The less said about the first 3 weeks of December, the better. The month redeemed itself somewhat once the holidays kicked in, but I am definitely ready to turn a new page on the calendar. I expect that 2019 will feel like a long run-up to a truly milestone year – my husband and I will both turn 40 and will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary in 2020 – but I don’t want to give it short shrift. One of my don’t-call-it-a-resolution resolutions is to live more fully in the moment. With that said, the next few months will probably be a bumpier ride than usual, so apologies in advance if I’m not around here as much.

But enough looking forward; let’s take a look back at last month’s work outfits:

I said there would be more colour than in November and … there was, kinda? Wearing black is a hard habit to break, and I’m not really even trying. Overall, though, I am pleased with how this month’s “capsule collection” worked out – as a whole, it was nicely representative of my various style personas/avatars.

I also thought it might be fun to do a snapshot of the last 4 months:

The top left quadrangle is September; top right is October; bottom left is November; bottom right is December.

There isn’t a drastic overall contrast, but if you compare September and December, I think you can see how much more cohesive the latter collection is. You may wonder why I am obsessed with the concept of cohesion in my wardrobe/outfits, and honestly, I couldn’t really explain it myself until recently, when I  started reading up on my Enneagram type again. That is a discussion for another post, but trust me when I say that it’s a very 4w3 thing to be obsessed with.

Just for fun, here’s an even longer walk down memory lane. December 2016 (top) and 2017 (bottom):

So much more colour! But the outfits are all over the map. I still really like some of them (and this type of exercise is a good reminder to revisit them) but together they feel overwhelming. Onwards and upwards!

I had been slacking on the crafts front for the last few months, but the prospect of Christmas spurred me into action. I do like making little presents for people, though I think of them more as a creative outlet for me than a true gift for the other person – my skills still leave plenty to be desired. Here are a few of the pieces I made for this holiday season.

My boss had asked me for a piece with that phrase (motto? lol) some time ago, and I figured it was time I obliged. I was inspired by some YouTube videos I watched with my daughter which teach kids how to draw easy anime-inspired cartoon characters. And, just between you and me, she’s not the only one who likes rainbow-coloured unicorns. It seemed like a good match for my theme; I always appreciate a good juxtaposition of sweet and salty.

One of my co-workers is a big Star Wars fan, so this Santa Yoda was a no-brainer. This was such a fun little project – it only took a couple of hours. The trickiest part was cutting the felt pieces, but the rest was a breeze. It was a big success too.

This, on the other hand, took the longest – about 20 hours over a period of 2 weeks or so. I made it for my mom, and it was my most complex project to date. I was inspired by one of the vintage travel posters in my “sticker art” book. I started by copying the design from the original poster template.

Then I applied all the stickers to the template, and used the finished poster as a colour guide for my embroidery. At the end, I added a few touches of my own (clouds, beading).

I wasn’t 100% satisfied with how it turned out, but it was a solid effort.

Last but not least, this was another fun, very last minute project. I had made something else for my BFF, but wasn’t happy with the result, so I decided to start something different from scratch. Initially, I wanted something with a steampunk (or anime-steampunk mash-up) vibe. In Googling for inspo, I came across a cool drawing of an eyeball surrounded by flowers, and decided it would be perfect. Because the original pic was low quality, I freestyled the whole thing (and especially the flowers) as best as I could. I wanted a more realistic, as opposed to cartoonish, feel which required me to brush up on some stitches I hadn’t used in a while. I think it turned out quite nicely.

All this stitching has reignited my love affair with yarn arts. Now that Christmas is over, I have a few projects I want to do for myself … aaand I’m seriously considering buying a weaving loom. Stay tuned …

In 2018, my style evolution reached a phase that feels, well, “just right”. I have also come to realize that I am not a person whose wardrobe will ever be static, but I love this iteration of it and I am looking forward to enjoying it for a while. I have a lot more thoughts on the psychology behind my approach to clothing/personal style, but I will save those for another post. For now, let’s have a look at outfits.

There is probably something to be said about the fact that I have had my casual style figured out way before my professional/work style. I don’t think there has been as drastic a change in my casual outfits since, hmm, 2016 or so? I have simply been perfecting the same outfit formulas, and adapting them as new pieces have come into my closet. Here are my top 9 favourite casual looks:

As expected, the colour palette is more restrained than in past years, but the vibe is pretty consistent. Leather jackets, chunky knits, sack dresses, tweed and camelhair, distressed jeans are all key pieces. This collage does hint at some of my recent experiments with different proportions and layering, and there is a sense of cohesion which, as you know, is really pleasing to me.

As for my favourite work looks:

These are pretty representative of the direction of my personal style this year. More layering, some menswear inspiration, longer hemlines, and architectural influences. As above, the colour palette leans heavily to the neutrals side, but there will never not be some colour and some prints in my wardrobe.

And that’s kind of it for the best of 2018. I just want to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for reading and being part of this community this past year; your thoughtful comments always brighten up my day and they usually give me something interesting to mull over. I hope to see you in the comments section next year! (But check back before then because I have a couple more posts coming your way before 2019)