New Year, New You?

The beginning of a New Year usually coincides with preparing our annual list of resolutions. We immediately begin feeling excitement yet all too fast end up feeling defeated! What happened? We just felt motivated and now we feel deflated and even pessimistic. While the fundamentals of goal setting are extremely advantageous and beneficial, the majority of us get caught up in the ‘I shoulds’ or ‘I have to’s’ rather than in the ‘I want to’s’. This is the “no fun” approach that can lead to unnecessary stress and possible setbacks because the list was not truly and authentically inspiring in the first place. Perhaps a more fulfilling approach to accomplishing New Year resolutions is to create a list entirely of ‘I want to’s’ focused on the ways in which we can eliminate the barriers in our lives that have kept us from reaching our goals all along. The idea is once those barriers are lifted, there’s no stopping us!

In terms of personal style, perhaps a goal could be that you would like to make getting dressed be less of an effort each morning so that you could start your day off better. Or maybe you would like to learn more effective ways to pack your suitcase for business trips so that you felt more carefree and self assured when you arrived. Being more financially responsible when it comes to your wardrobe may be a goal this year or perhaps you need to actually invest more time and money into presenting your best self, be it with buying some new slacks (such as the ones on https://serp.co/best/slacks/) or investing in other experimentation with your style. You may even find that taking better care of the clothes that you already own would benefit you this year.

Fashion and developing personal style is simply another tool in life that can help liberate women and men from what holds them back. Gaining confidence through personal style alterations, be it finding a new hair style or getting a hair transplant in Denver (or elsewhere) can be part of reinventing yourself. Think of the year 2009 as a prep year for your future. What is it that you have been putting off that would make you feel good about yourself? Don’t we all have the right to feel good about ourselves? If your answer is ‘yes!’, skip the part about why you’ve been putting it off and just do it! Here are some ideas to start your fashion bucket list now:

EXPERIMENT MORE WITH…

…COLOR

Missoni – FW08 – Style – Marcio Madeira

…PRINTS

Allegra Hicks – FW08 – Style – Marcio Madeira

… or ACCESSORIES

Versace – FW08 – Style – Don Ashby & Olivier Claisse

Oscar de la Renta – FW08 – Style – Don Ashby & Olivier Claisse

Oscar de la Renta – FW08 – Style – Don Ashby & Olivier Claisse

Louis Vuitton – FW08 – Style – Matteo Volta, top left to bottom right

FOCUS MORE ON…

…QUALITY GOODS (rather than quantity)

Oscar de la Renta – FW08 – Style – Don Ashby & Olivier Claisse

Ralph Lauren – FW08 – Style – Don Ashby & Olivier Claisse

Akris – FW08 – Style – Don Ashby & Olivier Claisse

YSL – FW08 – Style – Don Ashby & Olivier Claisse, top left to bottom right

…FLATTERING SILHOUETTES

Lela Rose – FW08 – Style – Marcio Madeira

Moschino Cheap & Chic – FW08 – Style – Marcio Madeira, respectively

…and ECO-FRIENDLY GOODS

Behnaz Sarafpour – FW08 – Style – Marcio Madeira

FURTHER DEFINE YOUR STYLE: DRESS MORE…

…SOPHISTICATED

Akris – FW08 – Style – Marcio Madeira

Carolina Herrera – FW08 – Style – Marcio Madeira, top left to bottom right

…or PLAYFUL

Moschino – FW08 – Style – Marcio Madeira

…STRUCTURED

Luca Luca – FW08 – Style – Marcio Madeira

…or RELAXED

Carlos Miele – FW08 – Style – Marcio Madeira

…FEMININE

Blumarine – FW08 – Style – Marcio Madeira

…or MASCULINE

Bruno Pieters – FW08 – Style – Marcio Madeira

…even SEXY

Halston – FW08 – Style – Marcio Madeira

Versace – FW08 – Style – Marcio Madeira

Derek Lam – FW08 – Style – Marcio Madeira

Halston – FW08 – Style – Marcio Madeira, top left to bottom right

…and of course ON TREND

Prada – FW08 – Style – Marcio Madeira

Tuleh – FW08 – Style – Don Ashby & Olivier Claisse

Lanvin – FW08 – Style – Don Ashby & Olivier Claisse

Versace – FW08 – Style – Marcio Madeira, top left to bottom right

REDEFINE YOUR WEEKEND WEAR

Missoni – FW08 – Style – Marcio Madeira

Balmain – FW08 – Style – Marcio Madeira

Michael Kors – FW08 – Style – Marcio Madeira

Derercuny – FW08 – Style – Marcio Madeira, respectively

TAKE BETTER CARE OF and BE MORE APPRECIATIVE OF…

…YOUR SKIN

Calvin Klein – FW08 – Style – Don Ashby & Olivier Claisse

…YOUR HAIR

Tuleh – FW08 – Style – Don Ashby & Olivier Claisse

…YOUR NAILS

Christian Dior – FW08 – Style – Matteo Volta – Imaxtree

…and always YOUR SMILE

Anna Sui – Sasha Pivovarova – FW08 – Style – Don Ashby & Olivier Claisse

Regardless of their form, resolutions shed an important light on where we are versus where we want to be. It absolutely does not mean that you are not already good enough. It is simply an opportunity to stop putting off your goals and to make room for the things in your life that you really want and deserve. Determine and break-down the necessary steps to accomplish your resolutions. Interestingly enough, fashion and personal style can give you the attitude and the panache to achieve your life goals. Make sure your New Years resolutions include more (if not all) ‘I want to’s’ rather than ‘ I shoulds’ or ‘I have to’s’.

What’s on your fashion bucket list this year?