You know what I think is the easiest way to gain confidence and boost your self-esteem by a surprisingly significant amount? Clothes.
What we wear really affects our overall mood. By wearing something you feel you look good in, you'll find that you go about your day with more confidence than when wearing a bad outfit that leaves you feeling uncomfortable and insecure.
And no, I'm not asking you to go out and buy a few overpriced outfits from Zara or Gucci. What 17-year-old would have that sort of money to shop at those high-end brands? Well, unless you do have the money then by all means go ahead.
Don't dress for others and start dressing for yourself.
The first step in gaining confidence is to be comfortable in your own body.
To find out what will look good on you, you'll have to know yourself better first.
Body Types
After identifying your body shape, you can click here to find out what type of clothing will look better on you.
Colours and Skin-tones
Read more about skin tones and colour coordination: sheknows
Alternatively, if you find it a hassle to identify your skin tone, you could just wear any the neutral/universal colours which will look good on anyone.
Read more about neutral/universal colours: thechicfashionista
Conceal, accentuate, elongate
Hate being short? Well, let me introduce you to your new best friends.
Perks of being short
- Heels, heels, heels. No heels are too tall for you so you'll still be shorter than your crush even when you're walking in 10 inch boots.
- Kids clothes! They're a lot cheaper and sometimes even more fashionable than what teenagers/adults wear. (Try shopping at the kids section at H&M)
- You're cute by default and might even get away with buying child price tickets with the right choice of clothing.
- Most guys like shorter girls, period.
Think you look fat? Wear BLACK!
Perks of wearing black
- Matches everything
- Slimming effect on body
- You can eat whatever you want without worrying about getting food stains
- Makes you look classy
- Suits most occasions
"To me, clothing is a form of self-expression. There are hints about who you are in what you wear." - Marc Jacobs
Some affordable places you can shop at:
- Bugis
- Far east plaza
- H&M
- http://www.taobao.com/ (china site)
- Carousell (app)