Reinvigorate Your Style in 2012 [Gal About Town: Fashion and Travel at your fingertips]

Happy New Year! What better way to start the New Year than with my very first Fierce and Nerdy blog? I feel honored to be a part of this group, and hope that my advice can help you look and live your fiercest and nerdiest. I’m a professional Costume Designer and travel enthusiast. Every week I’ll be blogging about fashion or travel while encouraging you to be bold and daring.

So to kick off 2012, I’m challenging you all to reinvigorate your style in an easy and affordable manor. I believe that one must be comfortable in their own skin to exude confidence, but every once and a while our comfort boundaries need to be pushed. I encourage you to try these tips at least weekly for the next month and see the difference in the way you and the way others see you. If you’re really bold, do it daily! And please, comment with your progress and reactions! I will keep you updated as well. So here we go:

Tip #1: Face your Fears. Eleanor Roosevelt has sage wisdom that can easily be applied to your wardrobe: “Do one thing every day that scares you”.  Is there a new fashion trend you’ve been tempted by but too scared to try? Love the look of color blocking but not sure that you can pull it off? Worried the new H&M GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO line will actually make you look like Lisbeth Salander? Guys, are you too worried that anything you try will make you look like the stereotypical hipster? Don’t over think it. Grab that piece of clothing that scares you and try it on. Unless it’s poorly made or inherently ugly, you’re probably going to look amazing in it. And once you make the first big leap into the unknown, it gets easier to try more items normally out of your comfort zone that your body has been dying to try. And just remember if it doesn’t fit at first, try a different size, no store makes their clothing the same “Size 2”.

Tip #2: Make Yourself Unforgettable. It is true that clothing makes a man, and even more than clothes, it’s a person’s accessories that make them memorable. When costume designing a character, the accessories always pull the look together and truly make a statement about who they are. I applied this to my own life several years ago by wearing glasses that make a statement (and are complimentary to my face) as well as my chic, yet different, nose piercing. People remember me even if we only have a minute exchange because of these elements (and my charming personality, of course). A great statement accessory helps to leave an impression, and make you easy to remember.

Some ideas for the Guys: look for a detailed watch that fits your personality, belts with bold buckles, a certain type of shoe that you wear consistently that is bold and edgy, a really well tooled messenger bag that has been worn in perfectly, and if you’re the business type- interesting cuff links or an impeccably tailored blazer.

For the gals: A bold colored purse (aka bright red, tangerine, green, etc) is versatile enough to go with most of your wardrobe and still stand out, a statement piece of jewelry you almost always wear (Julia Child had her pearls!), a classic coat that is well tailored and will never go out of style, a bold colored cashmere scarf. Remember, you don’t need to become Steven Tyler or Rachel Zoe and over accessorize to pull this off. You don’t even need to spend a lot of money. I’ve found many statement pieces for myself, and the characters I design, at H&M, Forever 21 or Zara.

Tip #3: Take out the trash. We all know we should go through our closets once a year and get rid of what we haven’t worn. But many times the problem is that we aren’t wearing the good pieces, and only wearing what we are used to whether it looks good on us or not. I encourage you to go through every piece of your wardrobe, try it on, and evaluate it. 1) Does it fit? 2) Is it, or could it still be fashionable? And, this is the most important 3) Do I feel confident in it? If you don’t feel confident, get rid of it immediately. I don’t care if it’s your sweat pants or a D&G top, if you don’t feel confident, people can pick up on that immediately. This isn’t me saying throw out your sweats. I saw a picture of Mandy Moore looking pretty damn confident and hot in her sweats lately (check it out below), and just last week Paris Hilton was rocking a velour track suit that was very 2003, but she made it look fabulous because she actually felt fabulous in it. The real trick to looking great is truly believing you look great, regardless of what you are actually wearing. So take those confidence-busting pieces to your local consignment store, and use the cash you get from them to find something you feel great it (oh, and this might be a good time for you to try Tip #1 as well).

Tip #4: Change of face. A little like tip #1 try something different with your hair (and for the ladies) makeup. It’s easy to get caught in the rut of one look. Having the same hair cut/color for years on end, always using the same lipstick, keeping that goatee you had since college. Hair grows back and makeup can always be removed. Try a new style.

Guys: use a little hair product, part your hair differently, try that scraggly look that works so well on Joel McHale.

Gals: Wear that lipstick you think is too bold, try a braid even if you butchered Barbie’s hair when you were little, buy that nail polish that looks a little immature (you can remove it in just a minute and then give it to your closest teenage relative).

Will you make mistakes along the way? Probably, but as Chris Martin of Coldplay says, “If you never try, then you’ll never know just what you’re worth.” Encourage a friend/lover to try these with you, you’ll at least both get a kick out of the mistakes and be wowed by the hits.

Now boldly go!