I did a round up of my year's favorite make-up and beauty products here. It would be unfair not to apply the same amount of love and attention to my wardrobe, which has its equal share of success stories.
1. Topshop Grey Short Sleeved Blazer
This is quite frankly the best thing in my closet. The cut is gorgeous - fitted, but slightly boxy on the shoulders and cropped on the sleeve to make the perfect shrunken boy blazer look. I picked this up in March, and I last wore it on Saturday night. During the day it's been perfect over ripped denim shorts, baggy faded boyfriend jeans, and cutesy floral dresses. At night, I use it to dress down my leather jeans, or to tone down a sequinned t shirt.
2. Slouchy Worn In Work Boots from Gap
These were such a random impulse purchase, and ohmigoodness they have definitely earned their place in my wardrobe hall of fame. Perfectly worn in and slouchy, these add the perfect androgynous rock girl touch to all outfits - skirts, shorts, the works, come rain or shine. The slouchiness makes them supremely flattering even on my less than slender calves. They look even better with chunky legwarmers worn poking out the top like extra thick socks. I'm really looking forward to rocking them with some of the Rodarte for Target dresses for that perfect girly meet grunge look.
3. Alexander Wang Pocket Tank in Mushroom
Actually, I don't know what the official color is, but if I were naming it, that's what it would be. This tank is has just the right level of slouch that gives the wearer an air of insouciance. It does expose a rather large amount of cleavage and is quite loose, so I add an American Apparel bandeau top underneath to protect my dignity. I really love how long the tank is though - it hits my hips and pokes out below anything I wear it under. I've worn it a lot with denim hot pants all summer, and leather pants and my black peg leg trousers in fall. It's made of a rayon blend that makes it super soft as well. I mentioned at the top of this post that these were things I had literally put holes in. Well, I didn't put holes in this shirt, but my little puppy dog dig, when he chewed the bottom of it when I wasn't paying attention. Doh. Although I like to think that it adds to the devil may care downtown girl look.
4. Denim Hotpants Everywhere
I am not the first, nor the last person to wear these to death. I have a couple of pairs - some I picked up from Miss Selfridge a couple of years ago which are super big for me but have cut cuffs which are nice and flattering in length. They are hugely too big for me and I can easily pull them off without undoing any buttons, but I can't imagine ever replacing them. My other pair are a pair of second hand destroyed Levis I picked up in Urban Outfitters. They are all ripped and frayed, super short with the pockets poking out the bottom. Yes, every girl has them, but still, they look effortlessly cool. The only downer is that as they are vintage Levis, they are cut ridiculously high waisted, and they are less than ass-flattering. But you know, I can trade that for legs that go on for miles, for clothing that looks awesome dressed up or down (sequins plus denim shorts plus heels plus aforementioned boyfriend blazer = style heaven), and looks just as good with rocking heels or dressed down sandals. Happy happy times.
5. J Crew Mohair Cardigan
There are some things that you buy without really thinking about, and then before you know it, they have surged to the top of your wardrobe. My gray mohair cardigan that I got during one of my frequent "25% off everything must buy it all" J Crew hauls that leads me to receive huge boxes in the mail and then have to slink back to my local J Crew and return most of it. I swear they must think I have a weird obsessive late night internet shopping disorder, apart from I am willing to lay money on the fact that I am hardly the only girl who does this. This didn't seem like much when I first picked it up, just a standard gray cardigan, but somehow it just kept being added to all my outfits - suitable for work, snuggly for home, just enough upper east side to make my scrubby ripped up jeans a little less homeless girl chic, just enough homeless girl chic when I used it to dress down pretty dresses. I usually wear it with a skinny brown belt to give it a touch more shape. The best part is probably the three quarter sleeve length. My wrists are my favorite part of me - unlike my ankles they are pretty skinny, so anything three quarters length gets major thumbs up in my book.
6. Topshop (P)leather Jeans
Confession: I really wish I had sprung the $150 for the real leather pants when I bought these. Instead, I thought I was going through a passing fad, and would only wear them a couple of times, so should just stick to the fakeys. Oh, how I was wrong. I LOVE these. I don't know why. They are only semi-flattering (when you are off the athletic build rather than a stick thin model that is really the best that you can hope for!), but how much do I love the attitude they give me. Seriously, there is no bigger ego boost than putting these on. You just instantly become rockier, cooler, edgier. Highly recommended, although they must come with heels. Oh, and if you are thinking of getting a pair, I'd suggest looking for ones with pockets on the front to break up the front - much more flattering.
7. American Apparel Photo T Shirt
This is a slightly oversized (well, for girls anyway) shirt with a newspaper picture on it. I have no idea about the significance of the photo. For all I know I could be advocating some crazy terrorist activity. But the t shirt fits great, looks cool, and I've worn it with simple preppy shorts, rocking leather jeans, shorts, jeans, everything possible since I got it. There's something about the size of the arms that just makes me love it. Random, I know.
8. Topshop Red and Blue Checked Shirt
This red and blue checked shirt came from Topshop at the start of the year. For the record, I started the year with 2 checked shirts, and finished it with 6. That's a 200% increase for all you math wizards out there. This year was all about the flannel/plaid/check print, bringing out our preppy sides all over. This shirt is a light enough material to be almost sheet, but at least incredibly light to wear, and so I was able to wear it all summer, and in winter with a white tank underneath it. The pattern and colors are lovely and big, and it came with those little hanging things that allow you to keep your shirt sleeves rolled up. They have a name, right?
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So there you have my items that got a whole lotta love this year. Maybe worse for me is the fact that there are heaps of items that just don't get the love they deserve. Next year I'll be working on bringing those to light and trying to get them the true recognition they deserve.
