The way we present ourselves says a lot about who we think we are and the sort of person we are.  We have over time adopted a certain image with the way we tend to dress, do our hair, our personal style.

This can be a useful thing, because if how we look expresses our personality and tastes well, it can be a signal to others with whom we are more likely to relate well, it can tell others things about ourselves that we want them to know, it can be a reflection of how we are feeling.  These are all good and useful things.

Having a personal style of our own and feeling right with our personal appearance is good for our confidence and is a sign of self respect.  Working on the outside can help us with how we feel on the inside.

Our image might be screaming “look at me, notice me”, or it might be screaming the absolute opposite: a strong wish to blend into the background and not draw any attention to ourselves at all.  It will vary, frequently or seldom.  It can change.  It can have effects we didn’t intend or which are not helpful to us.

So, the way I see it, it’s something worth giving some attention and thought to.

The best way of presenting ourselves will be different for all of us, but for me, I absolutely know it to be true, that I feel much more confident, get more done, feel more positive and so on, if I feel I’m dressed well and looking my best.  A lot of days that might just mean I’m really happy with the jeans and t-shirt I’m wearing, but that’s ok.  As long as I have at least two pairs of jeans at all times, any that I don’t feel great in get the boot.

How we look says a lot about how we feel about ourselves, and it can be one of those chicken and egg things, you feel yucky because you look yucky, you look yucky because you feel lucky etc, which means the old ‘fake it til you make it’ rule applies.  Feel bad?  Make yourself look fabulous as a starting point.  Change the thing you can change.  Pretend you feel great.  It certainly can’t hurt.

I know, we don’t want our self esteem to be tied up with how we look.  Hey, I’ve read The Beauty Myth!  But it should not be somebody else’s externally asserted image we are conforming to, it should be our own sense of style.  Yes, we’re all individuals, and we all have our own tastes and preferences.  As we express those, we are helping create society's standards.   

I'm well aware of my own vanity, and know that I'm just as concerned with ageing and losing my looks (or should I say youth) as many others.  But what I really enjoy noticing when I’m out and about is people who are a good deal older than me who’s style and appearance please me.  Not whether they’ve had ‘work’ done or their body shape, but their grooming and personal style.  And I hope that I will be able to continue to evolve a personal style of my own that I am happy with, which reflects my own good feelings about myself.

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