It happens every year: Our ever-growing pile of fashion magazines inches higher with each passing month, and by the time December rolls around, we can barely sift through the hundreds of stylish images we bookmarked for inspiration. 2011 was no exception, and in a year that celebrated retro supermodels, androgyny, vivid colors, and plenty of experimentation in the beauty department, choosing our favorites was particularly difficult.

The best editorials of the year ran the gamut from huge ensemble casts of blue-chip models styled by greats like

Vogue Italia, January 2011

Editorial:The Power of Glamour

Photographer: Steven Meisel

Stylist: Karl Templer

Models: Arizona Muse, Freja Beha Erichsen, Fei Fei Sun, Kinga Rajzak, Sessilee Lopez, Herieth Paul, Anais Mali

Why we love it: No-holds-barred elegance has always been Vogue Italia's forte, and this editorial doesn't disappoint. Meisel and co. created a scene that harkens back to midcentury designers' small presentations in their ateliers, which really makes Tom Ford's private approach to fashion week seem like a pleasant alternative.

RUSSH #38

Editorial: Babes

Photographer: Benny Horne

Stylist: Stevie Dance

Models: Bambi Northwood-Blyth, Hannah Holman, Lisanne de Jong, Abby England, Meag West

Why we love it: If you recast the Lisbon sisters in The Virgin Suicides with five of the year's biggest up-and-coming models, this is what you'd get.

Vogue Paris, February 2011

Editorial: Et Vogue l’Été

Photographer: Mario Sorrenti

Stylist: Carine Roitfeld, Emmanuelle Alt, Jane How

Models: Daphne, Daria, Freja, Joan, Lara, Natasha, Sasha, Saskia

Why we love it: The saturated colors, super-sized props, the best of Spring 2011 ready-to-wear, and some really stellar casting. Plus, it was Carine's last hurrah!

Vogue China, March 2011

Editorial: Child in Time

Photographer: Willy Vanderperre

Stylist: Nicoletta Santoro

Models: Lindsey Wixson, Hailey Clauson

Why we love it: This youthful spread celebrates its teenage stars—the teddy bears, balloons, socks with sandals, and Crayola brights make us wish we were 15 again.

Vogue Italia, March 2011

Editorial: Wasted Luxury

Photographer: Steven Meisel

Stylist: Panos Yiapanis

Models: Julia Saner, Milou van Groesen, Saskia de Brauw

Why we love it: Mixing ornate scenery with ultra-modern fashion, Vogue Italia creates a perfect mix of serious and fun. And there are pom-pom headpieces.

T Style, Spring 2011

Editorial: Flirt in a Skirt

Photographer: Walter Pfeiffer

Stylist: David Vandewal

Models: Hailey Clauson

Why we love it: Pink hair and spring's most coveted pieces paired with some tongue-in-cheek prop styling—this editorial is equal parts silly and chic.

LOVE, Spring 2011

Editorial: The Logic of Taste

Photographer: Patrick Demarchelier

Stylist: Katie Grand

Models: Agyness Deyn, Britt Maren, Carmen Kass, Crystal Renn, Dree Hemingway, Hailey Clauson, Kasia Struss, and more.

Why we love it: It's Katie Grand at her best, taking cues from British street fashion and adding in some poise.

T Magazine Travel, Spring 2012

Editorial: Girl Overboard

Photographer: Cass Bird

Stylist: Sara Moonves

Models: Daria Werbowy

Why we love it: Because it makes us want to be Daria Werbowy. (More so than usual.)

Vogue, May 2011

Editorial: Chateau California

Photographer: Bruce Weber

Stylist: Grace Coddington

Models: Natalia Vodianova

Why we love it: Natalia Vodianova has a pillow fight at Chateau Marmont with Chloë Moretz, Elle Fanning, and Hailee Steinfeld, and that's only one of the photos.

Vogue Paris, June/July 2011

Editorial: Downtown

Photographer: Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin

Stylist: Joe McKenna

Models: Sasha Pivovarova

Why we love it: I actually think it is better than early Madonna. There. I said it.

Numéro #124

Editorial: Wild

Photographer: Greg Kadel

Stylist: Bill Mullen

Models: Daphne Groeneveld

Why we love it: The beauty looks, the accessories, the styling, the neon colors—each element is crazier than the next. This should definitely be a contender for the funkiest fashion editorial of all time.

