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Fashion blogging Year in Review! Looking back at 2017: best style blogger outfits, travel recap.

la carmina goth girl clothing style

Here we are again… looking over our sunglasses at the year that was!

Can’t believe it is time again for the annual blogging Year in Review. In the past 12 months,  I made it to some of my dream destinations and landmarks. These include India (Taj Mahal), Romania (Dracula’s Castle), Switzerland (HR Giger museum and bar) … and we mustn’t forget our pilgrimage to the Amsterdam Miffy store!

Enjoy this 2017 flashback, which includes previously unreleased outfit photos. (Above, I’m wearing Iron Fist in Athens, Greece. Click to shop more from this brand here, and below.)

langkawi malaysia beach ocean sand

But before the retrospective… let’s look ahead to my upcoming travels in January 2018. Can’t wait to escape the winter by heading to three new countries: Cuba, Panama, and Dominican Republic!

I’ll be spitting time between relaxing on Caribbean beaches, and investigating the local culture. Get ready for stories about Havana vintage cars and Santeria rituals. As always, if you have travel tips for me (Havana, Punta Cana, Santo Domingo, Panama City), please leave me a comment or message.

purple hair asian model chinese girl

2017 was a meaningful year, as it was my 10th anniversary of blogging! I can’t believe I’ve been at this for a decade now.

We’ve come a long way since the site’s original focus on Japan and Gothic Lolita. In fact, I didn’t step foot in Tokyo at all this year. Although I adore Japan and still get inspired by every visit, the subculture scene isn’t what it used to be.

bellu cemetery graveyard bucharest

But there’s a whole world out there to discover. This past year, I continued to partner with travel companies and tourism boards, which let me visit new destinations worldwide (including off-the-beaten-path places like Romania, above).

Crazy enough, I’ve been to over 60 countries by now. Still pinching myself that blogs and the Internet have let me live this life.

award winning fashion style blog blogger

Other milestones include being interviewed for the BBC’s radio documentary about Goths, and winning the Best Blogger of the Year award from Auxiliary (as well as being on their magazine cover). Once again, a huge thank you to all of you who voted for me, and for your continuous support. Every comment, share and like makes a difference to me.

goth girl tattoos arm

At the start of 2017, my friends and I were saddened to say farewell to Rose, who had long been fighting gastroparesis and complications brought on by undiagnosed Lyme disease. Many of you got to know Rose through our early adventures on this blog, and her spirit made an impact on everyone she met.

pier sechelt british columbia

There’s a tribute to Rose herewhich includes our boat trip to Sechelt, BC for her last hurrah.

mid century modern apartment decor ideas

I finally hunkered down and completed my apartment decor project, which I unveiled in my house tour. I was happy to hear your kind feedback on my interior design, which is inspired by Zen minimalism, mid-century modern and kawaii. (And yes, it’s always this clean and sparse… death to clutter!)

miffy bunny ears bathrobe robe

Since I’m a Miffy fan, I included a lot of the minimal Dutch bunny in my apartment. It was fitting that my next was to her home country…

a'dam skyscraper architecture amsterdam

The Netherlands! It was great to return to Amsterdam after many years, thanks to an invitation from the tourism bureau. I had come here over 10 years ago, but when I was a less experienced traveler, I stuck to the tourist landmarks.

This time around, I sought out the artistic, off-the-beaten-path districts including Noord (above, the EBM music A’Dam tower) and De Pijp. I also made it to the Miffy / Nijntje store, and Mr. Maria’s lamp studio. If you missed these Holland blog posts, find them here.

fashion blogger acropolis parthenon greece

And then… Acropolis Now. I partnered with Visit Greece to showcase both the ancient and modern sides of Athens. This photo by Joey Wong is one of my favorites from this trip, since it captures the “Athena the Greek goddess” feeling of being here.

fashion blogger santorini greece

After, it was time for some sunshine in Santorini, Greece. There’s nothing like staying in a classic white villa, with a private swimming pool and patio.

pink haired asian model influencer

We went sailing around the islands, and witnessed the magnificent sunset in Oia. I wore blue to match the waves at Perissa Beach in Santorini.

(Catch up on all my Greece travel articles here.)

the shining carpet set

This year, I had the good fortune of meeting up with friends from over the years, in various places. I made it to Austin, Texas for the first time — I was keen to check out the alternative sights in Texas’ most liberal city.  Weird Austin” did not disappoint, with gems like Satanic karaoke and floppy disk bars.

travel bloggers taj mahal women travelers

Yukiro and I had long dreamed of making a “Passage to India.” This summer, we toured Delhi and Rajasthan in style (would you expect anything less from us?)  Seeing the Taj Mahal was one of my favorite memories of the past year.

women traveling india what wear clothes

India is an onslaught for the senses, and we adored it. We got to meet hijira (the third recognized gender in India), dress in saris for the first time, see cremations on the banks of the Ganges, and take care of elephants at an ethical sanctuary in Jaipur.

