The WIW posts are always my favorite on YLF and I appreciate the feedback I get when I do post an outfit. Right now time and lack of a photographer are my biggest obstacles. I have a few things that I purchased the beginning of July that I want feedback on, and if my photographer can't spare some time for me, I just may have to (gasp) resort to tub balancing!

Time. Especially because I don't want my face on the posts, there's the additonal step of wiping that out. My days usually run from 5am to 11pm and when I get time to do YLF related stuff, I prioritize participating in the forum over posting pictures. I often have good intentions of doing so but mostly they don't come through. Maybe I need to look into faster ways of posting the images.

In the beginning of my time here, I posted outfits every week. But once I switched over to the blog it was harder. Now I post near-daily outfit photos on my blog and that's abotu all I can do. I tried coming over here and posting weekly recaps, but most people only wanted to see fewer photos and daily, and I don't have time to do that in both places.

Besides, I'm not a MOTG so all I wear are work outfits. Very few trendy pieces or the newest "in" thing making the rounds at YLF -- I can't wear 90% of those to the office, so I can't participate in the forum excitement over it.

I am new here and don't post pics for several reasons:

1. I recently moved and have yet to actually get called back for any interviews, so my outfits have mostly consisted of super simple summer stuff for trips to docs and the store.

2. A lot of my clothes with the exception of some t-shirts and jeans are on their last legs and need to be replaced. I embrace a small wardrobe, almost to the point I can wear out a pair of jeans COMPLETELY in a year-- let alone fainter wearing pieces like tees, blouses, and sweaters.

3. I just changed climates, and although it is still summer I am already into my fall clothes from my past local in the evenings. Needless to say, my fall colors can look funny in august.

4. I am a photographer, so I like to be behind the camera. I haven't mastered self portraits, and only have a point and shoot digital at the moment because I shoot film. I hate hate hate taking poor quality pictures and not being able to control things. At the moment, I live with two men that won't take pics for me, and someone else that can't work a digital camera. Our only full length mirror is in the bathroom, and our bathroom is old and looks dirty-- and who wants to put that online?

5. I too am worried about online security. I don't have a stalker, per-say, but have had people I know find me on other sites I frequent and make me uncomfortable-- or people from other forums follow me using my username (I used to use similar or the same ones) and had them post things about me. This is worse with dating sites, because the picture makes it easier for people to be sure. Currently I post pictures where you can see my face on one fashion site that is very small, where I have known most of the women for years.

6. I have a medical condition that has caused some changes in my appearance, and pictures are easier to compare to older ones. Ugh . . . don't need reminders of weird swollen body parts and black eyes and hair loss and looking ashen!

I don't post because I'm afraid of being recognized by people I know. It's a small world and I was once recognized from another forum in which I used to participate. The occurence blind sided me and I just remember feeling really exposed at the time and I don't want to risk feeling that way again.

Also, I wear things that YFLers wouldn't approve of. I'm wearing a maxi dress right now for example and I'm still trying to straighten out my PPL situation.

I spent a long time lurking before I started posting, in a large part because I was worried about the pictures deal. I decided that I wasn't going to be posting anything particularly out-there (i.e., people see me in clothes all the time!), and compromised on the amount of personal info in my username, location, etc. I thought about posting headless, but those pictures didn't look like "me", so I decided to just go for it. I have been shocked by how many views my picture albums have gotten from my WIWs, though -- there are a TON of lurkers out there, which does make me feel a little exposed.

I am also lucky enough to have an EXTREMELY willing photographer in my BF -- he's replaced "you look great!" with "we need to take a picture of THAT outfit!"

First, I guess I didn't realize that WIW photos were that popular. I sort of assumed I was imposing on people by asking them to look at and critique what I wore.

Second, messy bathroom and lousy photographer.

BlondeAmbition mentions being blindsided; I was lucky enough (and I do view it as lucky) to be recognized in real life based on my online activities as early as 1994 - so I've never lived under the illusion that online life was somehow segregated from real life. I think that's helped me keep my level of online sharing in line with my comfort level for the last decade and a half.

