New Year New You – How do you want to be perceived?

New Year's resolutions are always a bit tricky in my world – if we really wanted to achieve the thing we determine to do, we would already have done it! Why set yourself up for failure and guilt about lack of follow through?

This year I'm going to encourage those around me to think carefully about something different. How do you want to be perceived? It's one of the questions we consider on a Personal Style Class.

One of my friend's comments: 'We all wear so many hats in life and interact with so many people and although it is really important we always appear credible, we need to be perceived differently in different situations by different people. This is obvious when we think about it; my teenage and adult boys still far prefer me to wear jeans and relaxed jumpers and are far more likely to give me hug when I do. That's because they remember me dressing that way as their Mum when they were little. We were always cooking and on the allotment or in the woods. However the team of girls that I manage in the office would not take well to direction from me in my most casual clothes. They expect something more professional, they need to feel led and know I am capable of making the decisions the office needs on a day to day basis.'

The lifestyle and situation will be different for all of us, but the principle remains the same. How do you want to be perceived in the many areas of your life? At work, rest and play? When you ask people this question, the following often come up - Attractive, approachable and trustworthy. In other words we want to look our best and to appear credible. We want to feel happy about ourselves and comfortable with other people seeing who that is.

This is perhaps one of the deepest, and most unexpected, benefits of having our colours and style analysed. We are dressing the core of our being, the essence of ourselves and so the inside and the outside have integrity and belong together. When clients come for a Colour Class they are often looking forward to a great day out with a friend or a relation and are excited about finding out something new about themselves, but many go away with a much richer experience and deeper understanding of themselves. So...if you're ready for a change and are ready to embrace who you really are, get in touch with your nearest consultant and start your journey to a NEW YOU.