It’s become our tradition to ring out the year with a collection of style-related stories that didn’t quite fit into the themed Link Love posts we published throughout the year, but are worth sharing anyway. Here they are! 

• I enjoyed Allure’s “Immigrants in Beauty” series earlier this year: Celebrating women and men born outside of the US who have pioneered “so many of the most revolutionary products, exciting trends, and creative movements in the country’s beauty scene.”
• A good explanation about how women’s clothes sizing works, and what brands can do to make larger sizes fit better.
• The Business of Fashion explored why some shopping malls are thriving while others are dying.
• Have you ever wondered what happens after a young fashion designer wins a design competition?
• How a small town in southern Spain has become the place where top brands source their leather goods.
• Andy Haslam travels to Grasse in France for a deeper look into the fragrance industry.
• Grace Bonney of Design Sponge shares how she finally found her personal style at age 36.
• The Huffington Post rounds up 7 plus-size clothing subscription boxes for curvy women.
• The Guardian asks if fashion cares about disabled people.
• Athleta’s strategy of not ignoring older women is exactly why it’s successful, according to a Racked report.
• Meet the women who sew for Nasa.
• There is big money behind naming “a colour of the year.”

Fab Links from Our Members

La Pedestrienne really Enjoyed Ann Patchett’s op-ed, “My Year of No Shopping.” A necessary antidote to the frenzy of holiday consumption.

Would you buy a cohesive 8-piece wardrobe for $3000? Gradfashionista thinks it’s an interesting idea.

Here we have the age old question again, says L’Abeille: “Why Aren’t Fashion ‘Disruptors’ Serving Plus-Size Customers?”

La Belle Demimondaine directs us to this article about raw selvedge denim, from the raw selvedge denim’s point of view.

JAileen enjoyed “When Do You Start Wearing Eileen Fisher?“, because she loves Eileen Fisher.

Approprio thought “Spark Connection” was a thought-provoking read.

As several forum members seem to have struggled with button-down shirts, The Cat would like to point to Brenda Kinsel’s recent post about casual outfits styled with white shirts.

Given how many conversations we’ve had on the forum about whether it’s necessary to wear heels to be fashionable, UmmLila wanted to share this.

Speaking of heels, recently Alison at Ask a Manager answered the question “Do I really have to wear high heels to a job interview?” Lava says to make sure to read the more than 400 comments too.

Jenni NZ enjoyed this colourful peek inside Louise Hilsz’s — her favourite fashion editor’s — closet.