Best of 2012

Since every other blogger is doing it, I thought I'd jump on the "2012 outfit recap" bandwagon. Here are my favorite outfits from the past year, with the link to each post under the photo...

Fall color-blocking

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Broken record

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Repeat

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French nautical

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Pink and gray

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Polka dots and mah jongg

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Another wedding

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Belated patriotism

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Life in black and white

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Free spirit

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Layered

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Love and leopard print

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Old clothes, new love

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Impractical footwear

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Traditions

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Stripes, stripes and stripes

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Styled by my husband

I'm dreaming of a non-rainy Christmas

All I want for Christmas is a rain-free day. Okay, that's not true - I also want some cool shoes, and books, and The Avengers on DVD. But a rain-free day is high on my list, because we haven't had one of those in a while.

This skirt just screams "Christmas" to me, so I wore it practically the same way as I did this time last year. (And after looking at that old post, I really miss my red hair.)

I hope all of you have a merry Christmas!

Turtleneck: Kohl's

Skirt: vintage, from an antique show

Boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Earrings and bracelet: gift

Belt: thrifted

Lumpy

This was one of those outfits that looked great in my ill-lit bedroom, but out in the light of day turned out to be kind of lumpy. That's what I get for layering a thin turtleneck over a stiffly pleated dress. Oh well - I really liked the concept, just not the execution.

Skirt (actually a dress): BB Dakota from Lulu's

Turtleneck: Old Navy

Scarf: self-made

Belt: came with dress

Tights: Forever 21

Shoes: DSW

The stuff that dreams are made of

My creativity was not needed to put together this outfit, because it came to me in a dream. Yes, I dreamed about wearing this outfit - and when I woke up it still seemed like a good idea, so I went with it :)

I really like this vest, but this is only my third time wearing it in over a year of owning it. It just doesn't go with much, so I'm always pleased when I find a way to wear it.

Sweater and vest: Anthropologie

Jeans: Levi's

Boots: Urban Outfitters

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

Necklace: Evidence Jewelry, won in a giveaway

Bracelet: gift from my mom

A non-Christmasy dress

I wore this to a Christmas brunch at my cousin's house a week ago (and then re-wore it for 10 minutes on Saturday to get photos). I know it's not really a Christmas-y dress, but it's so pretty and it makes me happy, so I wore it anyway.

Dress: Zara

Cardigan: Old Navy

Belt: Gap

Tights: Target

Boots: Steve Madden from Zappos

Earrings: B. Lee Designs

Jeans and boots

I've been feeling uninspired lately as far as outfits go. That's not a bad thing - it's not like creating interesting outfits is my job, or a crucial part of my existence. These jeans and boots have been worn a lot, and some of those jeans-and-boots outfits have been more interesting than others. Like this one - the women in my family went nuts when they saw this outfit a few weeks ago. I thought it was fairly simple, but they thought it was awesome, so I figured that meant it was worth posting on this blog.

Since I would feel weird only having one photo in this post (the top one is the only one that turned out), I thought I'd throw in these two below. The first one is my cousin Summer's awesome perfume collection, which I saw at a brunch on Sunday, and the second is my favorite of those perfume bottles, by Nicki Minaj...

Turtleneck: Kohl's

Crocheted vest: Forever 21

Jeans: Levi's

Boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Hat: Albertus Swanepoel for Target

Necklace: Forever 21

Belt: thrifted

Bracelet: In Pink

Fall color-blocking

I really have a thing for wearing these pants and these shoes with blue tops. (Seen here and here.) If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? Plus, I feel like these colors allow me to color-block in a somewhat calm way - I like outrageous fashion, but the insane neon color-blocking that I've been seeing in fashion magazines lately hurts my eyes.

Also - I made this bracelet! The gold piece is an old shoe buckle. It was one of the first bracelets I made earlier this year, so it's probably going to fall apart fairly soon due to lack of quality craftsmanship, at which point I suppose I will just re-make it.

Turtleneck: Kohl's

Jacket: purchased in China

Corduroy pants: Anthropologie

Shoes: Sam Edelman from Nordstrom Rack

Necklace: Dress Barn

Belt: thrifted

Bracelet: made by me

Humph!

I'm so glad I bought this skirt a few months ago. I have a limited number of shirts I can wear with it because of the unusual colors in the pattern, but I don't mind because it's such an odd, fun piece.

I added the pin to this outfit because "Humph" pretty much sums up my feelings towards all the rain we've been having lately. (If you look behind me in the photo above, you'll see that the path is flooded.) You'd think I'd be used to all the rain we get, having been an Oregonian for nearly three decades, but I'm not. I'm still astonished and disappointed every winter at just how much it rains.

Turtleneck: free from a family member

Chair skirt: Anthropologie

Brown tights: American Apparel

Boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

"Humph" pin: free from my aunt

Bracelet: gift

ScanFair

This is hardly an inspiring outfit, but man, it's been a long time since I last posted, so I thought I'd put it on here anyway. I wore this on Saturday to ScanFair, a festival put on by the Scandinavian Heritage Foundation in Portland every December. The women in my family have a tradition of attending every year, and buying each other Christmas presents there and eating delicious Scandinavian foods, like æbleskiver, and fruit soup and rice pudding.

I try not to pick on my appearance in blog photos too much, but today if I had a magic Photoshop wand that I could wave, I would fix the odd grimace/smile in the top photo (people were staring at me), my apparently missing eyebrows (they really don't show up well in photos), and the droopiness of the scarf (which is supposed to button neatly at the neck, but clearly didn't cooperate).

Striped blouse: Forever 21

Leather jacket: MICHAEL Michael Kors from Nordstrom Rack

Jeans: Levi's

Flats: ShoeMint

Necklace: Bauble Bar

Scarf: made by me