I only posted pictures once. The reason I don't do it more is that I don't have a full-length mirror.

I had to drag a stepstool into my bathroom and stand on it, and I was worried about falling over.

I have considered using the ladies' room at work, because there's a full-length mirror in there.

- lack of time
- hassle of taking photos (I'm not very good so eg today I took 8 photos this am to end up with one that didn't have head/feet cut off and was in focus - and no I haven't posted it yet!)
- I tend to be quite 'wordy' so it takes me quite a time to cut my posts down to something a little more brief and pithy
- repetition (once I've got one 'look' in the right sort of way, I wear that or a variation on it quite a few times so it seems silly to post.
- worry that I don't have time to post on other people's WIW posts, let alone say something helpful (I rarely have something constructive to say about other people's outfits!), so am always grateful/surprised how many people comment on mine

- online security I deal with by posting photos through flickr with a guest pass - I delete the guest pass after a few days. It's quite interesting to see how many people look at things - particularly amusing when one's posted a few things and there are lots who've looked at the first and not so many by the time you get to the last!

PS always love seeing Marianna's

It took me over a year to post a pic, and felt it was time because I was commenting on everyone's and felt...well maybe i should post too if I am willing to offer suggestions...only fair. But it was with great trepidation that I did...for all the reasons stated.

I still only on a rare occasion look into the camera, my thinking is someone may not recognise me from the side shot, but no one really has my hair , so that blows that theory.

Also I think people might be tired of seeing my predictable style, and neutral colors, so I only post when I am excited about a new purchase or idea:) I don't mind posting at all anymore since 100's of REAL people see me everyday anyway.

I don't think anyone needs to feel that they shouldn't post because they don't comment as much, or they should for any reason other than the fact that you want to. Post when you have time and want to, and take a break when you don't. No pressure on anyone.

I had just noticed that less ladies were posting WIW's lately and was wondering why that was.

I just love to see everyone all styled up.... (hmmm.... could that have anything to do with the fact that I live with 5 men?)

Lots of interesting responses here! Cookie I am so sorry you've had to go through what you have and hope you are safe now.

I had someone local find me on an Aus parenting forum a number of years ago and accuse me of lying about things & created quite a lot of problems (even with my family), purely because she didn't actually know as much about my life as she thought she did (I was telling the truth FWIW LOL), so that little experience made me shy off forums for a couple of years, but in that time I grew strong and have come to embrace every part of me and I'm not going to let the fear that someone may do that again stop me living my life - and participating in an online community as this brings a lot of joy to my life. And to be honest, the people who matter most to me know the truth and that's all that matters to me.

As for me, I haven't posted WIW's for the past couple of months and it coincides with being so ill, so pretty much stuck at home in jeans and whatever warm items I could find LOL But now, as with at the beginning of the year, its warming up and I feel like my options are broadening, so I've started taking pics again.

I know a lot of you prefer winter because you can layer more and be more creative, but I just felt like I was wearing a different version of the same thing all winter so wasn't feeling too inspired to post.

Kim I also like seeing everyone's style and love the WIW pics - I get lots of ideas and have learned so much from these posts. It might be a men thing - until 2 years ago, I lived predominately with men my whole life too - 3 brothers LOL Now my house is a girls only zone and we are all free to embrace our love of fashion!

Queenie, I know whatcha mean! My mom (when she was alive) and my sister have *zero* interest in fashion and I have no close friends nearby, so I treasure the people on this forum!

Oh, Cookie, what an ordeal! Hopefully it is all behind you now.
For the last couple of weeks I felt that I was swamping this forum with too many WIW and even began to stop myself from doing it more often. I think the reason is that this is such a new experience for me and it is so great to have a sounding board. Also I feel that I do not have much style yet and I am on a quest to define one for myself. Thanks for putting up with me and helping me on my quest!

