I sometimes let my manicure go a day or two too long and have chipped nail polish. (Gulp!)

I don't wear gear.

My one confession: I don't iron anything. I don't even know how to iron.

Ironing?? whats that?

I don't do manicure/pedicure. I will just cut the nails when they're too long. Period. I just can't stand the feeling of the nail file. Ugh.
And I've worn and still wear denim miniskirts. Really MINIskirts. With no leggings and no tights (in summer). Also short shorts. At least I'm not wearing them with high heels, that'd be too much. But sometimes I've worn them with my funky colorful Nike trainers, which maybe is even worse :S

Girls this has been hilarious to read!!

OK, to make you feel better Angie, the only time I have ever worn gear in public was last weekend when I took a trailer load of rubbish to the dump, and stopped by a corner store to grab a cold drink on the way home because I was particularly parched! I kept my hat and sunnies on though so no one could see me!

Otherwise, I do occasionally wear flip flops to pick E up from school - but I think living 1 block from the beach should give me a bit of leeway here - they are part of life LOL (I do note that I usually pop on flat sandals but just ever so occasionally the flip flops win out!).

And, the other one that is probably more common, is incorrect top length... but considering my top wardrobe is dismal, and I'm working on actually getting some tops, this is being addressed!

I think most of my fashion "don't" moments are shoe-related.

1) I am a Scandinavian from MN now living far afield, but I still always have one pair of Swedish clogs, preferably the kind with hand-painting--the current pair is glossy red--to wear with jeans. I wear them at least once or twice a week, even though they are totally oddball.

2) After a few years of love, I learned from YFL that my favorite riding boots are too large in the calf (about an inch too big, I think). I have gnashed my teeth about this, but I keep wearing them, especially with jeans tucked in, as the problem doesn't show so much that way. But I also sometimes wear them with woolly tights and shorter skirts . . . just like them, you know?

3) I'm glad leggings and "surrendering the waist" in cozy tunics are back--because I never stopped wearing these things at home. Makes me feel a little old . . .

Ooh, Theresa, good tip. I didn't realize if you wear sunglasses people can't see you.

I'm with Theresa this is hilarious!!!!

*whispering to Maya* I'm liking the sound of cuffed jeans with oxfords

Angie I promise to chop off my legs in photos when posting cuffed jeans I couldn't bear to put you in the ER because of it

Does washing the car in loungewear count as a cardinal sin? I'm guessing going out for Diesel in them afterwards may push Angie over the edge!!!!!! x

I walk the kids to school in my gym clothes at least once a week because I head to the gym right after dropping them off. They're pretty sloppy gym clothes too. I'm not one of those cute women in matching yoga gear at the gym. I'm the super sweaty woman over on the weight machines.

I wear flip-flops in the summer. They're not the $2 Old Navy shower shoe variety, more like the $20 LL Bean ones, but they're still flip flops.

I wear corduroy pants and I like them. They're casual, but I have a casual life, so they work for me.

I'm loving this thread! As a newbie, it's great to hear that not everyone else is perfectly following the rules all the time and actually the rest of you are human too!

I was afraid I was committing a cardinal sin: I wear my sports gear to walk to zumba class and back - about 20 mins each way. I used to pop to the corner shop on the way back on occasion to pick up a pint of milk etc, but since finding ylf I've tried to avoid doing that. I take it that's ok Angie?

My other sins are too numerous to list at the moment *hangs head*, but I'm learning all the time and I am trying!

Reading the other thread, leaving with wet hair is apparently a sin. In that case, count me in as a sinner. My hair takes over 2 hours to air dry and I am not getting up at 4:00am...sorry...

Nor am I blowdrying it into a frizzy mess anymore.

Some things are just a matter of practicality. I don't condone errands in gear, but if you were just at the gym and Trader Joe's happens to be across the street, I don't expect you to go home, shower/change, and come back. What a waste of fuel and time. I also don't think taking a changing bag is necessarily the answer, because I personally do not use public showers and would definitely not want to put on real clothes while I'm sweaty and gross.

As I said before: I realize this would NEVER happen in Europe, which is usually my benchmark for appropriateness, but we have to adjust to the culture we're existing in.

Well if wet hair is a sin I'm also a repeat offender!!! I haven't blow dried my hair in years and leave the house with wet hair daily!! x

Marianna - I don't know if this counts as a sin or not, but I often do the "poor man's iron" - if a shirt is only slightly wrinkled, I'll hang it in the bathroom while I'm showering, and most often than not the steam from the shower totally removes the wrinkles. I HATE ironing and will avoid it whenever possible!

What I do that is probably a legitimate style sin is that I'm a VERY slow and skeptical adopter - and perhaps flat oxfords are the only exception that I can think of! I'm reluctant to try out new silhouettes or trends and am guilty of automatically thinking "oh, that will NEVER work on my figure" when I see something new. Sometimes a look grows on me (skinny jeans, for example.) Other trends (like voluminous tops or dresses) I just don't like on my body, period. I'm trying to adopt a more flexible eye, but my initial reaction to something new and different is almost always wariness and skepticism.

Oh - and I don't paint my nails or toenails because when I do, I leave them until they are chipped and look terrible. It's easier just not to bother with polish in the first place!

Kari -- I do that too. Works like a charm!

