Start As You Mean To Go On
It’s the start of a brand new year, and the “new year, new me” mantra is in everyone’s mind and on everyone’s lips, it seems. Friends are striving to become better cooks and to spend more time enjoying weekend activities. Your partner is promising to be a better timekeeper, to procrastinate less, and to wash up more of the dishes, and perhaps you’ve told yourself you’re going to eat that extra portion of leafy greens and exercise more – that five minute car journey to the store will become the fifteen minute walk instead. All of these little changes and tweaks are great. They’re making steps, however small to begin with, toward a healthier, happier, and more productive life. Small changes can make a big difference in your day-to-day life and with these changes comes a new vigor for feeling and looking good. If you look good, you feel good.
Style and Versatility
Consider building the contents of your closet around classic and chic items. Try to assemble staple and essential pieces that can be reworked and let your closet take shape. So often less is more, so find items that you love, and ones that promise to bring vitality and a fresh feel to older clothes that might otherwise have seen their best days. Items that are widely recognized as forming the list of staples include a good pair of skinny jeans, a plain white button-down shirt and a sharp blazer – blazers are compatible with job interviews and also, you’ll be overjoyed to hear, for joining friends for late evening cocktails and the like. Blazers can be made to look smart and also smart-casual where they are required to. A fitted black blazer with a light blue pair of jeans has long been a classic piece of design engineering.
Reinvent Your Closet
Transform something you deemed a little worse for wear, like a battered leather jacket for example, with a new large brightly colored scarf. The way you dress will change inevitably, at least somewhat, if you’re one to keep up to date with what’s hot and what’s not, and what’s in season. Small changes here and there are what can turn an outfit around, adding a tan belt, instead of a black one, to a pair of jeans can alter, although subtly, how they will look once on.
Keep it Classic
The way you dress is important, after all, it’s a direct expression of yourself and your individuality. The fashion industry is forever revamping and renewing itself, and what’s in style one season can be considered a fashion faux pas the next. If you know what you’re doing when it comes to smart shopping, then you could see yourself save money by purchasing pieces of fashionable clothing that have stood the test of time and have long been considered on trend; consistently earning their place in the wardrobes of fashionistas year after year, much like the little black dress. Think about choosing well-tailored and well-made pieces of clothing in materials that have a far greater likelihood of longevity. Think quality over quantity. Investment buy where you can, and then dress up, or dress down your essential wardrobe contents.
Keep it Chic
The French do style so well; almost effortlessly. Cracking their style secrets may not be so hard, and the Parisian chic look is far more attainable than you may at first think. France certainly has a long history of being set apart from the rest when it comes to classic flair and stylish edge, think Coco Chanel, whose style was largely to keep it simple, with simplistic and unfussy cuts. She is known to have favored the nautical and monochrome look, wearing a blue or black striped top teamed with pants of traditionally masculine cuts. To master the chic apparel, think simplicity and think dark, timeless colors. By doing this, you’re also building a timeless wardrobe that will last for many years to come.
Je Ne Sais Que
Actress Brigitte Bardot similarly followed Coco Chanel’s advice on how to be stylish to a large extent. Bardot added a certain something to the simple elegance of before, updating her look, as the time dictated in the roaring 1960’s, by wearing black over-the-knee boots with a black skirt, still keeping the colours monochrome and muted. You can emulate this style by coordinating slim fitting boots, ones like these petite boots, with a black skirt and a plain striped top, or with jeans, or cigarette pants. This look is quintessentially ’60’s, ageless and immortalized as being a sophisticated ensemble. There’s no need to break the bank either; this timeless look can be recreated again and again, in a multitude of ways. You’re investing in style and yourself.
Know Where To Look
Become familiar with what looks good on you and what you feel comfortable and confident in. Know your shape and how to complement it; there’s nothing worse than accidentally dressing in clothing that’s unflattering for your shape. Signing up to receive style newsletters and fashion magazines is advisable for a boost of inspiration. Follow fashion and lifestyle blogs for daily recommendations; look for a style icon and keep up-to-date on their fashion endevours. You can look to many reputable, and internationally popular magazines to absorb the “how to” lists on dressing to impress, or “know hows” regarding causing a stir in the office or by walking downtown. Do some research and find out how to slim certain areas or to accentuate curves you wish to make a feature of in your outfit and style.
Dare to Wear
Try something out that you wouldn’t have last year, decide to buy that piece of clothing you thought you wouldn’t be able to pull off. Be daring. Pluck up the courage to move outside of your comfort zone and your confidence and closet will thank you. Keep it classic, chic and on trend, and you’ll look forward to facing each and every new year.
