Red Dress Shoppe Belt Giveaway Winner

Thanks everyone for all your lovely comments on my 3-year anniversary. I've drawn a winner for the Red Dress Shoppe belt giveaway using a random number generator, and the winner is:

Comment #25: ismay!

Congratulations! I'll be in touch shortly.

3 Years -- and a Giveaway!

Wow, it's hard to believe it's the blog's 3-year anniversary today! As I've done in years gone by, I've compiled some of my favorite outfits from the past 12 months:

One thing that struck me when I did this recap is how many of my true favorites come from the most recent months; the set above represents an outfit from each of the last 12 months, but if I had to actually select my top 12 favorites from the entire years' worth they would mostly be very recent. That means there might be entire months' worth of outfits, none of which would make the cut, while others that might have been in the top 12 aren't shown here. That indicates to me that my style continues to evolve; what I loved 12 months ago isn't necessarily what I'm drawn to right now. I think that's a good thing too; constantly evolving your style means never looking stale or dated.

Here are some outfits from "special occasions" over the course of the year:

In order top to bottom, left to right: Burning Man, Giants World Series, Yard Dogs Road Show, holiday party, Mark and I getting married, Film Noir Festival, Edwardian Ball, Lisa's wedding, wearing my new Valentino dress, my first pair of Miu Miu pumps 
(do you like how I cheated and stuck two more recent outfits in under the 'special occasion' heading? I'm sneaky like that.)

Other notable events over the year: Mark and I moved in together, bought a house, got married, took a trip to Minneapolis and Chicago (which included visiting Sal and Mike), and I went on a cross-country adventure that took me to New York to meet up with other bloggers and visit the Eileen Fischer studio, as well as to Seattle and Oregon for two different weddings. Mark and I attended Burning Man, and I did a whole series of posts about the experience (click for Parts 1, 2, and 3). I also did my first-ever post on Fashion Week, and was inspired to create a few different looks from what I rounded up. As of today I've posted 715 entries. All in all it's been a great year, and blogging continues to be a fun and rewarding pursuit for me, in large part because of awesome readers like you.

But wait, there's more! A giveaway!

To kick off my fourth year of blogging and also to give a big THANK YOU to readers old and new, I've got a giveaway for you. Madeline from the Red Dress Shoppe, who was kind enough to provide me with her beautiful Amelie Dress to review, has given me the very last one of her black elastic belts to give to one lucky reader. As you probably know, this belt is a staple in my wardrobe, and I've worn it dozens and dozens of different ways. Just take a peek at a few of them:

This belt is super comfy because of its nice stretchy elastic, and it has a shiny faux leather panel at the front for a cute retro look. For one lucky winner, it'll make a great accessory for all sorts of outfits.

To enter, simply peruse the Red Dress Shoppe site and then leave a comment on this post stating which item is your favorite. Include your email address in your comment; comments without a valid email address will be disqualified. For an extra chance to win, "like" the Red Dress Shoppe Facebook page, and then come back and leave another comment telling me that you did so. The contest closes to entries at 8 pm PDT on Friday, May 6. I'll announce the winner shortly thereafter.

Good luck, and thank you for reading!!

The Winner Is...

Wow, as of midnight there were 177 comments on my contest post -- what an amazing turnout! I selected the winner using a random number generator, and the winner is:

Comment #122, Michi! Congratulations!

Michi, please contact me either via my email (in my profile) or via the Etsy shop, and we can figure out what sort of hat I'll make for you. Thanks again to everyone who participated, and thanks for making blogging a fun and interactive experience!

Thank You -- and a contest!

There's been a lot of interesting discussion swirling around in the blogosphere about a certain blogger who recently issued a mandate to readers about how and wherefore they may comment. I first caught wind of it, albeit a bit late because of my holiday break, over at Sal's blog, and was really impressed with Franca's excellent discussion over at Oranges and Apples.

I'm not linking the original post because it annoyed me too much, but you can follow Sal's or Franca's links if you haven't seen it already. If you follow fashion blogs at all you probably already know to what I'm referring; the gist of it is that readers were instructed to only provide positive comments, a mandate to which many people, myself included, took exception. But as I've thought about it more, the thing that has risen to the surface as being the most irritating was the assertion that the blogger is happy with her style exactly the way it is and is not, "looking for pointers." Oh, really? So you're the world's foremost expert on style, and nothing that anyone has to offer could possibly be of any value to you? Huh.

Rather than embarking on any sort of diatribe about the original post, because I think it's already been covered quite well, I'd rather share with you today my own philosophy of blogging and the comments that come from it. As always, I'd love to hear what you have to say about it.

