Today’s post on the recent YLF gathering in Boston was written by Massachusetts born and bred Nicole. A stylish East Coast lass, long time YLF supporter and fabulous forum member.

The YLF Boston Tea Party was a huge success!  Tanya was gracious enough to be the coordinator for this event.  She chose a wonderful restaurant, called “Stephanies” on Newbury Street in the heart of Boston’s shopping district.   We met on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, and greeted each other with hugs and kisses.  Strangers would never have guessed most of us were meeting for the first time.

Shiny, CarmenOhio, GreenGlove, Kellee, Tanya, Nicole and Shiny’s friend (click images to zoom in)

Dressing for the weather on a blustery November day in Boston can be tricky, but the Boston Tea Party Attendees rose to the occasion.  It was brought to our attention immediately that all eight of us were wearing boots.   The cold weather had us donning our warm jackets, a few hats and gloves and lots of colorful scarves.  The style quotient on Newbury Street runs from sub-casual to smart casual—and needless to say, we all fell into the smart casual realm.

Boots and bags (click images to zoom in)

Compliments of purses, coats, scarves and boots were shared, and I do believe we were drawing quite a bit of attention with how FABULOUS we all looked!  Once our table was ready, we wove our way through the crowded restaurant and the kibitzing began.  Surprisingly enough, our conversations were not centered around fashion.  We talked about our pets, our jobs, our families, where we lived in relation to downtown Boston, how much YLF has inspired us and how grateful we are that the members of our forum are so kind, nurturing and supportive.  There were no lulls in the conversation, no awkward silences—our topics of discussion were as varied and plentiful as the forthcoming food and drink!

We placed our brunch orders, which started with a fruit salad plate, ordered teas and coffees (and I think I saw a mimosa at the end of the table) and took lots of photos.  Angie has this adorable habit of declaring every photo she shoots as “BEAUTIFUL”.  I wonder if that is how models feel when their photographers are cheering them on.

After our brunch, we walked as a group to Angie’s hotel.  She took a few “must have” photos, and we all waited in the lobby while she returned her large camera to her room.  At this point, Anne and Shiny’s VFBF, Jane had to depart so we bid them farewell.  The remaining group bee-lined our way to H&M.  Greenglove bought a beautiful teal wool coat and a gold scarf that got high ratings from Angie.  Kellee bought a very pretty scarf, that the group confirmed was a good color for her.  Shiny and I tried on some hats, and Tanya and Angie browsed and offered valued opinions on color, style and quality.  We then made our way further down Newbury Street and hit a funky second hand store.  Tanya admitted to never having bought anything second hand, she was eyeing a pair of animal print wedges, but alas, they were too small.  Shiny tried on a fur hat—but decided it was too big for her small frame.

Unfortunately, at this point, my husband and kids arrived to whisk me away from all the fun and excitement.  Angie and Tanya were able to meet my family briefly.  My son was “hiding” but my daughter was chuffed to meet my online friends.  She asked me all kinds of questions about my “fashion friends” on the drive home.  Since my husband was double parked, I didn’t get a chance to say good bye to Shiny, Greenglove and Kellee, who had gone to the second floor of the consignment shop to look at designer dresses.

On a personal note, I’d like to thank Shiny for opening her home to me, and Tanya for making the plans and reservations.  I’d like to apologize to Kellee, Jean and Shiny for not saying goodbye.  Finally, I’d like to thank you, Angie.  Your ability to engage people has set a chain reaction in people’s lives.  The confidence you help people find in themselves creates friendships and interactions that may never have occurred.  You are a beautiful person (inside and out) and I am blessed to be part of your life.  I’d also like to thank Greg for making the forum possible, but also for sharing you with us today.

If anyone ever has the chance to meet up with YLF members, I highly recommend it.  As a matter of fact, I think it should be on everyone’s “bucket” list.  We hear all kinds of horror stories about online meetings, but we don’t hear enough about the positive encounters—which far outnumber the negative ones.  I know we have to be careful in this day and age, but we have to be careful with everyone we meet—not just internet friends.  So, to everyone who puts themselves out there, opens their hearts and minds, offers help and guidance and is willing to make this world a more fabulous place—I thank you!

Today’s post on the recent YLF gathering in Seattle was written by casual-chic boho Meredith, a fab friend and an active member of the YLF community.

Luck shined on us for the second YLF get-together. The sun filtered through the beautiful autumn leaves and into the windows of Café Flora, a lovely vegetarian restaurant in Seattle’s Madison Valley. About six of us gathered around the table, looking just as sunny as the day, sporting splashes of yellow and green.

Wild mushroom omelets, pumpkin pancakes, and sticky buns arrived at the table as we chatted about fashion, sipped our tea, and devoured our brunch. One question for Angie was, “How does one wear a brooch?” Angie said that wearing them on mufflers is a perfect way to combine the casual with the glitzy. Pinning them onto jackets is fine, but shoot for more monochromatic looks. Brooches that contrast too much with a garment can tend to look a bit garish and kitschy.

Another question was, “How do you know when your closet is full?” Angie told us about her system for knowing when she has enough clothes. Her closet has shelves with notches, and she hangs one hanger in each notch. When all the notches are full, she has a completely full wardrobe. Nothing new comes in, unless something else goes out.

