One Year Retrospective - My Favorite Posts

Hope all of you are having a wonderful day!

Today, I'm feeling retrospective and want to share with you my favorite posts from my first year of blogging. 

Here are my Top 15, in no particular order:

#1     Zesty Lemon and Lace
I chose this look because it looks so springy and is fairly versatile.  The tunic over the pants is a unique touch, and I love citrine yellow!

Zesty Lemon and Lace

#2     Ballerina Fantasies
My ballerina and fashion fantasies come to life?  What more can I say?

Ballerina Fantasies

#3     Adventures in Traveling:  Cape Cod, Massachussetts

I chose this post because I loved Provincetown, Massachussetts and because I NEVER thought that I would post a picture of myself in a bathing suit on the internet.  If it weren't for all the amazing and much braver bloggers of all shapes and sizes out there rocking such awesome swimwear, I would have never have had the courage to do this.  I'm learning to be much more unapologetic about my weight.  If people don't like what I've got going on...DON'T LOOK!  :-D

Adventures in Traveling: Cape Cod, Massachussetts

#4    Whimsy for Work

I love citrine. I love bow blouses. I love these black tuxedo pants. I love blazers.  I love mixing prints.  Lots of things I love rolled into one work outfit!

Whimsy for Work

#5     The Dark Side of the Sun

My current favorite outfit, I love everything about this outfit!  And I look HAWT!! ;-D

The Dark Side of the Sun

#6     Mod Squad
I really like mod-inspired prints, and I love this vintage purse necklace!!  Also, fashion for a cause...

Mod Squad

#7     Keep or Return?
I ultimately decided to return this dress because I just wasn't crazy about the print, but I loved how the pictures turned out for this post.  I also love how this dress fit - I really want to find something cut just like it, but in a more agreeable print or solid.  I felt very vintage pin-up, and I liked it! 

Keep or Return

#8     Tuxedo Redux
I love tuxedo-inspired fashion.  A LOT!  I think this watercolor print top is so pretty.  I bought it off eBay about three years ago, and it was too small.  I was so excited when it finally fit. 

Tuxedo Redux

#9     Gaga for Lady Gaga 
I had so much fun with my hair and make-up for a Lady Gaga concert.  It was fun to explore my more creative side and to show a side of my personality that work life (and laziness) do not usually allow me to show.

Gaga for Lady Gaga

#10     Tweed, Leather, and Volume
I love this tweed sweater.  It is like a super stylish Snuggie!!!  My sun belt made a rare appearance.  I love suns so much I have two sun tattoos! 

Tweed, Leather, and Volume

#11     Dress Week:  Coming Up Roses
I love few items of clothing more than a maxi dress.  This is an older one that I don't wear much because I didn't have it hemmed short enough so it requires me to wear some of my highest heels or wedges.  Usually when I wear a maxi dress, I prefer flat sandals for a comfortable casual outfit.  This dress makes me feel super tall though, and I find the overall fit to be very flattering in the usual sense.  I don't understand why some "experts" claim maxi dresses aren't a good choice for petites.  I personally find them elongating.  I also love that this print is different than many of the prints I usually see on maxi dresses.

Dress Week: Coming Up Roses

#12     Day-to-Night Dress Up
This outfit made me feel very chic and pulled together.  I really love this cool architectural web necklace.

Day-to-Night Dress Up

#13     Skirt Week:  Grrrrrrl Power!!
I did not choose this post for the outfit.  I like the outfit, but I don't love it.  The outfit was meant to illustrate my post about how one's various social statuses affect how one is perceived, including what one's clothing "means."

Skirt Week: Grrrrrrl Power!!

#14     The Yin and Yang of Dressing
I wasn't overly thrilled with this particular outfit, my hair, or how the pics turned out, but I love the idea behind this post. 

The Yin and Yang of Dressing

#15     Skirt Week:  Drama Queen
This outfit made me feel glamorous. The pieces are actually quite easy and can be worn much more casually.  I love the floatiness of this look.

Skirt Week: Drama Queen

And an honorable mention!

Loving Myself:  The Path to Self-Acceptance
This post was cleansing to my soul - it was everything I felt about my body or did out of body shame that I had been too embarrassed to share with all but a couple of people.  Putting it out to the public made me feel so much more authentic.  I felt like my secret was out.  I really hope that this post helped somebody, anybody in feeling a little bit better about their own bodies.  Developing self-awareness and an appreciation of the bodies in which we inhabit is a journey that will take many twists and turns, but it's a journey worth taking.

Loving Myself: The Path to Self-Acceptance

In reviewing my first year of posts, I see outfits I love, outfits that make me cringe, and outfits that are just so-so.  I think that's the nature of fashion.  Fashion and style changes, even within a year's time.  Also, if you are a fashion explorer, which I tend to be, you're bound to make some missteps along the way.

I think blogging has given me a better idea about what looks good on my body and what doesn't.  That has helped me to become a better, more consistent shopper in that I am more aware of what brands, cuts and styles look best on me.

That said, I don't always choose the most "flattering" option.  I love fashion and require a certain level of variety in my wardrobe or I become bored too quickly.  For the sake of fashion, fun, personal challenge, or even whim, I will sometimes make choices that do not make me look slimmer and taller - an idea that is relatively taboo in certain parts of the fashion world - especially for a short, chubby girl.

I have a hard time identifying or labeling my personal style.  I tend to be a "I know it when I see it" type of shopper and do not always consistently choose clothing from a certain style category (boho, preppy, edgy, goth, trendy, classic, etc.).

I do know that I always like black (everything seems chicer in black), blazers, layered looks (see blazers), tuxedos (see blazers), interesting textures, patterns and details, and a touch of edginess. 

Blogging has allowed me to explore my style more than I have in years.  After having my daughter five years ago, I gained a lot of weight and had to replace my entire wardrobe.  For several years, my wardrobe was much more basic and classic because I was trying to obtain the essentials and was learning how to dress a differently shaped body.  I was so ready to add more joy and personality to my wardrobe, and over the course of the last year, I have been doing just that.

What type of shopper are you?  Do you have a way of describing your personal style? 

Have you had fluctuations in your weight or changes in your body shape over time?  How has that affecting your shopping habits and clothing choices?

Stay tuned...Later this week, I'll be announcing some changes to my blog that I hope you will enjoy!

If you haven't entered my giveaway for a handmade tutu (adult or child), please hurry and do so...Contest ends August 1, 2013 at 11:59 p.m. CST).  Details here.