A New Year, A New You

There is never a better time than the spring to take a look at yourself and re-evaluate who you are and where you are going.

Forget New Year’s resolutions which can be such a temporary solution. This is all about making a change and sticking to it. Whether it is changing your image, reinventing your personality, going on a new adventure or just losing something that is holding you back now is the time to make that change.

When looking at yourself and making changes to your lifestyle one of the best places to start is with your wardrobe. Looking through your wardrobe and working out what works and what doesn’t also helps you to look at your life.

Divide your wardrobe into sections to decide if you have enough of the right clothes for your lifestyle.

Unfortunately we all need to have practical work clothes and so one section of your wardrobe should be taken up with these. You need at least one pair of work shoes (unless you work in a job where you can dress down) and a skirt or trouser suit is always useful. It can double up for smart occasions as well as being a practical solution for work.

Then think about the time when you are not working – are you always out on the town? Do you spend lots of time in the garden? Are you always off on hikes across the countryside? Do you spend time in galleries? Or do you have a hobby that takes up much of your time?
For instance if you are an outdoor type person you need to have lots of practical clothes and fewer dressy jackets and skirts. Yes, there are always occasions that you have to dress up for but having one smart outfit is probably enough if these are reasonably spread throughout the year. Afterall you can always use accessories to change the look of the outfit. Concentrate instead on having clothes that are loose and easy to wear – they will allow you to be active without feeling restricted.

On the other hand of you are more of a town person you should stick to a smarter image. There are lots of clothes available that are smart without being too dressy to wear in the day – check out the ranges of trousers and shirts currently around. Also a great way of making an outfit more adaptable is to have accessories that change the look of it – look at bags and scarves and also cardigans, boleros and wraps to accentuate different colours according to the occasions.

Fiona Muller is a trained textile designer and has written a textile thesaurus. She is interested in fashion and how it can work for anyone regardless of age, size or race.For a wide range of clothes to suit every occasion go to www.east.co.uk