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Sunday 31 December 2017

2017 Flashback - The Outfits


Well, that's my reflective popular posts series done.  Judging from the sheer size of some of the five, you seem to lean towards posts of epic proportions, the kind that need the accompaniment of a cuppa and a footstool!  Today's post is slightly less than epic.



I like analysis.  Within just a few days of blogging, I discovered the stats tools that came with the site and that brought an unexpected bonus to my blogging.  I was ratting it up my own drainpipe!

So, continuing my reflective mood in the last week of 2017, I looked at the numbers on outfit posts.  Here are the posts that had the most hits in their respective months.  Now, unlike FB, IG etc, there is no "like" button on blogger, so this is not a scientific or even good indicator as to which outfits you liked best, just what was visited most.  Still, I was surprised by the popularity of a fair few of the outfits shown below, as probably are you.  But hey, it's analysis in its crudest form and it's kept me amused and off the icy-cold streets so who's to say this little exercise has been a total waste of valuable Pout Time?!



January


Black and red.


February


Black and leoprint.


March



Grey, ivory and black.


April


Black, white and khaki.



May




Grey and white.


June


Grey and ivory, a subtle change from May!


July


Black and brown, 1968
(My fave pic from the many on this post) 


August


Black and nude.


Ranking equally was this -  khaki and a riot of red!



September


Grey and ivory.


October


Black and brown, 2017, updated with leoprint 50 years on.



November





Black, ivory.  And a sprinkling of leoprint.
A selection from the many outfits in this particular post.


December


Wine and denim ... hey, finally a bit of colour again!


So what does this entry-level analysis tell us?
A dress is OK, but only occasionally.
And colour is OK, but only occasionally.

There was a recurring theme through these posts that even I couldn't fail to notice.  Black, grey and ivory with a bit of leoprint thrown in for good measure.  That appears to be what I wear, throughout the seasons and with little exception.  The colour suite was hardly a surprise but what did surprise me was the consistency.  It may not be very exciting but I seem to have got myself a signature colour scheme and it is so neutral that Switzerland would welcome it as its new flagship canton!


Have you ever done a little exercise like this?  It was a perfect little game to play in the bridging days between Christmas and New Year.
Play it on a day when it's cold and wet outside.
Play it when you've worked your little socks off these past few weeks and have earned yourself some downtime.
Play it just because you're worth it.
Will the colours surprise you?  Will you be consistent through the year or will you discover you change through the seasons?


The fact that I was consistent surprised me.  I'm not usually consistent, in anything I do.  But it appears that with colour I am.  Or maybe it's just lack of imagination!



And on that bombshell, I'd like to round off the year by thanking you most sincerely for popping in to my humble old blog through the year.
I'd like to thank those of you who've taken the time to leave comments.  It's through comments that we get to chat, that we get to know each other and get to become bloggy mates and its that bit that makes blogging worth the time and effort.  Otherwise, I'm just typing to the ether.
Blogging can be a lonely place - it's you and your comments that bring it alive, make it 3D.  Please keep popping back next year.  And if you haven't commented previously, why not give it a try in in the new year ...

Why not start with this post?  If you join me in today's little analysis game, I'd love to hear what colours or styles come through for you.  What surprises come through.
Let me know in the comments box.
Oh heck, just tell me about any darned thing in the comments box, you know I love hearing from you!


All that remains is say Happy New Year to you and your loved ones.

A la perchoine, in 2018.

22 comments:

  1. Dear Pout, I have loved your reflective posts but have only just been able to sit and comment. Interesting to see what posts got the most hits etc. Also interesting to see you fave colour choices. My staple for an outfit is black, some navy, ditto grey lightened up with various scarves and jewellery. That's for the winter but in the summer I do wear much more colour, no real favourite, just how I feel on the day. I really enjoy your posts and long may you continue. Thank you for taking the time to reply to comments as well, it is great to have a sort of two way thing. I wish you and the Photographer a very happy and healthy 2018. Sue H xxx

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    1. Hi Susan, I really appreciate that you've read my reflective posts as I know how busy our lives are at this time of the year. Sounds like we would be coloured very similarly if we bumped into each other in a seaside town! I would find it hard not to reply when readers have taken the time to comment, as I find that is the only tool a blogger has to engage with her "audience". I was a bit tardy in replying over the Christmas period but I still made sure each comment got a reply ... eventually!

