Best Fashion Moments of 2012

I can’t quite believe 2013 is nearly upon us. I swear 2012 went by extremely fast – faster than it has before. I hope everyone had a good year and next year is even better for you! Lots happened in 2012 – from the Olympics to the Diamond Jubilee to London Fashion Week...again. Anyway, I've compiled a list of the best fashion moments of 2012 (in no particular order). So here goes...

On the red carpet...

One of the most famous carpets in the world, of course and it holds some of the most wonderful dresses and outfits to ever be seen.  I was looking through some of the events and selected a few of my favourites from this year. Obviously this isn't all of them but these are definitely some of the best.

Kristen Stewart - Not a fan of her or Twilight but love this dress.

 Alexa Chung in Marc Jacobs - Never fails to impress.

 Jessie J in Falguni and Shane Peacock - I discovered this designer from this outfit and love the designs! 

Krysten Ritter in Christian Dior -  Love the sheer vs opaque

 Blake Lively - She always dresses so well - watch out for a post on her in the future. 

Sofia Vergara in Marchesa -  Marchesa is amazing!

 Taylor Swift in Maria Lucia-Hohan - Being so tall, Taylor Swift can wear the nicest midi dresses.

A truly amazing dress. 

Studs, studs, studs!

One huge trend this year has been studs and spikes. Look around any clothes shop and you will see at least 20 items or so with some form of stud or spike on it. I love this trend (you can see my spike necklace here). It's not something I would have gone for last year but it's definitely grown on me. 

Ballgowns

There was an exhibition on at the V&A this year celebrating British Glamour since 1950 and showcasing some of the most wonderful ballgowns. I was lucky enough to visit this and the dresses are even more amazing in real life than you see in photos. If you haven't been yet, try and go before the exhibition closes because it's well worth the visit. The great thing is there is a whole section downstairs with dresses from 1950's onwards - all spectacular of course -  then you go upstairs to the current ballgowns and Oh my God! The only downside is you're not allowed to take photos. 

Decorating your nails

OK, I don't know whether this is a thing for everyone but I've noticed (especially within my group of friends) everyone has got in to the obsession of painting their nails. I personally never paint my nails but it seems to have become a trend this year. One of my friends even has a blog devoted to nail polish (check it out here) and another also does regular nail posts! (see it here). The problem is whenever I try putting nail polish on, it never seems to turn out as good as these...

Kelly Osbourne wins Ultimate Style Award

I've never really liked Kelly Osbourne - she's only famous due to her parents and I don't like either of them as well - but I'd say this award is well deserved. She recieved the Ulitmate Style Award at the Cosmopolitan Women of the Year awards. What makes her stand out from the rest is probably the huge transformation from her frumpy, goth look to stylish, elegant and fashion forward. Below are some of her best outfits and a before and after shot (you can really see how much her fashion sense has improved).

Before...

After...

Top button done up

A huge trend that continued from 2011 into 2012 was the collar trend - one of my favourites and fingers crossed it stays with us for the duration of 2013.

  

And GB win again...

Who could forget the most memorable Olympic games of all time? The Opening Ceremony, all of the Gold medals; Not to mention the GB kit designed by Stella McCartney...

London Fashion Week

LFW was of course here again for another two seasons. I was very impressed by all of the collections this year - they all seemed to have stepped up a level - and my favourite three were probably Erdem, Bora Aksu and David Koma. 

 Erdem

 David Koma

Bora Aksu

Sarah Burton recieves OBE

Very well deserved. She keeps the Alexander McQueen brand alive with her incredible designs plus she created the brilliant Royal Wedding dress for Kate Middleton last year. 

They're my favourite - what were your fashion moments of 2012?

Happy New Year!

Handbag

I wouldn't say I'm a huge 'bag person' and tend to use a limited number of bags but I do have some that I really love. The one below I got as a Christmas present from my Mum this year so I haven't used it yet. It was from a charity shop (you can find some really great things in charity shops) and is a vintage piece. I really love the wood look it has and the colour really stands out. I really like this lady-like type of bag - it's a bit more interesting and has more personality to it than a modern type one. 

The bag below I've had for a while now (it must be about 2 years now). I got it from River Island for just £15 which is a real bargain, especially considering the amount I've used it. It's a perfect size for carrying around while shopping with enough space for all of your essentials and the strap is really handy. The bag used to have a handle but it fell off (I haven't got around to fixing it yet) and some of the material is slightly frayed but it's still perfect.

I do have one more bag - it's beaded yellow and black (from a vintage market) but I seem to have misplaced it (I've literally looked everywhere) so couldn't take any photos at the moment.

What did I get for Xmas?.....Fabric!

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and Happy Boxing Day! One present I got (as you can probably tell from the title) was fabric. My parents tend to give me fabric rather than actual clothes due to the risk of me not liking what they get me, although I don't think I'm actually that fussy (Ok that's a lie). Anyway, I haven't made anything in a while (the last proper thing I made was probably my prom dress) since it's hard to find the time as well as the motivation to actually start the project. I'd say that's one of my biggest flaws - I always have trouble actually starting big projects. I made the following skirt actually on Christmas day. I know, I know, it seems crazy to spend time making something on Christmas but I find it's one of the few days I have the chance to make something, plus I enjoy it (and there's no-one bugging you because they're all downstairs playing with their presents!). It took me about 2 hours so I'm quite pleased with it. It's not bad for a couple of hours work. I really like the style of it and the way that the fabric folds over at the front. It's a bit like a wrap skirt. I used two types of fabric for this - some plain black fabric for the lining and this really nice silver, stretchy fabric for the outside. I was actually really surprised when I finished it because nothing went drastically wrong. There was one point where the zip broke (I was so lucky I actually had a zip spare) but with a bit of effort and unpicking I managed to fix it. Obviously there are things I don't like about it - the stitching and the shape, but overall I'm fairly happy with it.

In the photos below, I'm wearing my skirt with a shirt from Topshop (a Christmas present) and a necklace (another Christmas present).