Hi! I'm doing a week long series of posts where I share my style evolution over the past 8 years. You see, I'm largely considered a mom blogger now. But my blogging journey didn't actually start off that way. I started blogging as a newly married girl starting a new phase of her life, wanting to document her big city adventures and personal style journey. I shared more about that in my first "Fashion Journey" post from yesterday along with somewhat cringe worthy pictures, so do you check it out!

Today I'm digging into my fashion archives circa 2013.

2013: The Year of Change!

By this time, I had graduated from a Canon digital camera to a proper Canon DSLR camera which many aspiring and serious bloggers sported at the time. I even took a course on photography to learn how to maximize on the features of my new fancy camera. It was also in 2013 that I attended a blogger conference in NYC and attended interesting sessions about blogging tips and tricks, photography techniques, and iPhoneography (the art of taking great photos with your iPhone and editing them through apps, such as Snapseed, etc). I was seriously interested to hone my photography skills, learn how to develop better content, and connect with fellow bloggers (it doesn't mean the pictures were great but you'll notice a gradual improvement!).

By now, I was beginning to feel more confident in transitioning from fashion choices that would be considered "safe" to a bit more bold and experimental! Not only that, I plucked up the courage to even share that on a public platform on my blog. Colored bottoms, leather jackets, bold floral blazers - I tried it all!

Besides the change in camera and shift in bolder fashion choices, I experienced the biggest change of all. I became a Mom. I look back at this phase incredibly fondly. Check out my pics below!

Jan 2013 - I was in the first trimester of my first pregnancy but you couldn't tell yet. I wore an animal print top with a military green jacket. Pulled the look together with a yellow belt and clutch. The picture is fuzzy but I would totally still wear this look today if I could. I liked the combo of these different colors.

Feb 2013 - I wore this look for a post I had written on different ways to style a scarf. Here, I tied the scarf with a statement ring. I also liked the pairing of the striped top with the olive green pants - a classic look with a twist. Man, I looked fit back then!

May 2013 - I was definitely showing by now but I was hiding it in my photos. Hence, the strategic placement of that clutch! What do you think of this look? This bright floral blazer was definitely something that was outside my comfort zone. But I gave it a shot anyway and liked how it came together. I kept everything else muted with the plain top and black jeans.

May 2013  - Okay, now my pregnancy was clearly beginning to show on my face and if I stood sideways, my bump would have been obvious. This is a regular top I bought in a larger size from Macy's and paired it with leopard print heels. I wore this outfit for my "Pregnancy Announcement" post (you'll see the bump more clearly in that post). This is a top I kept and wore even during my second pregnancy with Arjun so my clothes definitely keep and last for a while!

Oct 2013 - Freshly postpartum! This was my first outfit shoot after the delivery. My mom was visiting and helping out during my maternity leave. She soon became my photographer as well! I love these red jeans paired with a lighter pink sweater. To this day, I still wear the combo of red + pink. But beyond that, I just feel like there's too much going on in the look. I'm going for a two-tone look plus an edgy look. I added that faux-leather jacket along with leopard print heels. Now when I look back, I would remove that jacket and change the type of heels I wore. Also, not a fan of that clutch but it was trending back then and I followed suit.  Since then, I've learned to follow what looks good on me! Not trends!

Nov 2013 - Post pregnancy shoot in Central Park! It was clearly fall weather and I had purchased this funky sweater from H&M because I liked its funky, boho Aztec print. I stole out for a quick outfit shoot with my mom while my husband watched 2 month old Krishnav! I'm not a huge fan of this look - kinda of a lot going on, I feel. I could have done without the belt and that bag. Maybe go for something more muted against that funky sweater. But to this day, I still own this sweater and take it out when traveling to cooler climates. I wore it as recently as last December during a trip to the US.

Nov 2013 - Doing outfit shoots while on maternity leave was my only outlet and excuse to dress up. So I'd rely on my mother to do a shoot for me once a week. This was taken on the roof of my NYC apartment. I knew it wasn't a pretty backdrop but I was too shy back then to go to public places for a shoot. Here, I wore a plain white blouse against dark purple tights and black boots. I wore this Zara necklace with it (which I still own!). Again, not a huge fan of this look. In fact, I recall wearing these tights and then deciding I really didn't like them because it felt too skin tight and not comfortable - promptly returned them to the store after this single wear! (Oops, don't judge!). Similar to the previous pic, I have come to realize that I like one piece of clothing to do the talking. If there are too many competing pieces, the overall vibe clashes.

So lessons learned:
- Don't follow trends - follow your style mantra!
- Don't mix different styles together, like boho chic with edgy or something like that. Looks too confusing.
- Don't be afraid to bring colors into an outfit! But I prefer to have one or two colors be the dominant ones for a cohesive, put together look. Beyond that, it just looks messy and uncoordinated.
- The pieces that have lasted the longest in my closet are those that I truly love to wear and feel comfortable in. If something doesn't feel comfortable, don't buy it or just return it if you can.

Fashion Journey Series:
The Year of Discovery 2012