Angie also shared a story about how the chemistry in her last hair dye had gone a bit wonky. I learned that your dye might change color over time. Although she left the salon blond, in a few days time her hair had turned a nice yellow. “I looked like Big Bird,” Angie said. But fortunately, better living can be achieved through chemistry. She returned to the salon, and they applied some sort of magical solution that returned her hair to the nice color we all know and love.

After eating our yummy food, sharing giggles, and catching up on families and travel (and yes, the elections too), we gathered outside to pose for the camera. Some of us have very few inhibitions when it comes to vamping for the lens. We had good, silly fun posing with our shoes, bags, and outfits in the sunny garden outside the café.

Sihaya layered multiple pieces to create a fantastic tailored look with depth and texture. Marianna sported preppy sophistication in skinny jeans, a button-down shirt and belted boyfriend cardigan. Julie was radiant in an earthy animal print cardigan and skinnies. Laurel looked lovely in a voluminous green print dress, leggings and fabulous coordinating green handbag. Angie was stunning in her retro Winter floral dress with chartreuse cardigan and chunky new pearls—all recent Hong Kong acquisitions. I wore a bohemian sweater over a tulip denim skirt and my favourite wedged knee-high boots

In the spirit of Autumn, boots and closed toe pumps were the order of the day: from Julie’s fab mock-croc grey snip-toed kitten heels and Marianne’s pretty chestnut mary-janes, to Sihaya’s riding boots and Angie’s pointy patent peds.

Oversized totes and structured satchels in brights or cream reigned supreme.

We are all looking forward to the next YLF get together. Hope to see you there!

We’re delighted to introduce our first guest contributor. Today’s entry is written by fabulously funky Antje, a good friend and long time member of the YLF community.

Thanks to Sihaya’s initiative, the first YLF gathering in Seattle took place on Saturday at the Queen Mary, a quaint tea shop near the U-Village. What a delightful afternoon we had! Any initial shyness was overcome within minutes as we plunged into lively conversations ranging from how we each discovered YLF to style icons we admire (including Audrey Hepburn, Helen Mirren and Cate Blanchett, with Tina Turner getting special mention for pulling off a mini skirt).

The style quotient in the room was sizzling. There were definitely some themes (four yellow handbags!), but there was also an abundance of individual style, unique combinations, fab accessories and statement pieces. We all stared in disbelief at Marianne, who told us she just had her second child seven months ago – she looked so trim and smashing in her Matchsticks. Sihaya stylishly paired the Franco Sarto booties from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale with ultra skinnies. Naf looked radiant in red, black and white and wore an amazing necklace. NuanceDream dazzled in a black and white day dress.

Sihaya, Naf, and NuanceDream

I myself went with an edgy look of shorter skirt over leggings and premiered my new grey patent leather pumps. JuliJuli looked killer in the black and white jacket she wore when she ran into Angie at Nordstrom a few weeks ago. Angie, of course, was in a league of her own. She wore her cream Anne Fontaine blouse; it is absolutely stunning with its cutout cotton organza fabric and funky sleeve detail. She paired this statement piece with black skinny jeans, a smart military charcoal jacket, patent leather pumps in a rich golden yellow, and a gorgeous cobalt blue Charles David purse from her extensive bag collection.

We took plenty of pictures and, in honor of one of the forum’s most active contributors, some of us decided to strike the famous “shiny pose”. Are we pulling it off?

Antje, JuliJuli and Angie

We all agreed that the best thing about YLF is that it really is a style community for “real women”. The outfit photos other members post are so tremendously helpful (a big THANK YOU to everyone on the forum who posts pictures!) and have inspired all of us in different ways, motivating us to try a new style or color, or just to experiment more with existing items in our wardrobes.

The gathering also presented a great opportunity to ask some questions that are a little more personal and quirky than the ones we typically see on the forum. My favorite questions to Angie were “What do you wear to walk your dogs?” and “Do you have a designated parking space downtown?” We learned that for short walks through the neighborhood, Angie just dons her Converse sneakers and takes off her necklace, but otherwise stays in smart casual garb. She wears fab and colorful athletic gear – always layered – for longer “power walks” with her four legged sweeties. And while there is no parking space with Angie’s name on it (yet), she does have a great relationship with the “lovely lads” from Nordstrom’s valet parking service, who always try to squeeze in her red VW for her (almost daily) trips to Nordies with clients.

Fantastic shoe choices!

Yellow was the order of the day for bags. Angie and I sported our favorite accessory: statement specs.

It was such a treat getting this group of women together and finding that our virtual connection on YLF translated well into the real world. We had plenty to chat about, started sharing a little bit about ourselves, cracked each other up with stories (including Nuance Dream’s report of pajama bottom sightings at her workplace, which happens to be the state capitol), and bonded to the point where we were all reluctant to part ways and decided to meet again later this fall. Hopefully other Seattle YLF fans will join us!

This entry wouldn’t be complete without a shout out to the pioneers of the YLF meetup. Ana and Patience from Austin, Texas, posted their story about a month ago, complete with photos and video.