Ok, plenty of people will be sitting out besides me! I feel better

Unfortunately this will probably be a pipe dream for me. I will be visiting the States (more specifically California) in 2011 to visit some friends from my Masters program and see some more of the world so hopefully I'll be able to meet with some of the San Francisco based YLFers!

Laura, if a worldwide YLF convention does happen we're looking at 2011. That way more people can save up for the event :0)

Things can obviously change, but I'd say that from a sheer YLF forum head count point of view, Seattle is tops. But San Francisco and Chicago are more central and probably the top contending cities at the moment.

I'm afraid that Vegas leaves me cold :0(

This sounds great and I would love to go. Hope it happens.

How about considering Hawaii?

Seattle, Angie made YLF and she lives there, so I think we should fly to see HER!!!

I'm pulling for Seattle because so many people live in that area already and it would be relatively inexpensive for those of us that don't. Maybe another broke YLFabber will split a hotel room with me...

Another reason I'd like to go is to see Angie in action at the flagship Nordstrom. She's a star at Macy's so I can only imagine...:)

I'm not even sure what a "convention" means. Are we all going to take over a hotel, like a YLF conference? Are we just going to go shopping in a massive group? What does this entail exactly? :\

This is such an awesome idea! If it's a success we could make it a yearly event, and have it at a different city every year. Perhaps this way everyone would have an opportunity to attend depending on the city. Seattle one year, New York the next, Chicago, Europe....the possibilities are endless! Just a tiny bit excited here!

Renata, you're sweet. For the record: I am the voice on the YLF blog, but Greg, (as his labour of love to me) created the site, maintains it daily from a technical and marketing point of view, and also continues to add fabulous features. Without me AND Greg, there would be no YLF.

There are cheap flights to Seattle and cheap hotels right in the city centre. Maya, I'd put my head on a block that you'd find a fellow YLF'er to share a hotel room with chop-chop.

We have a year to think about the first ever YLF Convention. What it would entail and what you'd like to see it entail. I guess those details will also depend on the head count.

Thinking caps on!

It would be so much fun if private vendors brought their clothes to *us* in a big room that we rented out, and we got to browse around different booths and buy stuff. It would be a way for us to all shop without having to deal with annoying other people that we would at a mall or department store :p

Vendors would pay a fee to set up a booth, which would cover some of the expense, and they would make money from their sales and have exposure both at the event and on the blog, so everyone wins.

It would be incredibly hard to coordinate and probably only works in my head rather than real life...but it would be neat. Our own shopping island I read about a similar idea on another blog, but I only have a vague memory of it, and it was much smaller in scale than what this would probably be. It is just tough trying to coordinate events that can accommodate so many people. Obviously not all the regulars on YLF will come, and I anticipate most probably won't due to other obligations or setbacks...but the Seattle ladies alone probably amount to at least 15, so I could see it getting to maybe 25-30 people max.

If it's 2011, I'll certainly have a job and so will Marianna (if not, I'll be a well-kept housewife). I think we should be roomies!

Perhaps we can start by thinking of what we want this to be.
I would think that we would want it to be in a very fashion oriented town. I don't think Las Vegas is exactly that, even though it is a fun place. I don't think Hawaii is fashion oriented either, even though I just put it on the list of possible places because I thought it would be a fun place.
When we decide if we want to have fun and relax, or really dig into our fashion interests, it will help to narrow down the places to have it. Perhaps a place with outstanding window shopping possibilities?

Such an awesome idea!

Anywhere in continental US sounds good to me, and I will try hard to make it to whichever place we select. One place I'm not keen on is Vegas, although I know it's very popular for conventions.

Seattle sounds excellent because I've been dreaming about a longer trip up north to see several friends there, including meeting Angie and other YLF members, of course. It's going to be hard to get out for family reasons, but I WILL try.

Hee, I hope it can also become a traveling convention (in a new location every time), so more members can attend.

I've been saving for such an occasion for a while - it's a good motivator

In truth, it would take major changes in our financial situation to be able to attend, we have not had a family holiday (or any holiday) for the past two years, so I would have to fulfill that obligation first.

Finances aside, I love the idea of the YLF Convention.

I love the idea of a huge swap party held in a hall with rails and rails of YLF members wardrobe orphans.

I also love Maya's idea of the YLF market, with stalls from local shops and jewellery makers.

You could hold a competition to win an hours shopping with Angie with the proceeds going to charity.

Oh so many possibilities, come on economy, please do your bit!

Maya, I like the positive thinking. We will both have jobs in 2011 and we WILL be able to attend the worldwide YLF convention. Roomies sounds good to me! And everyone else who is struggling financially will be filthy rich and also able to attend!

I think it would be fun to rent out an entire Nordstrom and have the store all to ourselves. But that's clearly unrealistic. BUT... the company I work for rented out an entire Gap for a staff holiday party last year, so renting out a retail store is a possibility... but I'm sure it's expensive. (I wasn't invited to the Gap shopping spree because I wasn't full time, sigh).

Marianna & Maya, I also like your positive thinking! Alright by 2011, I will have a job and some savings and will be able to consider travelling for this. Maybe I'll coordinate my Stateside visit with the YLF convention. Hmmmm...

OMG, can you imagine the damage done if YLF took over Nordstrom? I think they'd have to close for several days until they were able to restock! It would be picked bare. BUT, they would make a killing and in a recession, that is a big deal!

I would of course spend the whole time in the shoe dept. My Nordstrom is sort of sad and small and doesn't carry a lot of the stuff I hear about on the forum (like Fidji shoes...grr).

OK, if it's Seattle, maybe there's a way for me to offer "sleeping bag space" on my living room floor.

I love the idea of YLF activities. Perhaps we'll need a conference room space that's large enough for us to get together when we're not sleeping. I know a lot of the great hotels with meeting spaces in the area because of my job.

I wonder if Nordie's would consider an after hours exclusive for YLF members where we can have a run of the store. And a clothing swap with members. And lots of high tea. And a red handbag day. And a masseuse and manicurist who can do the rounds wherever we are for those who might want extra services ..... happy sigh.

Be careful what you say Sihaya. I might take you up on your sleeping bag service if I can't afford the hotel!

Woohoo, YLF slumber party! :p

I like the ideas of the clothing swap idea and spa services (maybe include haircuts?)
Also, I'd like a formal (or informal) image analysis session, with YLFers as real models to demonstrate the dressing of different body types and use of color.

Seattle sounds great to me! It's a great city, and I would like to explore it some more.

Well, I know this is still in the hypothetical stage, but I can safely say that I'd most likely still be living in the Seattle area in 2011 and would be happy to house a YLF-er who would prefer that option over a hotel. (It may be a hide-a-bed or Aerobed depending on what my living quarters are like.)

Tea sounds like the perfect staple to a YLF convention regardless of what the other activities may be!

I like the idea of 2011!! I have to put in my holidays a year early, so that takes some of the spontanaeity out of life!! I vote for something close to the equator so both hemishperes can make it - Hong Kong/Singapore/Bangkok would be perfect!!!

Otherwise if it has to be in America, somewhere you can fly to direct from Australia e.g. LA (although not such a fab city) or SF (although I was there last year already - doh)!

p.s. can it please be somewhere with H&M. Haven't been to one since I was in HK in October and I am already going through withdrawal!!!!

Tam! How are you? I've been meaning to ping you on FB to see how you're doing after your move. Have you settled enough to be comfortable?

This all sounds grand to me, too.

I would have no problem sharing a room ( great idea, Maya ).

In fact, I LOVE camping. I will bring a 6 person tent and some sleeping bags ( in addition to the bags under my eyes ). I also have the coleman camping stove and a solar operated radio. Oh, and better yet, a HUGE backpack for stuffing goodies in !!!!!!

Oh if it's somewhere camping accessible, my chances of making it are much higher.

I'm seriously late to this, but I'm in! If it's in San Francisco I'd be happy to host some people, and may have a condo available for use in Chicago. This would be so incredibly fun!

Chewyspaghetti, I love it, camponistas !!

Oh wow! We have several FABULOUS ideas floating around already and I'm sure that this is just the start. Still, the first thing that we would have to get clarity on is the hosting city. I think it's still up in the air.

I'm still sticking to somewhere in the US. I know that is an inconvenience to the Euro gals and Australian ladies, but practically speaking, most of the YLF community is from the US. It is what it is. I would not expect a (random example) Copenhagen-based blog with a mostly Danish audience to host an event in Chicago.

Ultimately I think this is about getting a good turnout. Once you start moving out towards more exotic locations like Hong Kong, I'm sure far fewer people will even consider making the trip. I'd like to meet as many people as possible!

So, perhaps it is best to choose a US city that is at least practical for international members to get to. Others will have more input on that than me. On the other hand, going back to the subject of turnout and what makes sense, I still think so many members are based in Seattle that it just makes sense to do it there. I'm not sure how directly accessible Seattle is for international travelers though.

I like the idea of Seattle, too, especially for the first ever YLF convention. Is it convenient for international travel?

A YLF friend had a wonderful suggestion today. She said we should have workshops with experts to help us pick new hairstyles, choose new spec frames, etc. How cool would that be!