Wow Cookie that's terrible to hear what happened to you!!

I used to post WIW pics more often than I do now for a number of reasons:

1) lack of camera (lost mine a few months ago)
2) winter = darkness = bad lighting
3) 6am morning starts - no way am I going to wake up to take a pic earlier than that, and its the last thing I feel like doing when getting home
4) I now live in a smaller apt with much less space to actually take photos in

Hopefully #1 will be addressed in about a weeks time when I FINALLY get a new camera. #2 will gradually be addressed over the coming months by nature itself. #3 will sort itself in a few weeks when I'm back to shiftwork instead of Mon-Fri grind......I so can't wait! Am I crazy?!? #4 not much I can do about it other than really try to keep it tidy!!

I am so sorry to hear about your ordeal Cookie! I hope it has been straightened out.

I am the opposite, I post all of my outfits in forms of weekly posts. These days I really need feedback only about 10% of the times, so I could totally go without posting them, but keep doing so for two main reasons: it is great motivation to keep myself in check and also many times some particular forum members tell me that they really like my WIW posts for inspiration, which is very flattering and makes me feel guilty if I do not post.

I am also worried about privacy issues, and simply post that by never posting my face/head - all my photos are "headless".

Time, and sometimes timing. Even if I do have the time and want to post an outfit, I leave the house with wet hair in the morning, and by the time I get home I'm often sweaty and/or windblown, and I don't feel like putting pictures of either on the internet.

For me, it's mostly not having anything especially interesting to post, secondarily it's about time and difficulty of picture taking.

During the summer, I'm off of work and wearing mostly gardening/barn clothes, so nobody needs to see WIW pics of those. In other seasons, I'm in work clothes which even with some YLF pizzazz tend to be less trendy and interesting than they could be so thus not really WIW worthy either.

Besides that, setting up the camera and taking 15 pictures to get one that even remotely reflects my outfit correctly is very time-consuming. I don't have time in the morning and I'm rumpled and tired by the end of the day!

I do love other peoples' WIW pics, though and find lots of inspiration in them:)

Cookie --

What a nightmare! With your precautions in place, I hope the stalker is ready to let things go and that you can start to relax a bit.

Queenie --

What interesting answers your question sparked!

I don't post pictures here but I don't ever think, "man, so-and-so posts 'WIW' photos all the time!" Probably because I miss lots of them. So frequent posters, I hope you won't hold back.

My reasons for not posting are much the same: time, outfit repetition, more classic/classic-with-a-twist style vs new stuff, lighting. I did post (grainy, horrid quality) full outfits every now and again on a much smaller, non-Google-friendly forum several years back.

Now I want a smidge more privacy and better photos (though FTR, other people's photo quality can be all over the place as far as I'm concerned)!

For my blog I do take photos of specific items I have custom made or just enjoy for some odd reason. And I do model said items but it's usually a close-up (the only type of shot I have a prayer of getting in my crappy lighting) so that color and texture are more vivid.

Frankly, the photography part is such a PITA for me that I realized I needed a bigger creative-outlet bang for my buck than just photos. I use the item in question to force me to write cough ramble on in my stream-o'-consciousness way cough...aka a post like "here's my halter, and the fabric reminds me of vintage book design--and here are a million examples that prove why I'm not crazy for thinking that."

Not really what YLFers may be after if they just want to see how others are wearing Item A, ha!

What everyone else said: lack of time (I work a lot and currently have a sick cat on my hands), lousy self-photography skills, and nervousness about privacy. I recycle outfits a lot. I usually only want to post when I'm seeking feedback on something; otherwise, it feels conceited somehow. I only have time to take a photo at the end of the day when I'm all rumpled and look drained. I have a messy apartment that I cannot always crop from the photo and poor lighting that I'm unskilled at manipulating with photoediting tools. My mirror got splattered with hairspray again. Boring, boring, boring excuses, excuses!

