How to Choose Your Personal Style

Fashion. What a pain. Vogue is out there to sell you stuff. No one dresses like hip-hop dancers and looks that good. Celebrities starve themselves to get their clothes to hang just right. And your friends just follow the latest trends.

You can follow what everyone else does. You can be different just like all your friends. Or you can develop a true personal style, based on you, your personality, and the way you like to present yourself.

Self Assessment

Before you start to develop a personal style, you need to ask yourself some hard questions, and answer honestly. Have a full-length mirror nearby, and look at yourself from front and back. Write down what you think about:

• Your figure
• Your skin color and texture
• Your hair color
• Other physical features (like nails, etc.)

Don't agonize over it. Be honest instead. If you're shaped like a pear, so what? If you think you're too thin, that's okay too. You need to know yourself honestly before you can start changing your style. Especially note if you have any especially great characteristics. Beautiful blue eyes should be played up; a flirtatious smile, perfect feet, well-toned arms, or creamy skin are all important.

Once you have a handle on your appearance, look at some other things:

• Your personality
• Your lifestyle (athletic, sedentary, busy, social butterfly, etc.)
• Your job or jobs
• Any activities you like to participate in

All these items will affect how you dress and what you will be able to change in your style. You don't want to buy high heels if you are always on the move at work. Switching to all skirts won't work for an active hiker. And you don't want to start wearing vivid colors if you're a shy person.

Finally, look at:

• Your social environment (are you a student, a stripper, a single mom, or an active church member?)
• Your home climate (in all seasons)
• Your personal comfort level (how much skin do you like to show?)
• Your realistic budget

Your perfect personal style takes all the criteria above into consideration.

Developing The Style

Make a list of each article of clothing you're going to be looking at. Here are the ones I suggest, in the order you should probably consider them: