My top 10 favourite outfits of 2015

I started doing an out of of the day and it's fun to see how my outifts have changed. Personally, I think my initial outfits were a bit lackluster and definitely improved towards the end of the year, especially with some of the new items I brought in. Thanks to Mimmy, the biggest wardrobe/style change I start to do was use skinny belts and they've definitely help me to finish and polish an otherwise boring outfit. Life got a bit busy towards the end of December and I had to stop with my #ootd posts but I hope I'll be back at it in 2016 and putting together even better outfits. 

In no particular order, these are my top 10 favourite outfits of 2015 - please feel free to make any suggestions to these, I love hearing different people's take to an outfit. 

FINALLY using something for the first time #ootd

Three years ago I purchased a beige blazer, thinking it would be PERFECT for the office during Spring and Summer. Somehow, it did not make its way into my outfits, once. I did try - I spent hours trying to put together outfits and somehow never got it right or felt too self-conscious to walk out the door. I have no idea why - the blazer is perfectly normal and office appropriate. 

Last week I got dressed, walked out the door, and turned back. Without thinking, I grabbed the blazer and put it on, and headed back out. I checked my reflection as I walked and the outfit looked great! I don't know what the heck I was doing wrong before, but I'm so happy that I can finally use it, and wasn't wrong about it being a good purchase. True, it's only been in one outfit, but I think it will be fairly easy for me to produce different variations of it, now that I have something to copy from. 

Behold!

3 piece #ootd

This outfit came about because a number of us that are part of an online community of bag lovers, decided that we would use red bags last weekend. Behold, my Michael Kors red hobo (the factory version - I had the boutique version but sold it as I love this version much more). 

Since I can't seem to get enough of the H&M basic dresses I bought earlier in the month, I paired my bag with my navy dress. I usually play it pretty safe with shoes, going with neutral colors, but I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to wear my red American Eagle cork wedges that I purchased several seasons ago from Payless Shoes, but rarely wear. 

It's a very simple outfit but it's exactly why I love it - it's comfortable and easy to wear. I think the mixture of the navy and the height of the wedges makes it a little bit dressier. I'm happy to have discovered this combination, and would definitely wear it for date nights and casual Fridays at the office. Another plus is that it doesn't even make me feel like it's a lot of effort to put together!

My first #ootd post

This is my first "Outfit of the Day" post!

As I get better at putting together outfits, I hope to share with you some of my favourites. 

I put together this look in my Stylebook App and wore it yesterday to the office. I'm very happy with it, especially with my choice in accessories, something that I am really trying  to incorporate into my outfits to enhance them.

PS - that's not how I normally stand, I just wanted to share the shoes ;)

Top | Banana Republic (~3 years old)
Skirt | Banana Republic (4+ years old)
Shoes | Zara (bought July 2014; worn for the first time yesterrday)
Necklace | bought in a store equivalent to Forever 21 during a trip to Malaysia (10+ years ago; only recently started to use it)
Bag | Coach - "Candace" from the Legacy collection
Bracelets | Birks (my ever day bracelet for the last 10 years), Swarovski Stardust collection (recent purchase)
Watch | Seiko (bought last year; my favourite watch)
Trench coat | Banana Republic (~3 years old)

I love this look for several reasons - I'm getting to mix the current mules trend with my safe and work-appropriate pencil skirt outfit; there's a pop of color; I've been mindful to utilize accessories to complete the look; all the colors in the outfit are part of my current color capsule; I'm actually wearing the fun shoes I have instead of just defaulting to my flats; I'm using old and new items; and best of all, it was super comfy and I felt great in it!

Excitement! - new favourite outfit and accessory!

I thought Mimmy made a really good point in her post comment about the 'odd man out' - "I think I was actually trying to pair it with things that worked against it." This really spoke to me and she had mentioned she decided to pair her piece with neutrals and let the piece speak for itself. 

Here is that same sweater again - 

(Rosie Neira)

And taking into account Mimmy's words, yesterday, I decided to wear it as the showcase piece and made this outfit with it - 

(Banana Republic, GAP, Rosie Neira, Cole Haan, Coach, Pearson & Brown)

I wish I had taken a photo with the outfit on because the colors look way better together, but this is a new favourite outfit I discovered; it uses my color capsule and a 'odd man out' piece to form a decent outfit, but then is taken to a non-boring level by my shoes and scarf. 

(The more I look at it, this cardigan seems to be a shade of gray with some green undertone ... ya, I still have no idea about its color, sigh...)

Now, let me talk about this scarf - I received it from my mom's latest trip to Asia and it's actually landscape. I don't know if you can tell from the photo but it's mountains and a body of water. I don't know too much about it other than it's silk and by Pearson & Brown - if any one has more info on this brand, I'd love to hear about it! It's beautiful and oh sooooooo soft. It's fast becoming one of my favourite items. 

(Pearson & Brown silk scarf; sorry for the poor photo quality, I used my phone camera to do the pano)

The yellow played off of my shoes and the green picked up the undertones of my cardigan. And since I left everything else neutral, both the scarf and cardigan got to stand out. So, thanks Mimmy, for giving me the idea to let the 'odd man out' shine, and also to the girls on TpF for all the talk about scarves lately that gave me the idea to pull this out.