Kim, I think you have a point about taking inspiration from other people's outfits. I scour fashion blogs and pounce on WIW posts on the Forum in search of that inspiration. I am not deluding myself that I can provide any here, but am feeling like I need to just shut up, quit whining and post a couple WIW photos now. So excuses aside, here are a couple outfits from this week (one of which is a totally recycled outfit from July, so I've just used the same photo I took in July):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/5.....822357398/

Please excuse the rumpling and dozen other unforgivables I just complained about above.

Kim-I post pictures asking for help getting dressed, what to wear or what to buy mostly, very rarely have I posted WIW because I don't feel secure enough with most outfits I put on everyday. I love looking at WIW posts of others and find them very inspiring, especially yours Kim. That should be a goal for the future, I would like to feel like I am GIVING back because I GET so much from everyone else here, but I guess I haven't felt like I had much to offer in the WIW department, hopefully that's getting better. I never really thought twice about posting pictures as far as security is concerned, I hope I don't regret that.

Mostly lack of time and energy Plus, the whole photobucket process is an exercise in patience. . .

Most days I end up reading YLF and barely taking time to comment on others threads, much less take pics and start one of my own. . .

I have this perpetual delusional fantasy about how next week/month/you-name-it will be calmer and I will have time to spend where I want to. . .

Frances...Now I am really glad you posted because I think those are the perfect butter colored pumps that I have been looking for for 5 months!!! THAK YOU. See how important this posting can be!! I have shoes to buy for goodness sakes:)

Am I right? are those a soft butter colored pump?

Taylor, I know what you mean. My preference is for butter yellow over all the mustard yellow out there. These pumps are a little deceptive. They tend to look a little more mustard yellow in the bright daylight, but a softer butter yellow at night. However, they are decently comfortable and affordable. They're the Seychelles Box Step, and I think they may still be available at Amazon, Endless and the DSW websites if you're interested...

No available photographer; find Photobucket unwieldy; horrified by all photos I see of myself.

Frances, I like the tan version of the Seychelles! Some of the reviews said that the heel was a bit on the wide side and their heels would slip off the shoe. Did you experience that also? I have narrow heels but I need a wide toe box for my long toes.

Queenie, great question. I am happy to hear how many people love the WIW posts. I am planning to post more of them soon. I just need to get some things first -- full length mirror, suitable camera (anniversary present? hinting to hubby - haha)

Those of you who find Photobucket too much trouble might want to try Flickr instead. You can either upload photos via a web interface or you can install a small uploader on your computer and then it's just drag and drop.

Oh no! Now I'm feeling kind of anxious posting. I was initially concerned about "security" type stuff but overcame it to post outfits. But now I'm reminded of those initial feelings. As an aside, if my dad knew I was posting pics he'd flip. Anyway, ultimately I'm so glad I did. The feedback has been so tremendously helpful.

I wish that I could post more than I do. I pack my clothes in the morning and head off to yoga. I typically change into my outfit for the day in the bathroom and then do my makeup and hair in the car in the office parking lot. No real time to get a picture in. By the end of the day, I often feel "frumpled" and sometimes there isn't enough light for a decent picture and my family rolls their eyes at me when we're trying to squeeze in dinner and I'm asking for someone to take my picture.

I did want to mention that I wish more people would post pictures of the things they think aren't approved of by much of the group. It may be that you wear it in a different way, or with a different proportion than we've seen most of the time, or that others may share your appreciation for the look, but they're also afraid to admit it.

I noticed a while back that I was only posting pictures of outfits I either loved or hated. It struck me that I wasn't really giving an idea of what my real day to day style looks like. In turn, I think that makes it harder for others to offer advice. So, I've tried to make an effort to take more pictures of the mediocre and post groups of them from time to time.

Btw, what do y'all make of how differently outfits sometimes photograph than they look in person to you? Do you chalk it all up to delusion on your part that it looks like you think in real life? Or do you figure it's a trick of the camera and you look like you think you do?