Muse, Summer 2011

Editorial: Wildflower

Photographer: Tim Barber

Stylist: Susan Winget

Models: Bambi Northwood-Blyth

Why we love it: The feeling of a hazy California summer couldn't be captured more perfectly.

Vogue Turkey, July 2011

Editorial: Kalbim Ege'de...

Photographer: Sebastian Faena

Stylist: Mary Fellowes

Models: Dree Hemingway, Jon Kortajarena

Why we love it: A vivid, retro scrapbook of an insanely good-looking couple's romantic island getaway—what's not to love?

W, August 2011

Editorial: Planet Tilda

Photographer: Tim Walker

Stylist: Jacob Kjeldgaard

Models: Tilda Swinton

Why we love it: Sure, we generally worship the ground that Tilda Swinton walks on, but this editorial is noteworthy because it takes her strange otherworldly presence to the next level.

Vogue China, August 2011

Editorial: The Modern Mods

Photographer: Willy Vanderperre

Stylist: Nicoletta Santoro

Models: Raquel Zimmermann

Why we love it: 2011 was the year of the dominatrix, but no editorial managed to artfully combine sexuality, restraint, and a perfect maroon lip like this Vogue China one.

W, September 2011

Editorial: Transformers

Photographer: Steven Meisel

Stylist: Edward Enninful

Models: Aymeline Valade, Candice Huffine, Guinevere van Seenus, Jamie Bochert, Jessica Stam, Karen Elson, Linda Evangelista, Raquel Zimmermann

Why we love it:Ok, Meisel may have repeated this theme for

Vogue, September 2011

Editorial: Lofty Ambitions

Photographer: Alex Prager

Stylist: Elissa Santisi

Models: Anja Rubik

Why we love it: Photographer Alex Prager always creates a Hitchcockian mood of suspense, which is why this Vogue editorial featuring the blonde Anja Rubik is cinematic perfection.

Numéro #126

Editorial: Madone

Photographer: Sebastian Kim

Stylist: Charles Varenne

Models: Abbey Lee Kershaw

Why we love it: Abbey Lee as a warrior princess-slash-religious icon—pretty epic.

T Magazine Travel, Fall 2011

Editorial: Little Dutch Girl

Photographer: Angelo Pennetta

Stylist: Sara Moonves

Models: Lara Stone

Why we love it: As if we didn't love Lara enough, now we get to see where she and her impossibly perfect proportions came from! Her parents are adorable.

Tank, Fall 2011

Editorial: Kim’s World

Photographer: Viktor Vauthier

Stylist: Pandora Lennard

Models: Kim Noorda

Why we love it: It's one of the sweetest series of portraits we've seen in a long time.

Self Service, Fall 2011

Editorial: Arizona & Daphne

Photographer: Alasdair McLellan

Stylist: Suzanne Koller

Models: Arizona Muse, Daphne Groeneveld

Why we love it: Arizona and Daphne may have been among the most used models of 2011, but this editorial shows them in a new light - as the coolest mod-girls in the countryside.

Oyster, Fall 2011

Editorial: Lindsey the Legend

Photographer: Will Davidson

Stylist: Stevie Dance

Models: Lindsey Wixson

Why we love it: It's always a delight to see Lindsey come alive when she gets back to her small-town roots.

LOVE, Fall 2011

Editorial: We, the Mighty, the Brave and the Wise

Photographer: Boo George

Stylist: Anders Solvsten Thomsen

Models: Alessandra Ambrosio, Hannah Noble, Kate King

Why we love it: In 2011, a lot of people attempted to master the masculine-meets-feminine look, but this is the closest it came to perfection.

AnOther, Fall 2011

Photographer: Yelena Yemchuk

Stylist: Karen Langley

Models: Aline Weber

Why we love it:The luxurious seventies style of this editorial is worth emulating because it channels the era's gorgeous fashion without feeling "retro" or dated.

Wonderland, December 2011

Photographer: Elena Rendina

Stylist: Grace Cobb

Models: Charlotte Free

Why we love it: The mixed prints, the psychedelic backdrop, and the model's signature pink hair work together in perfect harmony.