48 ~ Sunday, June 21, 1992 - North Shore News

STYLE IS a mirror of yourself and your thoughts.

What is style and how do you get it?

IF YOU are constantly buying new clothing, but lack the
confidence to put them together, or if you enter social
functions hoping no one will notice how you look, or if
you feel self-conscious when you are near a well-dressed
woman, what you are missing is a sense of inner style.

Each person has to have her
“own individual personality in
order to set herself apart from all
others. If she doesn’t, she won’t
be remembered.

- A‘sense of style means having
and exposing a personality. But
this doesn’t mean having to
become a pace setter or a poseur.

Actually, you already have
style.

You simply have to have the
patience to find it, the courage to
stan’ by it and the interest to de-
vel. . it. You have all of the tools
you need, because everyone is
given equaf amounts of those
traits needed that develop both
character and style.

How do you find your style?

‘A sense of style begins when
you look not at your outside ap-
pearance, but inside.

Style is not a decoration, and it
is not found somewhere outside of
you. Style is on the inside. It ex-
presses your thoughts. It is what
you are thinking about yourself
that shows outwardly.

You know the world only
through your own relationship io

- it. Therefore to know the world
you not only have to examine it,
but also yourself. This is not
always easy to do, however. You
may simply dismiss yourself as

“the way you are.”

To create your own style, you
have to have the covrage to make
changes and have a willingness to

Carol
Crenna

FASHION STATEMENTS

be known. Style means celebrating
the fact that you like who you are
by showing it openly to others.

It is easy to cling to the famil-
jar, even though the chance to do
things differently is given to you
continuously. But it is that little
leap into the unknown that most
women never seem to take.
Therefore, they never take life,
with all of its challenges, into
their own hands to become per-
sons they would like to be.

For confident style, you must
know what you want and whcre
you are going. Always keep that
knowledge in the back of your
mind. The clearer you see your

life, the better you are equipped
to take control of it and take ac-
tions to make wise decisions.

Deal with your own faults and
unattractive features as you do
with those of close friends and
family. You accept the bad .with

the good of these people because”
you love them in spite of their.

faults. You have realized that
their good qualities outshine the
others.

I have stated that your style is a
mirror of yourself and your
thoughts. But you may be im-
prisoned by an outdated image of
yourself. It could be that labels
you were given as an adolescent
affect how you see yourself today.

As an adult, your desires, goals
and awareness change, and your
image should be re-evaluated.

Often, opinions. from others
you may not even know, that are
real or imagined, make up a great
deal of your self-image and are
responsible for your tendencies to
be timid, self-conscious or jeal-
ous.

If you look for a definition of
yourself that comes from outside,
in another’s attention to you or
need for you, your image will
crack under any pressure.

It is your own personality and
your unique taste that will actually
keep people interested in you, not
your constant need for approval.

Stop thinking about yourself
defensively. If you constantly
wonder what impression you are
making, you will not have the
time to realize that other people’s
thoughts are not important. What
is important is what you are
thinking at the time about

yourself.

The only way to feel totally at
ease with anyone and everyone is
to meet them on their level, show-
ing that you feel equal to them.

But if you -present an image,
you had better be able to carry it
through or you will eventually let
yourself down. Be what you show
others you are instead of preten-

' ding to be an image of what you

think others want to see.

Honesty is one of the most im-
portant traits for developing char-
acter and style. If you are always
truthful, you are totally free to be
yourseif and you will not be
burdened by the need to hide any-
thing.

Take the time to try. Even if
you feel that you are successful in
your career or as a parent, you
still might consider yourself in-
competent when it comes to put-
ting yourself together, fixing
something which is broken, or
making the most of your clothing.

You pass it off, convinced you
are lacking in some mystical qual-
ity needed to acquire the abilitv.

Try to accomplish the task be-
fore fear of failure sets in and
remember that you can solve
almost any of life’s little
challenges simply by taking the
time to do them.

If you weren’t successful with
something before, try again, and
remind yourself to take the time,
whether it be to coordinate pieces
from your wardrobe that you have
never worn together, to sew an
outfit from a pattern, to fix a
broken shoe, or to create a new
way of wearing your hair.

By first making yourself com-
fortable, thinking the task through

and then taking steps slow! and
carefully — you will do it... oe
You will feel like: a creative ge- :
nius since you have accomplished «
something or solved a problem _
it may have taken a few minutes
for you to realize that all: you **.
needed was the right belt to com- ©:
plete an outfit or you simply
needed to re-read the the’ pattern. | in-
structions.

All you do for your appearance . .

shows the standards. you have set
for yourself, and for your bfe. If
you are careless with your ap-
pearance, you will lock as though
you have a careless attitude er you
have given up.

And you will find that others
will treat you accordingly.

Little faults in your look. such
as a stain om your skirt, 2 run in
your pantyhose, a pin holding a
zipper closed, a broken umbrella -
or a scuffed shoe may just be left .
because of apathy or laziness, but -

- they can totally destroy the image

you had intended to project.

You can change your habits and
develop and improve your. ap-
pearance and your attitude toward
it. You do not have to accept the
low standards for yourself any
longer.

The more you develop your in-
dividuality with positive steps
toward it, the more you become
like your ideai. If your goals are
feasible, with minimal effort you
vill continually be successful in
meeting them.

And the more triumphant you
feel, the more you will look and
act to others like a confident, suc-
cessful woman who taken
control of her life and her style.

— Carol Creans