There and back again... in one year :)

I haven't posted anything to this blog in almost two months. I (again) had so much going on in my real life that I didn't even have time to think of LoTRO or outfitting. I was very sad, because I thought I'd lost most of the readers and there is no sense in getting back to posting now that I have a little more time - I thought nobody would read it anyway. To my biggest (and most pleasant) surprise I found out that during my absence, the blog has gained about 50 new followers on Twitter, ~15 followers via Google Friend Connect, there are hundreds of people browsing through the blog every day and my mailbox dedicated to the blog is totally full of guest submissions and outfit wishes.

For all of this (and more) - THANK YOU! I promise I will try to find as much time as possible for the blog and bring you a new outfit every now and then during the summer as well. Please, send in your beautiful guest submissions, as I'll be more than happy to publish them even when I don't have time or inspiration to create an outfit on my own.

Thanks to you, LoTROFashion has been around for a year now. Today is this blog's 1st birthday, so I made a little retrospective of the blog milestones which mean a lot to me. Please join me in going through them :) And also, I'd like to use this place to congratulate LoTRO itself to wonderful 5th anniversary!

If you'd like to access the particular post, click the screenshot.

April 2011

Exactly a year ago, I posted my first outfit published exclusively on this blog. It was a signature outfit of my main character, a hobbit hunter Freyjuska. She's still wearing the same outfit for most occasions, so you can still see her running around like that on Snowbourn :)
The cloak used in this outfit, Golodir's Mantle or Cloak from the Men of Bree, was also a signature cloak for the Hobbit Hare Squad, a tiny but fierce duo we formed with a very good friend of mine at that time. So this outfit has a big sentimental value for me as well :)







May 2011

I mentioned above that Freyjuska's outfit was the first one published exclusively on LoTRO Fashion. This is true, because the first one published in general was Middle-Earth explorer's attire, featured by Devonna on LoTRO Stylist. It was my first attempt to go public with my outfitting creations and I was happy for positive reactions. I can say this outfit was the right kick I needed to make my own blog about LoTRO outfits :)
Thanks Dev for publishing it back then!

Guest submissions have been irreplaceable part of LoTRO Fashion almost from the very beginning. The first one published was Dueq's captain outfit. I remember I was quite surprised he managed to match the spring festival cloak (which is not very easy cosmetic to use) with heavy armour very nicely. Since then, over one hundred guest submission have been published on the blog.

On the same day as first guest submission, I also posted the first wish-based outfit. It was striking noble lore-master's outfit for my beloved Loki. We worked together for many outfits since them, he always offered valuable "man's view" advice to me and we even put together one of my favourite outfits - a norse god Loki inspired outfit for his LM.
I'd like to take this place to thank him for all his support, and not only in blog-related stuff :)

In the first month of the blog existence, I also published the first inspiration-based post. I feel these have been the most popular posts on the blog, although it all started pretty innocently. I had a pretty bad computer back then I was looking at loading screens for long seconds or even minutes sometimes. I got intrigued by the lovely and interesting blue & purple huntress, which we only had chance too see back of. I tried to replicate her attire - it certainly wasn't perfect, but I felt it was gentle and lovely :)

July 2011

In July, me, Devonna, Hymne and Kiarane were invited to the Casual Stroll to Mordor's Cosmetics Rountable with Goldenstar and Merric. It was (and still is) a great honour for me to be part of something thousands of people listen to. It was a great fun talking to other outfitting fans as well :)
Thanks CSTM for inviting us, it was awesome experience!








August 2011

In August, I published the first story-based outfit. There haven't been to many since then - just two story series, but the main idea was to connect related outfits not only by design, but also by message they want to express. The Mysterious Gentleman was dedicated to the Professor, and the later continuation to his wife, whom he used to call his Lúthien.
Since then, there has been another story line concerning visitors from the East, which started with the Lady of Rhûn outfit.








September 2011

September brought us the Rise of Isengard expansion. This meant enormous new opportunities for creating outfits, as completely new cosmetics arrived which were more realistic than the pre-RoI ones. This is also when I created probably two most popular posts of all history of LoTRO Fashion - Assassin's Creed Altair and Templar knight inspired outfits. There were very different from all the outfits I've made before and I'm still proud of them, although these cosmetics are very frequently used nowadays.








October 2011

The new outstanding RoI cosmetics allowed me to create a Legolas inspired outfit based on Maeglaz' wish, which I was never confident enough to make before. This post is also one of the most popular on the blog, and it's the first post where I used a big opening action screenshot instead of just three static looks of the garb. I've been following this format since then and I feel it adds a lot of dynamics to LoTRO Fashion.









November 2011

In November, LoTROFashion crossed a 100 000 views milestone, which was huge satisfaction for me. I have to admit that although I love creating outfits just for the outfitting's sake, there's nothing as rewarding as a lot of blog visitors and comments (doesn't matter if they are positive or negative). Now LoTRO Fashion has had over 230 000 views, but the hundred thousandth view will always mean a huge deal to me. Thank you again for this nice feeling!

At about the same time I finally created a Twitter account. I found this a great way of communication with you guys ever since and today I'm so happy for over 120 followers on LoTRO Fashion's Twitter page!








December 2011

A day before St. Nicholaus' Day, I published the first in the series of video guides. This filled a huge gap I felt LoTRO Fashion had until then - tips & tricks for outfitting newbies. Since then there have been three other guides and I hope I will once create more, when I have more time. However, it's lovely to know that these videos have been viewed over 1500 times on YouTube!

In December, I also created loads of winter themed outfits. One of my favourite ones is Fleet-footed Goat matching outfit - Fleet Foot was the first big thing I ever won in the lotteries after they were enabled for EU players as well. I was very happy about it and I think it can be seen on the screenies as well - my little hobbit warden pretty much expressed my feelings perfectly :)










January 2012

Before Christmas, Hymne of Cosmetic Lotro had a great idea to join forces between three biggest LoTRO outfitting blogs and organize a winter-themed outfit contest. It was a great success and an amazing experience for not only the participants, but especially us - the bloggers. We had received over 150 amazing submissions - choosing the best ones was very difficult, but also incredibly interesting and fun process. In January we announced the winners and published the slideshow of contest entries - if you will ever look for a Yule outfit idea, it's the best source I can offer!

Thank you Hymne for this amazing idea, it's always been a joy to cooperate with you girls :) Huge thanks goes also to Turbine for sponsoring of this contest.




February 2011

In February, Turbine organized an amazing fashionable event inspired by the Fashion Week in real life :) Hymne, Devonna and me were invited to judge entries in Fashionista's Choice category and each of our blogs also received a coupon code for a free day matching our blog theme. It was a great honour and again, just as during the Yule Outfit Contest, we had a great fun going through all the beautiful submissions.

Thanks for this opportunity goes to Turbine and thanks for all the great submissions goes to you guys! :)





...and here I am, finishing this post summarizing the last year. I hope after this big break since March I will be posting regularly again from now on and I will be able to host more fun events with other cosmetic bloggers, post your readers' amazing submissions, fulfill your outfit wishes and share my outfitting passion with you. Thanks again for everything :)