge amount of buying and purging. Then my goal became to turn my aspirational style into my actual style. I'm about half way there.

kellygirl

Veteran

I love success stories! Your WIWs are a testament for sure. You always look so put together and polished. I don't think I really ever had a firm grasp of my style goals but I did want to transform my wardrobe from a hodge podge to something that was functional, put together and age appropriate. I feel like it's taken me a long while but I'm pretty much there too!

Anonymous

I think of you as quite a modern dresser with a lot of fun, colourful pieces mixed in. Hope that was your intention!

My goal was to find my style and make my wardrobe more interesting.

Finding my style has required a lot of buying and unfortunately, purging.

I think my style has settled in and now I need to work on adding interest. I still feel like I don't have enough fun stuff, and enough colour. I would really like to focus on dresses and high contrast outfits going forward.

Dee

Veteran

Sara, having never worked in a formal setting myself, I was surprised how many fabbers have had the same issue as you. Judging by your WIWs, you've done a great job straddling that line and combining your wardrobes.

Suz, you definitely have a style now and the wardrobe to prove it! I like the idea of being in a place where all my wardrobe requires is fine tuning.

Approprio, that's interesting because you have one of the most defined styles on the forum. I'm glad that you've streamlined enough that getting dressed is easy, and not stressful. That's what we all want.

Kelly, I always appreciate your outfits because you definitely look put together, but especially because I also have a casual life, so it makes me glad that I'm not alone in wanting to look put together and appropriate without wearing a blazer 7 days a week!

Smittie, modern and fun are two adjectives I will gladly accept! My pops of color make me happy, but when I joined YLF, I barely had the essentials to pair with them, so getting dressed was always a little too much of an adventure. In terms of settling on a style, I think it often starts with a lot of buying and purging but glad that it tapers off as we really find what works for our lives. Good luck with your focus going forward.

Carla

Veteran

What SaraL said was pretty much my situation as well - all work wardrobe and no play! Now my home and travel style is better than my work looks!

Gigi

Veteran

What a great idea, to check your goals in your profile and see if you have met them. Congratulations on your progress! Maybe you could celebrate with a shopping spree, ha ha.

I went and I checked my profile, which was also a few years old. My goals were to add variety and edge to a fairly conservative wardrobe, and I have to say that I have definitely met that goal. Over those few years, I have developed a few clearly separate styles and can add edge as I please--heck, I actually know *how* to add edge now! I have come a long way too.

Anonymous

I'm happy with my wardrobe. Going forward, I want to stick to the colors that look great on me and make me feel happy, and work out what to wear after retirement (3 years from now). Every $ needs to count, and that doesn't mean catching sales necessarily. It means not wasting $ on items that don't work.

approprio

(website)

Veteran

Dee, it's very kind of you to say so, but I think you're maybe confusing "defined" with "distinctive" I think where YLF has helped me the most is in cultivating an awareness of what I was trying to achieve and how I was going about it, building theory into the practice, so to speak. All of this has definitely sharpened the saw.

Enjoying reading everyone's insights here. Nice thread!

RobinF

Veteran

How nice to hear that you have met your goals! I don't know if I have a defined goal, just to figure it out will be progress.

Dee

Veteran

Carla, your casual and work looks are always great. I'm glad you've hit your stride!

Gigi, I guess we need to update our profiles one of these years! Congrats I meeting your goals and for adding edge, which is an updated goal of mine.

BC, I like that your taking a logical/analytical approach to wardrobe building. Good luck as your get closer to retirement.

Approprio, your comment on defined vs. distinctive is a good one. To me, there are definitive features to your style and even in your outfit lab or experimental posts, you know what you're going for. It's just a question of getting there, which I empathize with. I doubt many of us are completely happy and defined in our styles all the time (except for Angie, of course), but I still think you've made great progress toward your goals.

RobinF, that's my usual approach to things, and it hasn't gone too badly yet. Good luck!

Sisi

Veteran

I'm happy for you, Dee! By the way, I like your style very much. When I started to read YLF (in 2008, I think) I was desperate because I had "a ton of clothes and nothing to wear". My goal was to understand where the problem was, and to have, finally, a well functioning wardrobe. Thanks to YLF I realized which were my mistakes: I did not buy for my dominant season, I did not buy for my real lifestyle, I did a lot of impulse purchases. Today my wardrobe is in a much better shape. I still make mistakes, of course, but I am much happier today then I was back then.

Style Fan

Veteran

That is great Dee! I joined YLF to be part of a community of like minded people who were interested in fashion. I also wanted to be careful with my clothing purchases because I had retired and I had less money to spend. I feel like I achieved that and a lot more. Fashion was always a hobby for me but now I know even more. And I have "met" all kinds of interesting people.