This is all so inspiring and helpful to me... And I hope to all of us.

@lisa P - like you I wish I was a better student! I like @theCat's practice of going back and studying the archives and I'm definitely going to do that more and try to put it into practice.

It is funny how much everyone had mentioned to dress for your buddy and lifestyle - I find so few fashion bloggers out there put the emphasis on the lifestyle part, and that's why having an expert stylist like Angie is invaluable.

Nodding along with everyone here and making mental note to explore some concepts more!

All of the above.

Learning about bookending was revolutionary as was identification that I had hourglass tendencies (shoulder vs bustline). Recently identification/ confirmation of style discriptors and moniker. This was/is hard work for me. My favourite Angie concept is applying the term 'high happiness factor' to my outfits. That's the real measure of success for me.

Perfect pant length, absolutely. With my short legs, I realized my cropped pants were all too long. I'm due for another trip to the tailor to hem recent purchases. (And when I got to be a fit tester for jeans a while back, the jeans designer quickly folded up my jeans in a way that was so much better on me than I'd been wearing! Wider cuff and much higher than I'd have done. Thanks to Angie, I noticed what the designer did and incorporated it into how I wear jeans now.)

Wow, wow, WOW.

I don't know where to begin, but I'm doing a MEGA happy dance. I'm touched by your words, ladies. You have little idea how much joy this thread has brought to me today. THANK YOU.

Roxanna, I appreciate you starting the thread. I'm thrilled that your outfit creation sessions are productive AND fun. That's what it's all about. You're in style zen, and good for you.

For me, buy for my climate, my lifestyle, my current body. Be open.

But most importantly, Sam is a superhero who should visit me with his flying cape one day.

I had fun guessing some of the favourite tips from Fabbers. This is what I got right:

2.An authentic style is one that’s manageable and makes you happy. It celebrates that style is PERSONAL, and emanates from the inside out
9. Do not underestimate the importance of fabulous hair, killer eyewear, and excellent underwear. These are the areas of your style to analyze first when you’re in a style rut.
10. Don’t “compare and despair” by focussing on what others have and you don’t. Compete with the best version of your current self, and focus on what you do have.

My style is extremely personal. Shopping means finding the proverbial diamond in the haystack, the pieces that fit into my aesthetic. My color scheme would not make most people happy but it fill me with joy, piece and calm. When I arrived at YLF, I was unsure of my style. I was ready to give up "leggings" even through they were an essential part of my style. At the exact moment I was pondering if I needed to purge, Angie had her moment with leggings, Vera Wang was photographed in leggings as a signature part of her style. That's when my personal rebellion over "fashion" began and my adventure in personal style blossomed. In large part, Angie gave me "permission" to be myself and I've never looked back. Hugs to you dearest, darling Angie!!

Also I had given up finding great glasses frames because I have a small head, small features and don't look great in my frames. Because of Angie's insistence that we are all entitled to great frames, I was able with the help of my uber chic optician to find my coach frames which make me feel polished and fab every day!! And validated my every 4 week hair appt to keep my inverted bob sharp and edgy!!

Lastly, my style is individual and idiosyncratic. It might not get a lot of love from others. I have to be careful to distance myself from people with a different aesthetic. I had to develop the confidence that what I wore looked great to me and made me feel great and was respectful to the social situation. I can't look for validation anywhere other than myself. Wise advice for a gracious, kind and wonderful lady!!

And lets not forget, although it has not been explicitly stated, no outfit is complete without the accessory of "pet hair" for those of us who have beloved fur babies!!

I don’t think it’s so much a case of specific advice,although this is always useful,but of engendering a way of thinking and speaking about fashion in a safe space with other like minded individuals that resonates with me.A space of unconditional positive regard,rare in real life ,rarer still on the web,well done YLF team you can be proud.

Like Cardiff girl,I don't have one specific piece of advice either. But I do feel better able to analyze which pieces will and won't work for me and fit my lifestyle before buying. I guess if I had to whittle that down to one thing, it would be thinking about essentials.

Oh, I'm also more willing to try stuff I wouldn't have before, because you never know!

WOW so many great tips Angie has given us. I clearly need to explore the archives more.

Prior to YLF I had a pretty good understanding of fit and flattering silhouettes for body types so it has been the wardrobe building tips that have been the most enlightening for me.

Number one for me is creating style adjectives, and a style statement. Without this I was just floundering with no unifying concept to my clothing choices. Defining what brings me "high happiness factor" in my clothing has really helped me to focus my buying and making clothing decisions.

Defining clothing as essentials, basics and statements was another aha for me. Especially the concept of statement clothing. I had never thought of my clothing in this way. Focusing on including a statement item in my outfits has made me much happier with them.

Thinking about building my wardrobe in capsules has also been very helpful. Previously I thought of my wardrobe as a whole so I often was missing needed elements for outfits. Thinking in capsules has helped me be much more specific about what items I need in my wardrobe to build complete outfits and fully utilize my clothing especially my statement artisan items Gryffin's recent thread brought that home. For more dressy events I have some specific items but it is they are not cohesive and I am missing needed elements. I need to build a dressy capsule. I have also realized that what I want to wear at home is much different than what I want to wear out in the world. Since I have retired I thought of these as a whole. When I started to think of these as separate capsules that may have some overlapping items that really clarified my needs.

Approaching my wardrobe this way has made me feel much more focused as I move forward in rebuilding my wardrobe.

