Yahoo Style

2014: The Year In Stylish Selfies

Yahoo Style

Updated Tue, December 30, 2014 at 11:30 AM UTC

2014: The Year In Stylish Selfies — The Billion Dollar Oscar Selfie When Bradley Cooper snapped a selfie with Ellen Degeneres, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Brad Pitt and other A-listers at the 2014 Oscars, he inadvertently broke a world record for most star power packed into a 8x4 frame. After Ellen shared it on Twitter, the photo quickly went viral, becoming the most popular Tweet in history and prompting various re-enactments and spoofs (like this one and this one). Even though it turned out to be at least partially planned as part of a product placement deal with Samsung, it’s still one for the history books–if not as one of the best, than one of the most expensive: one marketing exec said it was worth $1 billion. Instagram / @_ellendegeneres_

Irina Shayk’s Nude Bring Back Our Girls Selfie — When nearly 300 school girls were kidnapped in Nigeria, politicians, celebrities, models and other public figures took to Instagram to raise awareness of the campaign to rescue them, posting selfies with the hashtag #bringbackourgirls. Campaigns like this one and the inescapable ice bucket challenge, prove that our selfie obsession can be harnessed for good. But when model Irina Shayk posted a pic of herself entirely nude save for a piece of paper with the words Bring Back Our Girls written on it, several critics felt she’d gone too far, calling the selfie distasteful and inappropriate. The moral of the story? Go ahead and selfie for a cause–just keep it clothed.Instagram / @irinashayk

The Queen of Belfies — From Nicki Minaj’s Anaconda to Kim Kardashian’s Internet breaking Paper cover, 2014 was all about asses. So, really, this was only a matter of time: enter, the belfie, or (for the uninitiated) the butt selfie, an art form pioneered by Long Island gym fanatic Jen Selter. Selter first rose to prominence in 2013 but thanks to a Vanity Fair profile and a People Magazine spread, 2014 was officially her breakout year–and she shows no signs of slowing down. The well-endowed Instagram star currently has 4.9 million followers (and counting!). That’s more than the entire population of New Zealand!Instagram / @jenselter

The Mysterious Case of Beyoncé’s Too-Perfect Selfies — 2014 brought us one of the greatest mysteries of our time: Did Beyoncé use photoshop to enhance her Instagrams or is she really just that perfect? The star came under fire several times this year, when sharp-eyed fans noticed what they claim to be tell-tale signs of tampering on her photos. Beyoncé has yet to make a statement and the case is still unresolved. Chilling, I know.Instagram / @beyonce

Nicki Minaj’s Makeup Free Selfie — Ah, the makeup free selfie. Or as we like to call: The humblebrag. But seeing as we’re used to seeing Minaj in pink lipstick and falsies, this au natural snap is worth the hype. It doesn’t hurt that she’s topless either. Instagram / @nickiminaj

Kylie Jenner’s Lips — Kim isn’t the only Kardashian that knows how to cause a stir on Instagram. When 17-year-old Kylie Jenner posted this snap of herself (and her suspiciously fuller lips), the Internet cried plastic surgery. But according to Jenner–and the rest of the Kardashian clan (makeup artist included)–that pucker all comes down to artfully applied lipliner and lipstick.Instagram / @kyliejenner

Cara Delevingne’s Bedstagram — Beyonce’s hit song Flawless, sparked an endless amount of early morning #iwokeuplikethis selfies. For most celebrities, that meant posing seductively in bed with a full face of makeup. Leave it to Cara Delevingne–the fashion world’s favorite hard-partying goofball–to post one we can actually relate to: eyes barely open and groggy. #Flawless.Instagram / @caradelevingne

Madonna Armpit Selfie — When every other celeb is relying on their tits and ass to make headlines, Madonna proves all you need is a hairy pit. Whether you think it’s awesome–or want to drag a razor across it asap–you have to give the Queen of Pop kudos for still knowing how to make a splash at 57.Instagram / @madonna

Rihanna’s Return to Instagram — After a six month hiatus from Instagram, Rih Rih made her triumphant return to the social media platform in November with this upside down and decidedly SFW selfie. The singer had come under fire in May when Instagram flagged her account for inappropriate content. Welcome back Rihanna–we can’t wait for you to clog our feeds again, just keep it relatively PG.Instagram / @badgalriri

2014: The Year In Stylish Selfies

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The Billion Dollar Oscar Selfie When Bradley Cooper snapped a selfie with Ellen Degeneres, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Brad Pitt and other A-listers at the 2014 Oscars, he inadvertently broke a world record for most star power packed into a 8x4 frame. After Ellen shared it on Twitter, the photo quickly went viral, becoming the most popular Tweet in history and prompting various re-enactments and spoofs (like this one and this one). Even though it turned out to be at least partially planned as part of a product placement deal with Samsung, it’s still one for the history books–if not as one of the best, than one of the most expensive: one marketing exec said it was worth $1 billion. Instagram / @_ellendegeneres_

If something major happens in the fashion world and no one takes a selfie, did it even really happen? In 2014, the answer would be no. From the Oscars to fashion week, some of the year’s best moments were all captured at an arm’s length.

Here, a look back at the most headline-making.

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