Put a hat on it

Yes folks, it's true: I love my hats. For my "year in review" post, I thought it would be fun to show you all the hats I've worn this year.

Slouchy urban safari

I have been horribly sporadic about my outfit photos this week. Mostly I've just wanted to stay curled up on the couch in sweatpants and a t-shirt, and that means we've taken only one set of photos this week. Still, I felt like I should post something, so I went through some old outfits that I never posted and settled on this one. I hated these photos when we first took them, but I think that was just because I was really grumpy that a bunch of teenage boys kept driving past us and shouting rude things while we were taking them. Looking at this outfit now, I see that it's not so bad. It's kind of a slouchy urban safari look, which is interesting if not necessarily flattering.

Sweater and shorts: thrifted from Goodwill

Tights: Forever 21

Socks: Gap

Shoes: Urban Outfitters

Hat: vintage, gift from my dad

Giraffe pins: from my aunt

Bracelets: H&M

Neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night

While the gloom of night most definitely keeps me from taking outfit photos, rain and snow do not. If you look closely, you can actually see rain droplets flying across my face and sweater. Not my best outfit photos, but oh well.

I really love this dress. It was great to wear on boiling hot summer days (like here and here), and it's worked well with layers during colder weather (like here). And because my whole outfit was looking far too normal and nice, I had to add my wonderful new felted cowgirl pirate hat. I do love striking hats, and this one is officially the weirdest one I own. (Interestingly, Josh likes it better than this one. Apparently pointy edges, asymmetry, and absurdly large brooches do something for him that scalloped edges do not.)

(Now that I see this photo, I realize there is way too much jewelry going on with the brooch on the hat, the earrings, and the necklace. Whoops.)

Sweater: Anthropologie

Belt: free from aunt

Skirt (actually a dress): thrifted from Village Merchants

Tights: American Apparel

Boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Hat: gift from my parents, from ScanFair

Earrings: gift from my parents, B. Lee Designs

Necklace: bought in China

NBC peacock

I wore this outfit on Christmas Eve - both to brunch with Josh's family in the morning, and to a party with my family in the evening. Everyone went wild over these shoes, which were Josh's Christmas present to me. My sequined shirt was a big hit, too - it's the perfect shirt for a holiday party. True to form, though, when I asked my brother what he thought of this outfit, he said, "You look like the NBC peacock." Little did he know that I took that as a compliment.

Top: Forever 21

Skirt: H&M

Tights: American Apparel

Shoes: Asos, gift from Josh

Earrings: Simply Jo Designs

Simple

Sometimes the simplest outfits are the ones I like the best, like this one. It doesn't have any of my typical touches - masses of jewelry or a funky hat - but I really loved it. For holiday parties I typically like to wear weird and eye-catching combinations (like Monday's outfit, or the one from Thanksgiving), loads of jewelry, neon tights, or some kind of statement top, but this is the kind of outfit I should wear to holiday parties - simple and pretty. Now if only I could get past my belief that people need to be shocked and awed whenever they see what I'm wearing...

For those of you who celebrate it, I hope you have a merry Christmas! Josh and I tried to take a Christmasy photo with Onyx to put on here, but it wasn't the best due to Onyx wanting to stare at us and not the camera. Oh well. Here it is anyway!

Top: free from a friend of my aunt

Skirt: thrifted from William Temple House, shortened by me

Tights: American Apparel

Shoes: Lulu's

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

Bracelets: In Pink

Belt: thrifted

Basic shopping

While I do own quite a few items of clothing that are from thrift stores, and I do have some pieces from local boutiques, I'd say that the majority of my clothes are from only a few stores, namely: Anthropologie, Gap, H&M, Forever 21, Target, and Urban Outfitters. And maybe when I'm older and don't have student loan debt I'll shop at higher-end stores and local stores, but for now those stores fulfill most of my clothing needs. They provide me with both the basics that I need (like this skirt and sweater) and the unnecessary but fun pieces that I buy on impulse (like this vest).

Sweater: Target

Skirt: Gap

Vest and tights: Forever 21

Boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Earrings: church craft fair

Necklace: Dress Barn

Belt: thrifted from Goodwill