In years past, any bathing suit with a built in skirt was reserved for the over 70.  This year we’re seeing everything from barely there ruffle minis to slightly more modest super minis.  Almost every major swimwear brand including Betsy Johnson, Sauipe, Becca, Beach Bunny, and Juicy Couture are all showing their own take on this trend. 

Forgo the boyshort this summer and opt instead for a mini to look spot on trend, feminine, and flirty.

If you are looking for style and image advice that won’t cost you a fortune, you’re in luck.  I am now offering my Special Reports for a fraction of their printed price.  They regularly sell for $24, but you can download them today for $9.99.  Simply click the links below to order yours today.  I know you will find the information very useful and that it will help you look and feel your best.  Enjoy!

55 Ways to Slim Your Silhouette with Ease
This 32 page book gives you 55 easy ways to slim your silhouette today.  It includes tips on foundation garments, tailoring, fabrics, diverting attention, body types, proportion and balance, color, swimwear and more.  It is a great place to start if you want to look slimmer without surgery or fad diets.  It’s amazing how implementing these easy tips can instantly help create a slimmer silhouette.

Polishing Your Professional Image

By implementing the proven tips and guidelines in this book, women will feel more self confident, up to date, and put together.  The straightforward style, practical tips, and advice in these pages are easy to grasp and can be used immediately.  Every woman, regardless of size, shape, or age will be able to look more polished and professional.   

As I tell all my clients, this may not be the body you want, but it’s the body you have.  So let’s make it look its absolute best.  Why wait?  Now is the time to look and feel your best.  I know many of you are probably “losing weight,” but how long have you been trying?  I hate to break it to you, but if you haven’t lost it in the past year, it probably isn’t going anywhere any time soon.  So why put off looking and feeling great any longer?  Be realistic with yourself and start spending the time and money on yourself.  You deserve it.  Buy clothes that fit, regardless of the number on the tag.  Put the effort into your outfits.  Make sure your hair and makeup look good.  I guarantee you that regardless of your age or weight, if you spend a little more time on yourself this year you will look and feel fabulous!  Who knows, all the added confidence could help you lose that extra weight, land that new job, or find that perfect someone you’ve been looking for.  Today is the day! 

New Year New You Tips 

Do a Closet Overhaul
Get rid of all those old clothes that are weighing you down.  Regardless of who gave them to you, how much you paid for them, or who made them, if they aren’t working for you, toss them!  You don’t realize it, but every time your closet is filled with clothes that you’re not wearing, they act as negative reminders.  Why be reminded every time you open your closet that you are either too big to wear something, you’ve spent lots of money on something that you’ve never worn, you no longer have that great job where you used to wear that suit, etc.  We have enough things bringing us down every day.  We don’t need our clothes dragging us down every time we open our closet.  Your closet should only be filled with clothes that fit, that you feel fabulous in, and that make you happy.  And if that means that you have fewer things in your closet, then so be it.  I promise, you will be so much happier. 

Get a New Haircut or Color
If you have had the same haircut or color for more than 5 years, it may be time for a little update.  No one says it has to be dramatic, but subtle changes can often take years off you.  Sometimes it’s as simple as cutting your bangs slightly different, adding in a few layers, or adding some highlights or low lights.  Of course you can always go for a more dramatic change as well.  It’s just hair, it will grow back.  Embrace change and watch the years melt off.  If you need a good hairdresser I have a fabulous one! 

Update Your Makeup
Similar to the hair situation, if you’ve always done your makeup the same way, try changing things up a bit.  Our skin lightens naturally as well age, so it is essential to readdress your colors and makeup every few years.  Techniques change as well.  I’m not talking about wearing the latest eye shadow color or following all the makeup trends, but I am talking about learning new techniques, and constantly refining your makeup choices so that they are continually making you look your best.   

Add Two New Pieces to Your Wardrobe Every Season
Make a point to add at least two new pieces to your wardrobe every season.  These can be in any price range you choose, but it is important to stay updated.  Even if you continually buy classic pieces, the shapes and cuts of garments change over time, so it is essential to replace them every now and then to stay current.  If you can add in the color du jour through accessories as well, you’ll be even more with it!  It doesn’t take much to stay current, it just takes a little effort every few months.  We can all do that right?  Again, I’m here if you need help with this. 

Make Time for Yourself
Our inner and outer beauty are so interrelated that when you make time for yourself, you will absolutely feel better about the way you look.  Everyone’s idea of “me” time is different.  Maybe you love taking baths, maybe it’s long walks on the beach, or a yoga class, or curling up in bed and reading a great book.  Whatever it is that revives your spirit, make sure you schedule that time into your calendar every week.  Our entire self image starts to erode when we lose all of our “me” time.  It is a very important piece of the total image puzzle.

It’s a new year and it’s time for a new you.  Why wait any longer to look and feel your best?  This is the year to feel happy and confident about the way you look.  I always tell my clients that this may not be the body you want, but it’s the body you have.  So let’s make the most of it and make sure that you look and feel your absolute best.

Stop waiting to lose all the weight you want to.  It will never happen.  You’ll be waiting forever and look less than fabulous for the next ten years while you’re waiting to lose the weight.  Stop.  Just accept yourself the way you are now and make the most of what you’ve got.  Focus on the positive and forget about the parts you don’t like.  I promise, they are worse in your head than they are in reality.

If you are ready to make a change in a new direction, if you are ready to embrace yourself just as you are, if you are ready to look and feel fabulous, then I am ready to help.  I look forward to helping you make 2009 the year you feel fantastic. 

Call me on 714 351 3849 to schedule an individual consultation or sign up for one of my many group training courses.  I look forward to helping you look and feel your best!

