With Christmas over, we prepare to welcome in the New Year with great anticipation and the optimism of a fresh start.  What plans do you have for the New Year?  Have you thought about what you wish to achieve?  A new year and a new you for your personal style.

Do you imagine changing jobs or working towards a promotion, perhaps you are returning to work after maternity leave or maybe you find yourself back on the dating scene?

Whatever your plans or expectations for this year, I wanted to share with you some pointers which may help to illustrate how confident I am that your own personal image and style can help to support your personal dreams and goals and not just for the year ahead.  My clients regularly hear me saying that a positive image can impact the rest of your life.

DRESSING FOR SUCCESS

If career development is high on your priority list, you will have heard the old adage “dress for the job you want, not the job you have”.  It sounds perfectly obvious but if you are in a ‘job rut’ it is easy to see how we can fail to make an effort when we dress for work.  We are creatures of habit and can tend follow the ‘same old’ mentality particularly now when business dress codes have become more relaxed.  In my opinion, not the best decision to be made.

I am a firm believer that when we have confidence in the way we look, we also feel better about ourselves and able to tackle our roles with renewed vigour.  This can result in enhanced efficiency allowing us to elevate ourselves and get noticed by our boss for all the right reasons.  To me it says “look at me; I know what I’m doing”.  There is no doubt that taking care of our professional image can open doors.  If we care about the way we look, the perception is that we also care about our work.

At the same time, we should not feel the onset of a second mortgage in order to create a professional and authentic impression.  The secret to successful dressing is about understanding the colours and shapes to suit us.  Knowing how to wear what you already own and how to maximise these using the combination of colour, style and accessories appropriately also helps!

GET FIT AND LOSE WEIGHT

We don’t all share the desire to head to the gym after Christmas excesses, however for me  as nature takes its course and gravity plays unpleasant tricks on us, I find that a great motivator for the day ahead is an energising speed walk around the block – you never know who you might bump into!

However, if you are averse to any kind of exercise, there are some very clever dressing techniques that can help elongate, shorten or slim a body to enhance or disguise any number of body attributes.

This leads nicely into my next goal……

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE

Don’t you think that like charity, love begins at home and how you feel about yourself?   Learn to love yourself and to feel comfortable with the body that you have.

I am well aware that when we look for love, it rarely comes knocking but it is true to say that we often meet someone when we least expect it.  With that in mind, make your personal presentation a priority and it should help you attract the attention you deserve.

You may have fallen out of love and care for your wardrobe so you can help by removing all items that do not fit or give you joy ensuring your wardrobe largely contains items in which you look good!

Take some time to identify items of clothing that you love which may give you the extra confidence you may be looking for!

LET'S ALL SAVE SOME MONEY

I know! We’d all like to do a little more of this but how?

At this time of year I like to take a peek through my wardrobe and in the same way we detox our bodies, I apply the same logic to my wardrobe and edit it.

IMG_3175Some of my favourite pieces are those that I have ‘rescued’ from the back of my wardrobe by updating them using for example, an inexpensive piece of costume jewellery to make it ‘current’ or pairing it with a blouse, cardigan or jacket in a contrasting colour I’ve never tried before or even simply with a scarf to create a totally different look.  Try to develop a ‘capsule wardrobe’ of flexible pieces that mix and match together.  Go on, get creative!

 

Although not just for the rich and famous, you may consider hiring the services of an Image Consultant who is able to advise you on colour and garment selection that perfectly suits your individual colouring, lifestyle, personality and clothing preferences!  Believe it or not, it can avoid many unsuccessful purchases hanging unworn at the back of your wardrobe.

I do hope that some of this has provided some food for thought and spurs you on to achieve your own goals for 2018 be it a new position, new partner or a renewed interest in purging your wardrobe.

I can help you perfect an authentic look and personal style that is just right for you.

If you have any questions about how to best to develop your personal style, call me for a chat on 07494 644788 to book an appointment in my comfortable home studio in York.

Colours . Clothes . Confidence