Signature style. What is it? Do you have it? Do you want to get it? How do you create your own signature style or fine-tune the one you have?

First, let me start by saying signature style (a.k.a. SS) is for everyone. Fashion can cost you oodles of money. But signature style doesn’t have to. It's about cultivating a look that is YOU, not your friend or the latest celebrities on the cover of People magazine. However, you can look to a girlfriend or a celebrity for inspiration provided that style suits YOU. LIke, really suits you. For example,  I happen to think those Olsen twins have an amazing sense of style. I love how they put things together, some of it so ugly it becomes oh, so cute on THEM! "Them" is the operative word.  Now, that said, I could never embrace that SS. I would feel like an idiot dressing like that. I would feel like I was playing dress up (never mind that I'm almost double their age).  I admire their style for sure but it's not ME.  I focus more on someone with Angelina Jolie's style to give me inspiration. The colors she chooses, the styles she wears. Those feel like me and they work with my shape. So, as long as you know yourself and the image you feel comfortable projecting,  you can look to others to keep you focused on YOUR signature style and to give you ideas on how to put it together without being a total copycat or out of your own element. 

SS can be found in every price range. It's all about the choices you make and how you mix things together.  If you know what looks super cute on you and what you feel fantastic wearing, you are well on your way to establishing your own signature look that can evolve over the years.  Pick  a style muse (someone you know or a celebrity or two), grab a girlfriend and let's get started!

COLOR:

Make a list of colors, not just your favorites but the ones that you think look really  good on YOU and make you feel great  when you're wearing them. Then, ask a girlfriend to make a list of colors she thinks look terrific on you. Cross off the ones that don’t match up with each other’s. Remember your girlfriend might think you look fantastic in orange. The way it sets off your hair color is striking to her. And you say, “ew” because you think you look gross and most of all you FEEL gross when you wear orange. It reminds you of that orange izod shirt you wore in highschool. You really wanted pink but your mom bought you orange and talked you into wearing it cuz it looked so striking with your hair color. Well, you felt like a pumpkin all day and swore off orange forever.  Remember, how you feel in what you wear is the number one indicator. Of course how it looks on you matters too, but I am trusting all you girls have mirrors at home and know you must use one EVERYTIME you get dressed!  I am also trusting if you love how you feel when you wear purple, but you buy a top in purple that fits you badly and all your friends say you look pregnant when you wear it, that you’ll look for a purple top that fits your shape a bit better. Which brings us to our next topic, shape.

SHAPE:

Because color is very subjective-it has the power to make you feel really great or really blah, so you must really listen to your instinct as to what color makes you feel like a million bucks. But, shape/body perception is very objective. We girls usually have a very warped view of our own bodies. If you feel like you can’t be objective enough, grab a girlfriend again cuz we’re going to figure out what your shape really looks like.  No, not the overused apple, pear crap. Girls with signature style should never relate their bodies to pieces of fruit!  No, I am talking about actual shape. Do you have long legs and a short torso? Short torso short legs? I mean really look at what part of your body is showcasing your best assets and then work from there to make that part look hot. Now, with that said, if you have great boobs, there are ways to show those girls off without looking like a hooker. Subtle is the the new sexy.  

Okay, so let's get started with the shape stuff.  LIst at least one favorite part of your body. Even if it’s your feet. Everyone has at least one part they feel great about. Ask your girlfriend what she thinks and match up those lists again. Ask ten girlfriends if you want!  When it comes to body perception, the more opinions you can get other than your own, the better. Remember, your opinion of your body is very likely warped! After doing that you should have a pretty good idea of what your most flattering parts are. 

Signature style is all about getting to know yourself inside and out and it's  more about confidence than anything. I know you have probably heard that before but it's oh so true! So get to know your body and it’s shape and embrace it. Sure there are areas you swear you could never embrace. We all have those. But there are really only two choices- fix them (which can take lots of money!) or embrace them and accept those areas.  You can concentrate on playing up the really great parts and masking the problem areas and all it will cost you is the price of clothes not plastic surgery.

