2012 Review, Top 15, and I can't believe I WORE THAT!

Dear YLF,

Here are my Top 15 this year! Instead of the BEST 15 looks, I thought I'd pick fifteen looks I'd learn something from so I can improve on it for this year! It was painful to look through some of these, but it's all for the sake of learning, right?

1 to 5 - Things I love! Not all of them are recent, and not all of them are dresses! The common trend here though, are all of these pieces are things I wear a lot of - the stripey top in #1 I've worn a ton of times, and mixes well with all sorts of things! Also; the top in #5 as well, I can mix with basically anything. The other common thread is that almost all of these pieces are rather expensive - the cheapest piece is probably the dress in #2 from Forever 21 (I had to put it on hold because it was the last one left); and there are lots of interesting textural elements to each of them, whether it is pleats or layers in #1 and #2. And they're all belted!

6 to 10 - Really old outfits from the beginning of the year... An idea of where I came from and where I'm going to go. #9 and #10 are at the later part of the summer, but the other three are from awhile ago. I think I was totally in love with the topper in 7, 8, 9 and 10; but now I have more toppers to balance things out! I still have that one - it's kinda old now, but I can't find a replacement!

11 to 15 - UGH. Things I hate. I don't know why I ever wore these things; I guess they spoke to me at one point in time. #11 just looks washed out and no-good; that dress is long-gone. #12 pieces are long-gone as well; that dress is simply way too short for me, and I don't like that cardigan one bit. #13 is one that was more recent, but I don't really feel it with the bright bag. I will work on that more. #14 pattern mixing was one that REALLY I thought was cool at the time, but now I'm not a fan of it in the pictures. #15 I think is okay, but really doesn't have the texture or forethought I normally put into my outfits.

Any thoughts/revelations to share with me?

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11 years ago

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

Lyn, what I found over the last year is that it is more important to me how I feel in an outfit than how I actually look and what others think of it. Your style maybe evolving and what appealed to you before does not now because you moved on. For example shorter dresses look adorable on you and you are young enough to pull them on. However while you felt alright in them as a student they feel too juvenile for "grown up world" now.
BTW I really like #15, it is simpler than your other outfits, but it feels strong and clean.
I also was going through all my outfit photos for the last year and I cannot tell you how much I cringed looking at some of them which I apparently liked at the time...:-)

Caro in Oz

This is interesting to me, sometimes I learn a lot more from what I didn't like.
I personally love #7 & #8 on you but if I look at your likes & dislikes it seems to me that you are bringing the more classic & the more ALGO looks together into a more focussed look. So maybe it's the extremes that don't appeal to you any more. #2 & #3 seem to illustrate what I'm trying to say best - classic with clean romantic touches like print or colour.
I agree with Sveta that for me how I feel is more important than how I look to others (within reason of course).

Amy

The outfits you posted in 11-15 have a lot of similarities with those you prefer (belts, fuller skirts, polka dots, etc.). I suspect you have refined your sense of how things should fit, colors your prefer and ultimately quality.

I really like your style!

Jjsloane

When I went searching for my favorite outfits of 2012 I found more that I did not like than I thought I would. Fashion is constantly evolving and if we are paying attention so are we. Don't be hard on yourself, you look good in all of these even if you don't particularly love them.

lyn*

Thanks ladies!

I'm trying to be more picky with things I wear - just spent an hour picking apart embroidery on a perfectly good dress except for the ugly embroidery! Now wonderful!

Beth Ann

As I viewed the pictures, I felt I was seeing someone who has an excellent eye for proportions and silhouettes and enjoyed playing with them. You overall look is ladylike a feminine, with a trace of edge and good humor.

ManidipaM

I have to say I rather wish I could rescue #14 from Ugh-ville for you! I really rather like that pattern mix myself

And while I do feel you're coherent to your own stylistic leanings even in the last set, I can understand from your explanations WHY it doesn't feel quite right or good enough --- which only means that you're refining and honing the details of proportion, fit, mood each time, and that's fab! Like I was saying on Angie's 2012 Favourites thread, one of the best things about these retrospectives is showing us how far we've come, what we're ready to move on from, and giving us a better benchmark for next year's explorations.

Sara L.

I don't think any of these outfits is bad. Sometimes I have a hard time looking at past pictures of myself as well. I've decided not to be so hard on myself because some of it is due to changing styles. It's not necessarily that the past outfits were bad; I generally liked them while I was wearing them. It's just that my style has changed and I've moved on from what I once wore and liked.

Charmian

No particular revelations here -- I (secretly) loved most of them; your classic feminine style suits you, and you suit it!

I guess the one thing I would point out is that you have a lot of geometrics in the "ugh" pile. I can't tell whether the problem is with the piece (you mention problems with fit) or with the print.

The one thing I would add is: even though they seem "ugh" to you now, don't forget how awesome you felt at the time. Don't invalidate the good times you had with pieces and combinations that no longer suit you now!

PS: I adore your Cookie Monster phone case!

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