Confidence means feeling sure of yourself and your abilities, secure in the knowledge that you are capable of whatever the task in hand is.
Some people exude confidence. They have an aura that conveys it. They will generally put themselves forward for new opportunities and experiences and if things don’t work out, they will not be afraid to try again.
For others they might be totally confident in an area of expertise within their comfort zone but not so much in other areas. Confidence can ebb and flow at different times in our lives depending on personal circumstances.
One thing I know for sure is that wearing the right clothes can make an enormous difference to your confidence. You know when you’ve had an outfit that makes you feel like a million dollars? You walk taller and appear more self-assured to those around you.
Compare that with when you feel you aren’t looking your best for whatever reason.
It could be that you’ve gained weight or you’re due a trip to the hairdressers for example and the thought of meeting new people or delivering a presentation at the moment fills you with dread because your confidence is being affected by your appearance.
The perfect outfit can really transform how you feel so it makes absolute sense to figure out what that actually means for you and creating a unique recipe for your Signature Style.
Here are a few things for you to consider when it comes to improving your own personal style and image confidence so that you can have that bee knees feeling more of the time rather than it just being left to chance.
- Come up with a few words that describe how you’d like to be perceived in terms of your personal style e.g. tailored and polished, funky and contemporary, rebellious or respectable.
- Decide what kind of clothes would reflect those words. Consider the types of colours, fabrics, fit and style. E.g. bright and bold colours with large scale geometric patterns or soft, muted plain fabrics that gently skim etc.
- The next thing to consider is whether your wardrobe matches your dressing/lifestyle needs? Think about how you spend your time in a typical week and the type of clothes you need to wear for each segment. Then think about the contents of your wardrobe if, for 50% of your time, required to be dressed in a smart casual way does 50% of your wardrobe reflect this?
- Use the words from point 1, the qualities you’ve listed for point 2 and your needs from point 3 to create a checklist.
- Next check the contents of your wardrobe against your ‘checklist’. Do your current clothes fit the bill or are there gaps and anomalies? This analysis will help you identify what to focus on when you are shopping for clothes moving forward.
- Now think about outfits you’ve worn in the past that you felt awesome in and think about what it was about those clothes that made you feel that way. Make some notes. See if there are any recurring themes. Add the criteria to your checklist.
- You should now have an idea of how near (or far) you are to your ideal wardrobe situation that will help towards creating your personal style and image confidence and creating your Signature Style.
Having your Signature Style nailed is like having your own personal recipe for feeling empowered and dressing with confidence.
The ‘ingredients’ are your checklist. Once you are happy with your ingredients you can play around with your ‘recipes’ and it becomes easier to dial your style up or down to suit the situation and environment so that you never feel under or overdressed but you always feel authentically you.
Dressing with confidence, knowing that you look good and feel fabulous – ready to conquer the world!
Lisa Newport, Lisa Newport Style
Lisa is a member of the Woman Who Achieves Academy