      Thanks for your best wishes and I hope you and Mr H have a super year. Hugs, x.

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  2. Also enjoyed these reflective posts as I do with all your posts. I like how you are willing to try all sorts of combinations to find out what works and what doesn't. You are encouraging me to try some leoprint as you wear various scarf thingys so well and they really give an outfit a lift.

    Your analysis of the year is an interesting one and I will have to see if I can emulate this as it certainly gives a good idea of what worked really well. You do look so good in all these neutrals. Personally I am reducing the black and wearing more navy as my colouring is fading and I am trying to include more colour although it's a bit of an uphill struggle during the winter months much easier in the summer when I like to wear lots of blue in all its variety.

    Thank you for taking the time to put these posts together and I wish you and TP the best for 2018.

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    1. Hi Christy, so glad you liked the posts too because I enjoyed all the analysis! Please do give leoprint a try because it does take any outfit up a level with no real effort. And that's me all over, no real effort!
      I'd be thrilled if you looked back on pics of what you wore during 2017 too. I think we don't realise that we have signature looks and colours as much as the photos will evidence. I think we all tend to go darker in winter, I look on even ivory as being a bit risky in deepest winter! Charcoal is kinder alternative to black and I'm drawn to it more and more as I age as it fits in with anything where black would have been the go-to colour previously.

      I'm so pleased you enjoy my posts and I'm so thrilled that you send me your chatty comments. Thanks for your wishes and I wish you and your other half the same for 2018. Hugs, x.

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  3. I enjoy your posts very much, though I don't often comment. Your color scheme seems to be very much like my own, and I get ideas from you.
    Janie in the US

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    1. Hi Janie, I'm so pleased you enjoy my posts and that you drop me comments when you have the time. We all lead such busy lives, eh, even in retirement.
      It seems a lot of us drift towards the same colours, especially in winder. I'm trying introducing a little berry colour into this winter and I'm getting quite keen! And oh my, that you get ideas from my blog thrills me to the core, I'm so flattered.
      Wishing you all the best for 2018, hugs, x.

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  4. Happy New Year. My favourites are the khaki top and the summer skirt (because I love colour) and the leopard print top with black suit. Also could you tell me did you once say you had bought a DNA.kit if so were you pleased with results. I have just got a kit. I treated myself and my son in law for Christmas. I havn't done it yet though.

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    1. Hi Polly, and best wishes for 2018 to you too. I do love that charity skirt and when I was putting together the post, I was thinking it could maybe be wintrified with a black polo, opaques and boots.
      Yes, I did the DNA testing and I was thrilled and humbled by the results. I really must write a post about it, because Ancestry gives you potential relatives and I was only in contact with two of the 88 (Australia and Canada) and the names and family trees we swapped proved instantly that the DNA testing is absolutely accurate. Please let me know how it goes, eh. We might be related!
      Hugs, x.

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  5. Happy New Year to you my beauty!! I love the classic vibe you give but I must say those pops of red and florals are so fun and pretty on you too!! You truly know how to accessorize and you are such an elegant, stylish lady whom I adore!!! May 2018 bring you immeasurable joy!! xx

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    1. Oh Andrea, kind, giving and joy-filled Andrea, your comments alone bring me immeasurable joy! You bring joy to the world and I loved your ideas for spreading the blog love during 2018, BTW.
      It's fair to say that I find very few things in colour that I truly like. The skirt was one of my so-welcomed exceptions. I find even fewer prints that I like, and again, this was a print that made my heart flutter as soon as I saw it looking for 2nd love in the charity shop. I really do wish more colour and pattern could creep into my life, but I'm just plain picky!!
      Wishing you a week filled with special hours and days, hugs, x.

