I think it comes as no surprise to confess that I absolutely love fashion, I read fashion magazines all day long, follow the fashion bloggers and explore as many shops as it's possible for my little legs to take me to. But whatever I do there always seems to be something that isn't quite there with my own personal fashion, and after a particularly dull tube journey I have finally diagnosed my fashion problem... a severe lack of confidence. Although I read, examine and explore fashion constantly I never really have the right amount of confidence to fulfil my fashion fantasies and put what I see into practice. I have recently put together some pin boards in my room with looks, catwalk images and advertising campaigns that I'm inspired by and looking at them I realise I don't look like any of them! Don't get me wrong I don't feel like I should look like model in a perfect designer outfit, but images are meant to inspire and give me ideas, what is the point in looking at these images if I'm not going to take some inspiration from them? Confidence is one of the most important things I have learnt about in the fashion world. All you need is bags of confidence, well that and maybe a bit of money as well. If someone is daring enough to wear a pair of completely fabulous but sky high stilettos to work, or a cute dungaree jumpsuit in the midst of summer I can only look on in wonder with a tiny feeling of jealousy. I'm not alone in this little problem either, lots of us confess to suffering from a lack of body and fashion confidence. Maybe with a bit extra confidence we will wear that neon yellow top to work instead of plain black again, or put on those print trousers we have all bought but not yet managed to find the 'right occasion' to wear them to.
When planning what to wear that day I run a mile from anything in a bright colour, especially pink, and anything that shows off my legs, both of which items seem to make up the majority of my wardrobe. So in an attempt to overcome this I plan to throw myself in the deep end and wear something in my wardrobe that I would have previously longingly looked at, but then put back quickly in exchange for the standard jeans and T-shirt or the more frequently worn black pencil skirt for work life. My first challenge is a cute grey leather A-line skirt that I bought quite a while ago now but have not managed to wear yet in the daylight hours. Teamed with a plain t-shirt and Chelsea boots I'm sure this will look decidedly pretty. This might be something that most people would throw on in a morning without a thought before even opening their eyes, but for me anything that is higher than 'just above the knee' is what I imagine people who are about to run a marathon must feel like, a mixture of fear, dread and a general feeling of confusion over what could have possibly persuaded them to do this. But I'm determined to press on, even if my perseverance has been described in the past as weak, and maybe by next week I'll have bought a pair of blue skorts and will be wearing them out without a second thought. But with my first experiment lined out I just have to swallow the insecurities and go for it... maybe I'll wait until tomorrow!