Add Some Sparkle
For casual, think about adding a metallic ballet flat, a shiny belt, or a glittery scarf.
For dressy events, choose an ornately jewel encrusted clutch to pair with a simple dress, add a sparkly heel, fabulous chandelier earrings, or a dress with jeweled detailing at the neck or hemline.  The key here is balance.  If your dress is ornate, then your accessories should be simple.  If your dress is simple, then your accessories can be more flashy.   

Wear a Fitted Tuxedo Jacket
Opt for a sexy, fitted tuxedo jacket as a night out topper instead of the usual pashmina or wrap.  It screams sophistication and adds a needed dose of edginess to sparkly nighttime pieces.  If you don’t have a tuxedo style jacket, a fabulous, fitted black blazer works just as well.  Instead of trying to keep your shawl on all night you’ll be warm and looking glamorous.   

Go Black White and Silver
Who says you have to wear red or green to look festive?  This season, opt instead for a black, white, and silver combo.  It’s chic, classic, and stylish.  Wear black where you’re bigger, white where you’re smaller, and use the silver to highlight all your best assets.  It’s an easy formula to looking ultra fashionable this season.   

Avoid All That Tacky Jewelry
I know we all want to get into the holiday spirit, but those tacky sweaters with flashing lights, reindeer, Santa hats, bells, and any number of other holiday motifs are truly unfashionable.  Same goes with the matching jewelry.  There are plenty of tasteful and stylish ways to show your holiday spirit, but they usually aren’t sold at Costco or Wal-Mart.  If you can buy your toilette paper in bulk there, you probably shouldn’t be buying clothes there.

Body ShapersHide the sags and bulges that age and constant stress have given our bodies. Wear pantyhose, tights and undergarments that provide support to your legs, thighs and hips. However, do not punish yourself by wearing things that pinch your body too much and are too uncomfortable for you. You are supposed to smile and feel good about what you are wearing. 

Update Your Bra Every time you need a new bra, get professionally fit.  Your breasts change size and shape as you age, and modern technology changes.   Make sure your girls look their best in modern, well fitting bras. 

Update Your PantiesMake sure your backside doesn’t scream old lady with obvious panty lines.  A thong or boy short is a great modern alternative to “granny panties.”

Most women wear many hats each day.  They have their mom hat, wife hat, work hat, play hat, chef hat, chauffeur hat, and countless others.  They muddle through each hat change with limited success and have problems crossing the wardrobe boarders between hats.   It is possible to develop a wardrobe that easily crosses between the many different roles that we play each day. There’s no need for a full costume change, simply adding or subtracting a few key pieces is all that’s needed.                   

Reorganize Your Mind and Your Closet
Stop thinking that just because it’s a suit that you have to wear it together and that it has to be worn to work.  Organize your closest so your work and play clothes are mixed together.  You want all your jackets together…from jean jackets to suit jackets…all hanging together.  This will help ensure that you get the most possible use out of them.    This is one of the most beneficial things you can do for yourself.  Often times you don’t even need to go shopping.  You just need to reorganize your mind and closet and create new outfits that cross pollinate your wardrobe with work and casual clothes. 

Jewelry is a balancing act.  It’s all about size, scale, and proportion.  If you’re wearing huge earrings, skip the necklace and go for a fabulous bracelet or ring instead.  If you’ve got an exquisite necklace on, go small with the earrings and maybe just do a cocktail ring.  If an arm full of bracelets is your thing, counter balance them with fabulous earrings.  You get the idea.  You’re better off having one focal point, and one or two important pieces of jewelry than a smattering of small, meaningless pieces.   

You also want to keep scale in mind when choosing accessories.  If you are a very petite, small boned, 5 foot tall woman, you don’t want to over power yourself in a super wide cuff bracelet, or a very large, chunky necklace.  Your delicate features are going to need more delicate pieces.  Same goes with a very tall or large woman.  You will need accessories that are more substantial to look in proportion to your body.  If you put a very thin, delicate bracelet on your wrist, it will look ridiculously small compared to your larger limbs.  This is one of the most basic tips, but I’m telling you, most people don’t know it. 

Excessive Detailing – The more detail you find on an inexpensive item, the cheaper it will look.  Most top designers are very subtle with their detailing on their ready to wear garments.  Obviously they go nuts with their couture lines, but their day to day items are normally very sleek.  For some reason, when you enter the inexpensive stores, they have gone overboard with their detailing.  Keep the details simple and no one will know that it’s Forever 21.

Bad Seams – Pay careful attention to the construction of the garment.  If the seams are uneven or busting, the garment will never fit properly.  One of the quickest ways to tell how well a garment is made is to look at the seams, buttons, and zippers.  You will be able to instantly tell if the garment is even worth trying on.  Don’t bother buying an item with bad seams, it will never look right and it’s not worth the price of redoing the seams.

In this economy, we are all watching every penny very carefully.  Although the wealthy are probably able to continue their healthy shopping habits, most of us are seriously reigning in our spending habits, especially on non-essentials like clothing. Yes, Of course we all need some clothes, but you know as well as I do, that we don’t need ALL the clothes in our closets.

Our economy is in the tank, and our pocket books are tighter, but our image is still a very important piece of our personal and professional image.  Over the next week I am going to be talking about a few things to avoid when dressing on a dime.

Shiny Fabrics
Shiny, inexpensive fabrics always looks cheaper than shiny, expensive fabrics. So if you are shopping at inexpensive stores, steer clear of shiny fabrics.  As you can see in the images above, the picture on the left looks cheap, cheap, cheap.  The picture on the right, however, looks beautiful and luxurious.  The cheaper the fabric, the more matte it should be.  Keep this in mind at all times when shopping on a dime.