I wear flip flops in the summer (and am unapologetic about it). They aren't the flat $2 rubber kind, but are nicer Reefs with a platform (so my jeans don't drag on the ground, since the only other shoes I wear my jeans with are always heels). I wear them when I am dressed casually and doing casual things. I will also sometimes wear them when walking to and from work if I have stilettos on that day, because I don't want the heels of my shoes to get caught in the grates as I am walking (which completely ruins them).

I also go to the drugstore in my gym clothes. My gym is two blocks away and the drugstore is on the way. I'm with Maya and think it would be ridiculous to avoid going to the drugstore simply because I am in gym clothes. And considering the fact that when I go to the drugstore in gym clothes I am sweaty, I think it's pretty clear I have come from the gym.

Angie, I know you say that you can't condone gear to do errands because it's a slippery slope, but IS it really a slippery slope? It seems like everyone here on YLF who wears gear to do an errand has specific instances in which they do so, and has strict limits on it. In that case, it seems that everyone is able to limit their gear-wearing, and there is no danger of sliding down that slope. I think that should make you feel better (and in my opinion, makes these isolated instances of gear-wearing okay)!

Kari and Marianna - I must try that steam shower method... I've heard of it but I thought it was an urban myth. That will save me so much time, I'm always ironing crumpled clothes out of suitcases when I travel. Thanks for the tip!

Ooops I thought of another one!! I wear a calf length coat in winter x

I have tried that shower method but it doesn't work for me at all. My bathroom might just be too big so the steam doesn't circulate enough.

However, here is what I am going to try: I read somewhere that you can minimize if not completely eliminate the need to iron by tossing *ALREADY DRIED* clothing in the dryer with a wet rag (or an odd wet sock). Clearly this won't result in the crispness that ironing does but it will at least get the wrinkles out. I don't hate ironing and avoid it because the process bothers me. I'm just not good at it.

Sort of OT: I've been worried about laundry when I move out. I am very meticulous about my laundering and I don't know that I'll have the ability to be so picky using a Laundromat. I may need to bite the bullet and dry clean--which I don't want to do but I don't know what else to do. I won't have room to hang and lay all my clothes flat, nor will it be convenient to spend my entire day at the Laundromat de-wrinkling my clothes with a wet sock and hand washing half my clothes.

Maya, are you moving out soon? That's exciting! Do you have an expected move date?

Good point about the size of the bathroom for the shower steaming method. Mine is really tiny!

I'm glad Angie clarified about wearing gear to your actual workout routine...I get bored by the gym, so when it's not too hot or too cold I run in my neighborhood. So, yeah, the neighbors see me wearing gear, but I don't go out running errands in it or anything.

I don't wear cord pants but I do wear a corduroy blazer - but I bought it last year, it fits nicely, and I believe it got the YLF seal of approval.

I love colored/patterned tights but I try to restrain myself in an appropriate manner. I think some of the looks I'm drawn too are a little "out there" by Angie standards, though.

Ha, I just thought of my ultimate fashion don't. I sometimes forget my white dog has been on the sofa and sit on it wearing black. Then I walk out of the house with dog hair all over my butt. That look is soooo attractive.

I have a pair of black corduroy pants that I like to wear. The fit is very nice and I feel it is dressy casual.

I would like to see what this gear is that every body is talking about. Because I have horror of all horrors..worn my yoga pants to work. They are stretch but actually look like just black pants if you cover the top part. I got them from Victoria's secret..not fold over but black bootleg with a band at the top. I wore them with a jacket or a long slimline sweater
http://www.victoriassecret.com.....vsdWrapper

In my late forties I have grown out my short pixie-ish style haircut that I had for over 20 years, out past my shoulders, and have decided not to immediately cover up the grey that is just beginning to come in. Gasp! & Blasphemy!!!

I HAVE worn gear to run errands but after running into people I knew stopped that practice. I don't like oxfords or harem pants!

Calf-length coats are not okay?!

alaskagirl, mostly anything that goes calf-lenght (be it pants, skirts or jackets) will probably make you look shorter and stumpy, unless you are very tall. I'm talking from experience, used to have one in my teens, I guess it was trendy back then? It was actually one of those really fluffy anoraks, I looked really bad -not that I realized at the time, but now I think about it I'm sure I did.
Another sin: I wear no make-up nor jewellery. I'm starting to wonder if I'm really interested in style? lol

I thought I was sin-free until I started reading the responses and tallying up my offenses:
1.) Wet hair--it happens at least once a week.
2.) Corduroys. I have a pair of cream colored slim cut J. Crew ones I bought last winter and ADORE. They aren't so thin that they're revealing (as Angie's post indicated) and they make me feel cozy but open up lots of pairing options. And I like getting to wear white/cream pants in the winter.
3.) Angie, I hope you have a fainting couch. I wear gear on the weekends. Yesterday it was POURING out and I wore my lululemon yoga pants with galoshes and a variety of gear-y tops, including a rain coat. I feel like the lululemon pants, in particular, fit well and are flattering and don't make me feel like a slob. And in San Francisco, they are practically mandatory. Plus, given yesterday's weather, I can't imagine wearing much else.
All that said, I'm curious to see how far the no gear policy extends. What do you think about the fashion forward Ms. Klum's new collection for New Balance? An across the board nay?

http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=am.....2475042011