It's been a really good year for me, style-wise, and I'm looking forward to an even better one in 2022.

My 2021 Style Goals were:

• Buy and dress for comfort
  • I wanted to purchase bras without underwire, and I did; I've started wearing TomboyX sports bras every day and I LOVE them. I'm going to need to buy the next size down due to weight loss, but I'm quite happy with them. I may choose to go back to underwire after I'm done losing weight, but right now, all I care about is comfort and budget.
  • I wanted to get a pair of sneakers that are perfect for my feet... and while I didn't do it YET, I've decided to give New Balance a go. My fiancée got a pair of their sneakers and a pair of their hiking boots for her exceptionally fussy feet, and they've literally changed her life. This goal for me will extend into 2022.
• Reduce my wardrobe size
  • HUGE success. I did a "doesn't fit anymore" purge in the summer, then a "do I actually like it?" purge a few weeks ago. My fiancée and I are doing KonMari and I love it. It was a big help for getting to a comfortable wardrobe size. I think I've finally internalized the idea that clothing in my size is more abundant than ever, and the right items WILL come to me eventually... no need to hold onto things too long, or settle for not quite right.
    
• Embrace eclecticism
  • I didn't play with eclecticism much this year, but will strive to do it more in 2022. What I did instead was really figure out what aesthetics I currently enjoy, as opposed to used to enjoy but no longer desire. For example, some soul searching made me realize that I'm less drawn to goth and punk styles than I used to be and am much happier incorporating some of those elements into a generally more modern classic look. I still have so much love for Docs, though; as a child of the 90s, I don't see that changing.
    
• Add more neutrals
  • I was definitely successful in this endeavor. I managed to acquire black bootcut jeans, which have become a workhorse. I've added a little dark brown (yay, Botkier bag!) and, surprisingly, white. At Universal Standard, I finally found the perfect white tee that is soft, bright, and not too thin and transparent. I'd like to add more white, but sparingly. I'm also realizing that I use burgundy as a neutral, much like olive green; given that, I did acquire more of my burgundy "neutral": a burgundy fedora, purchased this weekend in Helen, GA.
• Maybe add colors

• I've indulged my craving of more color by adding a red and white (really, I think it's more orange than red) striped tee, a teal and seafoam striped tee, a lavender and white sweater vest, and a royal blue knit top, off the top of my head. The burgundy fedora can count as color, too, even though it feels like a neutral to me.

All in all, I feel good about my goal-following this year. A few other things I'm happy about that weren't explicitly made into goals at the beginning of the year are:

• I was highly selective with new purchases. I took the time to check my measurements, and when I received garments, I made sure I was happy with the fit before committing to keeping them. I passed on a lot of items I liked but that were out of my budget, not quite right, or I realized I'd have wanted in the past, but not right now. Everything I bought this year, except for the fedora for which I'll need to create a custom find, is attached to this post.
• I updated many wardrobe basics and essentials to suit my comfort needs and my changing body. I'm going to do some more soon, including socks and blue jeans.
• I've been striving to add purchases to YLF Finds right away, and I've done well with that. Instead of trying to get my entire current wardrobe into Finds, I'm just adding NEW things, because a lot that I currently own will not remain in my wardrobe as my body changes. Why do all the extra labor, especially when my apartment gets pretty poor light for photography?
• I've been growing out my hair, which has been enjoyable. I loved having it short for the last several years, but I'm enjoying the medium length it currently is. I've also gone back to my natural dark brown instead of keeping up with rainbow colors because I go see my stylist less frequently due to the pandemic and physical distance. I have a feeling I'll want to experiment with color again in the future, but it's been refreshing to have my hair dark again. It's also fun watching the grey hairs come in one at a time.

Finally, here are a few lessons learned:

• I'm far more comfortable wearing clothes that make small but impactful statements than I am in anything super flashy. Flashy stuff feels like a costume on me, so I'll enjoy those looks on others who wear them with panache.
• Day to day, I wear about 3 types of outfits with interchangeable components. Like most humans, I don't actually need as many options as I THINK I do. I'm not quite a uniform dresser, but I'm more toward that end of the spectrum than the needs-loads-of-variety end.
• I'm over (most) menswear. I'm happiest with fairly androgynous items, with the occasional overtly masculine or feminine item thrown in. And I feel much more attractive in clothing that is cut for feminine bodies in most cases. That said, I do enjoy rocking a necktie at a formal event, and I love men's dress shoes and women's shoes inspired by men's dress shoes.
• The closet isn't too small; you just have too many clothes. (This is true for me, not necessarily for others; someone who enjoys a large wardrobe would absolutely hate my tiny walk-in closet and, more-so, the SUPER tiny closet I had at my parents' house.)

I'll create my style goals for 2022 soon. I think the themes will center around my weight/body change, staying in my ideal wardrobe size range, and creating/refining mix and match capsules comprised of the things I love to wear most. I also want to continue to shop the way I shopped this year, because it felt DEAD RIGHT for me and led to wardrobe additions I really love to wear.

Thanks for reading! I'm excited to check out everyone else's end of year posts. They're some of my absolute favorites on this forum.