I have been at a basketball tournament all weekend.  I really take pleasure in people watching and use this as my opportunity to think of articles to write.  Today I played a little game in my mind called “Style Secrets.”  As I looked around, I thought of a few secrets that I wanted to share with others.  As a matter of fact, thus far I have come up with nine.  While it may not have been appropriate to share my secrets with strangers, I have decided to share them with you, the readers. 

Because I am in between basketball games I am going to share three with you now and you will need to stay tuned for the others.  

#1 Be Confident with who you are: Many people spend alot of time wishing they looked like someone else who has the ideal body image.  One thing to remember is this really is just an ”idealized image” and does not represent what the majority of us are really like.  It is important to recognize your attributes rather than concentrating on the imperfections.  Believing in yourself will automatically send positive signals about the person you really are. 

#2 Dress to flatter your body shape: You first need to know your body shape.  If you need help determining your body shape,  here is a link to one of my newsletters that might be helpful. http://community.icontact.com/p/yourtotalimage/newsletters/december2/posts/dressing-your-body   As you will see, there are basically 6 common body shapes.  By knowing your body shape, you can choose clothes that flatter your body and camouflage the parts that you don’t want to emphasize. 

#3 Buy colors that look good on you: Wearing the wrong color can make you look sick.  Wearing the right color can have a great impact on your self confidence and your behavior.  When you know your colors you know what clothing, accessories and make up to buy.  Color is very powerful.  It can direct or divert the eye and communicate emotion.

About the Author: Valerie Hatcher of Your Total Image teaches women how to dress for success-enabling them to look fashionable, stylish and confident.  She shows them how to build an effective personal brand to achieve social and professional success.  Visit Your Total Image at www.yourtotalimage.net and sign up for the monthly newsletter filled with tips.