All these stories can be found here, under the India category.

kuala lumpur luxury hotel pool

Yukiro and I also journeyed to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (crazy that I’ve been to most countries in Asia by now). Can’t complain about the pool and spa at the Ritz-Carlton KL.

malaysia beaches travel blogger

We also enjoyed sipping dragonfruit cocktails and drawing pentagrams in the sand, in Langkawi Malaysia. All our adventures in Malaysia are compiled here.

nyc empire state fashion blogger

I ended up spending more time in the US this year. It’s always fun to return to NYC… 

visiting magic gardens philly

… and see the Magic Gardens and Mutter Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

old ancient romanian cemetery graves

Right before Halloween, I was invited to Experience Bucharest, Romania (click for all stories). The land of Dracula and vampire lore was on my bucket list — and it was as dark and delicious as I hoped! (Above, I’m wearing Moitie and Peace Now inside Bellu Cemetery).

experience bucharest invited influencers

It was an honor to speak at the event for travel bloggers, influencers and media / tourism.

cyberdog camden market store design

2017 was one hell of a year for Halloween. I reunited with friends in London, England; we haunted Highgate, saw The Exorcist play at the West End, and made an obligatory pit-stop at Cyberdog in Camden Market (above).

space jacket silver puffer

As an Alien fan, I couldn’t resist making a side-trip to Switzerland… to see the H.R. Giger bar and museum in Gruyeres! I haven’t released these photos yet, but above is a synthwave space-jacket outfit from Montreux.

cute chinese buns hong kong restaurant

I leave you with some bonus Xmas /  holiday snaps from last year in Hong Kong. I bit into Frosty and Rudolph at Yum Cha, the cute dim sum restaurant.

cute themed yum cha hong kong

At Yum Cha cafe in Hong Kong, you can order smiley-faced animal buns and other adorable “kawaii” decorated food.

hello kitty daruma toys

And how cute are these Chinese Hello Kitty plush dolls, which look like daruma? These round, lucky figures are objects for goal-setting — a great way to prime yourself for the New Year.

high rise view curve earth horizon

Here’s to a soaring, successful 2018! Let’s all dream big, and make it happen in 2018.

As for me, I’m getting ready to fly to Havana Cuba, Panama and Dominican Republic! Let me know if you have travel tips for these places. I’ve also updated my Travel Destinations page (everything is listed by region and country). You can easily find all my travel guides / stories about each place I visited, such as Japan, Korea, Morocco, Iceland, Vietnam.

nu goth outfits alternative grunge blogger

Leaving you with a bonus holiday outfit remix. The top is Morph8ne, skirt Long Clothing, and shoes Swear London (you can customize every aspect of their footwear).

More by Morph8ne Clothing below, or click here to shop.

long clothing sad face sweatshirt emo

What were your favorite moments of 2017? Despite what my Long Clothing sweatshirt says… let’s make it a happy New Year!

SHARE & COMMENT

Filed Under Fashion, Press
32 Comments

32 Comments

  1. Zuua
    Posted December 28, 2017 at 3:26 am | Permalink

    coool!

  2. Ray
    Posted December 28, 2017 at 3:27 am | Permalink

    I LOVE these photos especially the India ones.

  3. noori ♡
    Posted December 28, 2017 at 3:27 am | Permalink

    Happy new Year to you

  4. Chelsea
    Posted December 28, 2017 at 3:28 am | Permalink

    I’m glad you had a sweet year,
    wishing you happy 2018.

  5. Bark Bark
    Posted December 28, 2017 at 3:29 am | Permalink

    Merry Xmas!

  6. At Farmer
    Posted December 28, 2017 at 7:56 am | Permalink

    Great look

  7. yukiro
    Posted December 28, 2017 at 12:03 pm | Permalink

    CHEERS to more Fascinating Trippy travels next year <3

    • lacarmina
      Posted December 28, 2017 at 11:07 pm | Permalink

      Oooh that’s a great blog name – Trippy Travel! hehe

  8. Sinnny
    Posted December 28, 2017 at 11:06 pm | Permalink

    love to go to Cuba.

  9. lacarmina
    Posted December 28, 2017 at 11:08 pm | Permalink

    ^^

  10. lacarmina
    Posted December 28, 2017 at 11:08 pm | Permalink

    :D:D

  11. SeeSee
    Posted January 1, 2018 at 10:11 pm | Permalink

    Happy 2018.

  12. allana
    Posted January 1, 2018 at 10:11 pm | Permalink

    happy new years and my new years resolution is to travel more like u!

  13. Samshek
    Posted January 29, 2018 at 1:38 pm | Permalink

    Hi, this is nice.

  14. Anna
    Posted April 9, 2019 at 7:19 am | Permalink

    great blog about fashion. thanks for sharing this with all..

  15. Sellyy
    Posted November 22, 2019 at 2:59 pm | Permalink

    Very informative,thanks for sharing :)

  16. sarah
    Posted December 25, 2019 at 4:14 am | Permalink

    Wow…i like you photos. Beautiful !!!

  17. john mike
    Posted September 28, 2020 at 11:07 am | Permalink

    that is amazing, you cover halloween event really well, looking forward more from you

  18. Luna johnson
    Posted October 8, 2021 at 10:08 pm | Permalink

    Beautiful post! I consider this jewelry looks gorgeous.

  19. opal
    Posted October 22, 2021 at 9:12 pm | Permalink

    nice article

  20. Anamaria
    Posted February 15, 2022 at 2:46 pm | Permalink

    Hello from Romania, I love your blog

  21. anniem calone
    Posted June 6, 2022 at 11:10 am | Permalink

    It’s a Very interesting and beautiful post. Love to read it.

  22. The Apparel Factory
    Posted May 2, 2023 at 2:59 pm | Permalink

    Very amazing and informative blog

  23. Nova Gomez
    Posted May 4, 2023 at 12:58 pm | Permalink

    With so many fashion bloggers out there, it’s important to find your own unique voice and style. Develop a point of view that reflects your personality and interests, and use it to create content that stands out from the rest.

    Such an interesting blog. love it.

  24. dwell
    Posted December 13, 2023 at 12:49 pm | Permalink

    awesome!

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