style notes from the ether

the internet is a veritable smorgasbord of style and brand insights today.

mother earth news has a fun discussion of whether letting hair grow naturally long is a viable answer to the age old question "cut it myself or spend bank on a salon?" (i, for one, have adopted a middle ground, choosing to keep my high-priced salon but only getting it done two or three times a year; i also stick with my natural color which saves money, time and exposure to seriously toxic chemicals.)

and then there was this interesting piece in the daily flylady newsletter about style from regular contributor missus smarty pants talking about wardrobe choices and style. i especially love her intro where she compared dressing well to eating a well-balanced diet: if you don't have the right basics in your pantry, you can't cook a healthy meal. read about it or listen onine.

while i was surfing her site, i also found a nice little article on the whys and hows of closet purging. definitely a good place to start. i'm hoping to do some of that soon myself. my closet is so packed with clothes ranging in size from zero to nine that i can hardly get dressed in the morning.

and while we're on the subject, i want to get back to flylady for just a moment. personal style is about more than just how you look. your style gets reflected in your choice of car, your interior decor, and so much more. and while i absolutely love the way my apartment is decorated, i don't so much love what the piles of papers and laundry say about me. if you're the same way, give flylady a fly-by. i have to say, it really works.

week eleven: personal style

okay, i've been wallowing around in weighty topics for a while now. i think it's time to lighten things up. but maybe just a little. because let's face it, as fun as personal style can be, how you look, dress, act and communicate has a huge impact on how other people see you. and sure, it's easy enough to say "i don't care what other people think," but when it comes right down to it, these other people can make your life either a lot easier or a lot harder. but beyond that, i have always believed that it's really important to somehow express what's on the inside on the outside. it's one thing to be judged for who you are, and another thing entirely to be judged for who they mistakenly believe you to be. sure, you can't control other people's perceptions, but you can take a firmer hand in what you're projecting. and what's the first step to that? to find out what it is.

so, for the next two weeks i plan to...
- assess the current state of my style: wardrobe, appearance, written communication, verbal communication, non-verbal communication, actions, work styles
- figure out what impressions these styles give others (when in doubt, ask)
- fix it

but first, (or at least in tandem) it's important to decide how you want to be perceived. that way you have something to measure against.

as robin fisher roffer put it in her book make a name for yourself, "if you don't brand yourself, someone else will." which is fine if you like what they see. if not, it's time to make some changes. and while you're at it, it doesn't hurt to simplify your life a little...