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  6. Dear Pout, I enjoy your blog - life has been a bit hard slog these last couple of years and, very frankly, your blog has been helpfull in lifting spirits and giving me something cheerfull to think about. I enjoy your reflective posts as they help me reflect on my own clothing choices and remind me to play and enjoy how I present myself - dispite my current gloomy circumstances. I like a bit of fist-shaking and quiet rebellion
    and your cheerfull and honnest blog helps me keep my chin up. Thank you for sharing yourself.

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    1. Dearest Kathryn, I was so moved to read your comment and so pleased that you've found my blog to take you away from reality for a short while.
      I found blogs when I was not in a good place around 2014/15. I wanted something to give me some moments of respite from what was going on, some hope, and it helped to smooth where I was at and blogs did indeed give me a safe haven and hope that things would get better. And get better they did. So to affirm that things had get better I started up the blog and it's my little haven too, my little harbour from life's storms. So I am humbled to hear that I'm in some small way helping you through your hard slog. It will get better. Please pop by again in the comments box. I wish you a better year ahead. Hugs x.

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    2. Dear Pout, Thank you for your kind reply. I was feeling unsure of admitting my year hadn't been the best. But wanted to thank you for helping me to take such a cheering breather from difficult things going on. Around 3-4 years ago I started researching clothing styling and blogs when I was on bed rest with a collapsed lung. I am not a chatty person generally - I am thankfull you choose to write and blog as a way through your challenging times. Thank you for your good wishes for 2018. I hope this year is a happy and healthy year for you and your family. Best wishes, Kathryn.

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    3. I'm pleased you've found blogs as the break you've needed from a very difficult time. I hope you're well on the road to recovery now and hope you keep popping back. Sometimes it's easier to chat through the written word.
      Take good café of yourself, Kathryn, and let's make 2018 a good one! Hugs, x.

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  7. I really enjoyed your roundup. You know, I never thought about doing anything like this. Wordpress does tell me the number game but I don't take advantage of the information. Oh well, maybe next year. I still remember that gorgeous thrifted skirt post. You tried so many cool ideas with it, but you always do. Here's to a good '18 for all of us. Take care, Terri

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    1. Oh Terri, call me sad but when I discovered the stats tools I was over the moon!! The stats-based reflective exercise was most useful. But you've got to like analysing in the first place to enjoy doing something like this!
      I'm thinking up ways to wintry that super skirt.
      Hope '18 is a great year for you.
      Hugs x.

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  8. Oh yes, the comments are the most fun part of blogging. I have not done the research on the numbers and which posts seemed to garner the most attention, one of these days I will.
    You do seem to lean more towards a particular color palette and it works for you. My personal favorite is the floral skirt of course, I just love it on you but honestly it all looks good my friend!
    I hope you had a fabulous NYE and here's hoping your first day of the new year was SPECTACULAR!
    xo,
    Kellyann

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    1. You know, this is so much better than having snail mail penpals eh?! As a schoolgirl I had one in France and one in Montana - now my US friend lived on a ranch and I was horse-mad so I just adored hearing about her life on the ranch. And now I have lovely penpals from all over the world that I can speak to in an instant. Who would have thought back then, eh?
      That skirt is a fave with me and with everyone, it seems. I need to funk it up for winter!
      Jan 1 was sooo cosy, easy on the cooking and heavy on the film watching. Hope yours went well, and thanks so much for the super card!
      Hugs, x.

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  9. It's obviously not a waste of time Mary. I've watched your readership grow throughout the past year.Keep doing what your doing xx

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    1. Laurie, you are one heck of a lovely lady! You are so sweet to have kept an eye on my progress. You are one super kind and gracious lady.
      I've been so amazed by the great kindness and support that exists generally in blogland, with fellow bloggers and with readers/commenters. Andrea Nine mentioned it on her blog the other day and long may it continue.
      My deep thanks go to you for your support through 2017. Happy Jan 2nd! Hugs, x.

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  10. Beautiful collection of looks ... and also beautiful hairstyles! Happy New Year!

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    1. Thanks so much, J-M, the first pic was when I cut my fringe myself - I stopped doing that when I saw the photos!
      Wishing you a Happy 2018, x.

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