I started this blog without any sort of expectations other than having some fun with it and perhaps cataloging my outfits for future reference. The fact that it has continued to grow in readership and participation frankly floors me. Every day I eagerly log on to read all the wonderful feedback I get from my awesome readers, many of whom offer insightful commentary on what they like about my outfits, or what they'd try the next time around. It is from these comments that my style grows and evolves, and I'm always (I think) receptive to any sort of constructive criticism. Perhaps I'm overly optimistic, but my default assumption is that if someone takes the time to stop in and say that an element of my outfit is off, they do so with the best possible intentions, in the spirit of friendship and collaboration.

I know myself that my outfits aren't always perfect, and frequently it's due to the limitations of my wardrobe. Often I have gone after a look that didn't quite succeed simply because I didn't have the right piece in my closet (yes, even my massive collection has holes!). Other times I'm pressed for time, I'm tired, or I'm not feeling particularly creative. Sometimes I'll scrap a look altogether, but more often than not I'll try it anyway on the hope that someone will offer me the solution that I just didn't see when I was putting it together. With any luck, the solution won't even have to involve me purchasing something new.

I believe that the beauty of the blogging community is that it offers the opportunity for everyone to participate, and that's why I prefer it to fashion magazines or other mediums where the communication is largely one-way. I'm no fashion professional; I'm just a clothes horse with a day job, and I for one am open to all input as long as it's presented in a respectful way. Sure, if you drop by just to tell me I look like crap then I'll probably delete your comment (thankfully no one has ever done that!), but if you want to offer me a suggestion that you feel would would improve my outfit, I'm all ears.

My main objective in writing this post is really to thank everyone who takes the time to stop in and comment, whether you love my outfit or think I really missed the boat. And just to prove how earnest I am, I'm going to offer you a special prize. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post sometime before midnight (PST) on Friday, January 22 and you'll be entered to win one of my handmade hats, custom designed just for you! Tell me your thoughts about this post or the one that started this discussion, tell me which of my outfits in the last month you liked the least and what I could've done better, ask me for style advice or tell me about your 5-toed cat; this is an open forum and you're invited to help make it a collaborative space for sharing ideas, stories, and advice, or simply for being fellow fashion enthusiasts and friends.

Drawing will be at random, and international entries are welcome. Good luck to everyone who enters, and a huge and heartfelt THANK YOU for participating!

This outfit:
Scarf: Banana Republic
Top: Just Angels
Cords: Marlowe
Shoes: Jo Ghost

P.S. Beautiful blogger Eyeliah from Style Symmetry has interviewed me for her Symmetry Seven feature! Check it out!

And the Winner Is...

Well, it was a very tough job for the judges, folks. But finally we have a winner for the Inspired By Interiors contest, and it is the lovely Emma from Owl and the Grapes!

Everyone, and I mean everyone, put together a beautiful look (or two!) that would have been perfectly at home in the midst of the adorable interior. But Emma's outfit took the top prize because she really dug deep, going beyond simply matching the room and capturing the essence of the design, as well as pulling out the subtler elements such as the wonderful metallic finishes (those gold tights are simply amazing!). Her outfit has that secondhand chic that really mirrors the eclectic mix of kitschy accents, reworked antiques, and surprising color mix (who even noticed that purple rug?) that make up the interior. Fantastic job, Emma, and congratulations! Email me your address and your handmade fur felt hat will be on its way!

I want to thank everyone who entered the contest; it was clear that the participants really put in a lot of effort, and this was my original goal in setting up the contest the way I did. It was clear from some of the comments I received that for several people this was pushing into new territory, which was exactly what I was hoping to achieve. Interior design shares many of the same basic principles as fashion, and is one of many sources that can be used for inspiration. I hope all the participants found the exercise rewarding, and will continue to look for new and different ways expand their fashion horizons.

Here are the rest of the entries, in no particular order. Thanks again everyone for making this contest a success!

Contest!

OK, here's what I'm giving you to work with for my first-ever contest:



The rules are simple:
1. Build an outfit inspired by this interior. An example of how I used an interior as inspiration for an outfit can be found here.
2. Post a photo of the outfit on your blog or Flickr page, or just send it to me.
3. That's it! You have until the end of April to submit your photo. The winner will receive one of my handmade felt hats (the style I've chosen is pretty much one size fits all). Men are more than welcome to enter as well, though if you win you'll need to send me your size and I'll custom make a men's style for you.

Now, here's the thing: this contest is judged, not selected at random. I'll be showing the photos (minus any info about you) to a panel of friends, family, coworkers -- anyone I think is unfamiliar enough with the blog not to know much or anything about my regular commenters, fellow bloggers, etc. I'll ask each person to vote for 3 outfits, and whichever one gets the most votes wins. My goal in doing it this way is to really encourage everyone to give it their best effort and get creative, but in order to keep it as unbiased as possible I'm excluding myself from the judging. Use whatever you want in the photo to inspire you: the color scheme, the style, the patterns, whatever. The idea is not to translate the interior literally, but rather to use it as a starting point around which to build an interesting look. If you want to increase your chances, you can submit more than one outfit during the month. Oh, and international entries are welcome! Good luck everyone, have fun and get creative!