Thanks Angie for all that you do. I am so very grateful. Also thanks to everyone on the forum. Sorry I haven't been around much the last 2 months. Life happened but it is all good now

Angie, I'm glad you are feeling the love!! I can't believe you were so in the mark about so many people's all time favourite Angie advice
I'm learning so much from this thread! I had no idea what PPP was for instance...

For me, it's definitely the idea of playing with texture and adding stylistic contrast to give an outfit edge. That concept has remade my wardrobe.

I'm surprised no one has said white jeans yet! Also...does it seem that bookending is way more popular with the light-haired portion of the forum? Perhaps because wearing dark shoes isn't really a revelation for anyone, even if they're brunette?

@lynn I just bought two pairs of white jeans because of Angie!

And yes, I had the same thought about bookending

1 Have fun with fashion
2 wear white jeans year round
3 bookend
4 be yourself
5 find/wear your happy colors

Oh, Gryffin. How kind and gracious you are. Your personal style zen is enviable, and I'm thrilled you're so amazingly happy and satisfied with your look. ROCK ON.

Roxanna, WOOOHOOO. White jeans. I have six pairs.

Jenn, I was going to say texture and juxtaposition. NICE.

Jeanne, my colour and white jeans buddy. High five.

Cardiff girl, you are astute.

Christina, I'd have guessed, "never say never.

Lynn, how lovely to hear that you're in a great place with your wardrobe rebuild.

Uniform dressing/signature style and dressing for the body and the life you have NOW, as well as flats being as stylish as heels.

I don't post a lot about it, nor am I the effusive type, but it has completely changed the way I dress. It has given me permission to be me and to accept that I can look great right now, the way I am - not some elusive five or ten pounds from now or at some other point in my life.

I adore dresses and I wear them almost daily now. I buy those that are practical for my line of work (teaching), and I also am more and more comfortable wearing all black, as that is who I AM. I am a shoe lover, but Angie has made me realize that flats can be as stylish as heels, so I am now buying and WEARING more shoes than ever. What a revelation!

Bookending, buy for the life you lead and that it's okay to wear white jeans in the winter lol.

Ooh I just have to add another: Always make sure something you purchase has an appropriate "support act" so that you can actually make an outfit out of it. So simple but I honestly didn't really do this before.

I'm very grateful to Angie and have learnt heaps but I'm been reading YLF for over 10 years and find superlative questions rather stressfull! Just chiming in to give Angie love though!

To define brows, eyes and lips. Makeup can be so overwhelming, but something about how Angie phrased that (I can’t find original post) stuck in my mind and changed my perspective. I can’t/won’t do a 20 minute million step makeup routine, but I CAN define brows, eyes and lips. And knowing that lovely Angie says that’s enough makes me feel motivated enough to actually do it!

One time I bought a beautiful skirt. Then I asked, what should I wear with it? Angie scolded me (nicely) for buying an orphan. Eventually I returned the skirt and the tops I hurriedly bought, not because of Angie, but because they didn’t fit well. So now I either buy a complete outfit, or an item that goes with something I already have.

There is a lot of wisdom in Angie's tips, but if I had to pick just one, it would be to buy/dress for the body I have now. Having struggled with weight fluctuactions for the last few years, I had a closet full of pieces that no longer fit, and had not fit for more than a year. Just seeing those clothes in my closet made me feel terrible, and I did not want to buy new clothes until I lost some weight. So, I literally had a closet full of clothes, and nothing to wear. Reading Angie's advice helped me to make peace with my body (while trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but not focusing on the scale), and to dress for its current size and shape. I am still rebuilding my wardrobe, and learning what shapes/styles work better now, but I am enjoying the process.

Great thread and I finally am ready to add. Roxanna - what a lovely idea.

For me the biggest change has been planning and careful choice of wardrobe essentials - and defining what they are. I have always been drawn to the statements and then found they did not make a cohesive wardrobe. I don't have many completers but I do have a good base of essentials with some flamboyant statements that make me happy. My essentials really get a hard time - I am quite lean in this area to justify my love of the odd fun party dress or statement piece.

Thanks all for sharing.

What a fab read! Some very thoughtful and insightful comments....

I’m a relative newcomer, so here goes:

I find it lovely that we can all come here, old, young, short, tall, a myriad of shapes, sizes, colors, contrasts, style monikers, and find the love and acceptance of who we are now by others who all strive to be the best version of ourselves.

Angie’s gracious comments to everyone are such a gift.

Happiness factor, dressing for the body I have now, bookending (as I gray), and the love of color are more of my takeaways.

Buy for your dominant season. This was a great revelation. I live in a 4-seasons climate. Chilly/cold weather lasts 6 months (Autumn+Winter). For years I went on buying , unconsciously, for my favourite but not dominant season - Summer. At a certain point I had dozens of sandals, a huge amount of pretty tees ... but not even one pair of boots! Putting together an Autumn or Winter outfit was always so difficult yet I could not understand why!

I have learned so much from Angie that it is hard to be concise. The top tips are:
To have fun with fashion.
Bookending!
How to identify basics, essentials, completers and statements in clothing.
Shopping for the life I have.

I think bookending and buying for the life/climate you live are the two I use most, but there are so many!

THANK YOU, ladies.

Like others have said, Angie's advice has so permeated my wardrobe that it's tough to identify just one thing!

Even just the concept of bookending - that one simple trick made me think about "lightening up" my style over all, which feels really really great.

In just about one year with YLF, I shop AND style much differently, and am happier for it. Thanks, Angie