While signature style is always current and up to date, it's different than just following fashion trends.  A girl with signature style gives herself permission to pass on a trend if it doesn’t fit her style. She is that secure in who she is and what she wants to exude.  Remember this is not about trends, or even the clothing itself. It's about what looks and feels good on you, AND keeping it consistent and CURRENT.  Only then will your look evolve from a ordinary style to a signature one. 

BUDGET:

Uh, oh, the B word! I would be remiss if I didn't mention budget.  I know some of you girls will have lots and lots of money to spend on your signature look and some of you will have not so much. I'm not going to lie to you. If you have a little bit to spend up front, at least on some key pieces, it will help. But if not I don't want you getting all pouty and feeling sorry for yourself. You can still achieve a signature style that looks like a million bucks. You just have to get creative. 

Remember, money doesn't necessarily equal taste or a great looking signature style.  You can buy a super expensive, ugly couture dress that makes you look like the mother of the bride, or you can buy really expensive jeans that make your thighs look gigantic and make you feel fat everytime you put them on.  And then, uh oh, there goes the confidence out the window! Money doesn't buy confidence, it only pretends to temporarily. So, my point is, don't be blue if you don't have oodles and oodles to spend.  Just remember while expensive prices don't necessarily go hand in hand with good taste, less expensive does not have to equal cheap looking.  You must have a discerning eye. You never want to buy something for $24.99 that looks like it cost $24.99. Picture it at Neiman's. Would you buy it if it was there and cost $100?? If the answer is yes, then grab it and march to the cash register.  It's all about mixing the highs and the lows anyway.  Any girl with signature style knows that. Even if you are on a Gap budget and your girlfriend is on a Neiman's one, you can both have amazing individual signature looks.  It's all in how you put it together.

Making Room:

Now is the perfect time for me to tell you (before you even begin to spend whatever your budget will allow) to clean out your closet!!! The closet is no place for melancholy. You'll need to go in with a take no prisoners attitude and clean that puppy out. Whatever color, shape or look does not fit your signature style muse or vision must go!!!   If you don't feel you can muster the courage it will take, definitely grab a girlfriend. An honest one who'll tell you exactly what to keep and what to put in a bag and pack away for someone less fortunate. See, you aren't only helping yourself by taking on this task, you are also helping someone else who will inherit your pile of not right for you clothes.  Or you may have a girlfriend who's signature style is dying for that plaid orange and black wool mini dress you bought last year. You only wore it once because it was part orange and you forgot that you hate orange no matter how striking it looks with your hair. Remember, at this point it's not about quantity in your closet.

As teenagers and girls in our 20’s we dabbled alot, trying this and that.  But by age 35 every girl should already have, or at least be well on the way, to developing her own signature style. It  gives an inner confidence and makes getting dressed much simplier. Shopping becomes a productive game not a guessing one.  Knowing you will go to your closet and realize everything in there is wearable- you can choose from anything and feel good in whatever you grab.  How many times have you been shopping with a girlfriend and loved what she tried on so much that in the heat of the moment you got talked into trying it on  and buying it too? Only to realize, when you get home, it’s not YOU at all. It is totally your girlfriend!  While you can admire someone elses style, it may not necessarily be yours. You can appreciate it, love it even, but that's what signature style is all about. It's about knowing yourself and being confident enough to know what you should and shouldn’t wear to feel your best and project the image that you want.  

Any girl can attain her very own signature style that really feels like the perfect fit. It will take time, patience and being really honest with yourself.  It's not about who you want to be. It's more about who you really are.   You'll know you are finally there when your friends pull something off the rack and say "this is  so you!"  And, you know what? They'll be right!

(coming soon... individual signature styles described, and what you've gotta buy to get the look and make it your own!)