Madonna has long been called the queen of reinvention. Over her 30-year career, her ever-morphing looks have encompassed everything from an '80s dance ragamuffin in ripped net leggings to her modern-day Belle de Jour elegance. In between, she's embodied Eva Perón, a geisha, a dominatrix, and an earth mother. And these transformations have served to keep her fascinating and mysterious enough that fans are still in thrall.
Then there's the makeover as metamorphosis: Marc Jacobs went from ponytailed grungester to hard-bodied, tattooed hipster, now at the pinnacle of high fashion. Ditto for Karl Lagerfeld, who became a happening dude after he dropped the weight and donned his skinny jeans. Such transformative, about-face moves effectively rebrand your entire persona.
But most of us just want to polish and maximize who we already are, and what better time than the present? With all its visual impact, fashion is always a good place for a new start. Besides, it's a heck of a lot easier to buy a pair of Louboutins than to run down your to-do list with your therapist. "The fashion industry understands the human psyche and its need for novelty — that something new means new hope and that things will be better," says Stephen Gullo, the New York psychologist and weight-loss guru with a roster of high-profile clients.
"When you are well dressed and fierce, it's life enhancing for you and all the people around you," declares Simon Doonan, creative director at Barneys New York. "You need to have your own look expressing your individuality and not jump on the bandwagon and chase all the trends. If you are a glamour-puss who dresses up for events, dress up for work too. If you are preppy and classic, make it more emphatic; take your own look and turn up the volume." The new year is an "awakening to reinvent yourself stylewise," he says. It's a recessionproof strategy too, as even budget-challenged shoppers can find fast-fashion salvation at Zara and Topshop.
When New York socialite and handbag designer Tinsley Mortimer split from her husband, Topper, last year, she outgrew her girly-girl look of brightly colored frocks and perfectly curled blonde hair. She moved from Manhattan's traditional Upper East Side to the artsy Chelsea neighborhood. "I am now wearing more black and jeans and Converse high-top tennis shoes," she says. Mortimer experimented with bangs and moved from a buttery blonde to an ashy one. Now she just bends the ends with a flatiron and she's out the door. "Overall, my transition reflects how I feel about life — that I don't have to be so perfect and pulled together," she says. "I feel more playful."
Fashion has been a prime image launching pad for celebrities for ages. Once stylist Rachel Zoe got her hands on Nicole Richie, she revamped Richie's look and rescued her reputation. Out were ill-fitting, brash ensembles and in were flowy boho dresses — and her personality seemed to follow suit. Ditto for Angelina Jolie, who went from bad girl to sophisticated mom and celebrated activist. Once pigtailed tween sensations Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen reinvented themselves as fashion's hottest rogues, creating their own brand of offbeat, downtown chic and blossoming into real, grown-up designers, their the Row and Elizabeth and James labels sent them into the ranks of New York's fashion elite.
Reinvention is all in the details, the fine points that can do wonders to transform your style instantly. Designer Rachel Roy has always loved exotic eye makeup. "The messy black eye is part of my signature," she says. But after scrutinizing pictures of herself at different events, she noticed "that something just seemed to be missing from my face." Now, whenever she goes out, she swears by false eyelashes. "They make me look so much more awake and complete. Eyelashes just reinvent you."
For many, the new-year tune-up starts below the neck. Getting in shape is always at the top of everyone's list of resolutions. The current rage is sexy first-lady biceps — and low-tech regimens that aren't so dependent on exercise machines. For the past year and a half, "I've had to focus on the fact that a lot more people don't want to work out in the confines of a gym anymore," says Manhattan fitness guru David Kirsch, whose latest tome, David Kirsch's Butt Book, is, as it sounds, a nod to every gal's lust for a pert backside.
So Kirsch changed his tune and began catering to stay-at-home clients. He now focuses on portable equipment like medicine balls, stability balls, jump ropes, and hand weights "that people can use at their homes and take with them anywhere."
It's all in keeping with today's common-sense mindset in which sensible aspirations rule. Michelle Obama, he says, exemplifies the well-toned body that is accessible. "Sexy curves are now full-body curves, because they are real," says Kirsch. "Instead of a woman who is starving herself to be a size 0, give me a healthy woman who is a size 8 or 10 any day."
January is by far one of the busiest months for Manhattan dermatologist Patricia Wexler, as patients line up to freshen their faces. The shift to "real" is changing some women's attitudes about Botox and fillers. Says Wexler, "All that pumping up and paralyzing of the face is a start, but it is not the end all. If the skin still looks dull and muddy, you don't look young." The solution: Go lighter on the Botox and shift the balance to treatments such as lasers, which get rid of sun damage, irregular pigmentation, and brown spots. "You want to look glowing and radiant," she says. It's a decidedly more low-maintenance option, but it still delivers impressive improvement.
Of course, nothing gives your face a new lease like a new hairdo, which of late has been about going shorter and darker, according to Garren, the stylist responsible for Victoria Beckham's news-making pixie. He says, "More woman are getting a new haircut as a way to change their style."
Today's shorter-hair mascots are celebrities like Ginnifer Goodwin, Rihanna, and Katie Holmes, who went for a grown-up bob after marrying Tom Cruise. What really looks modern, says Garren, is "hair no longer than the collarbone" and richer browns, deep auburns, and darker lowlights layered into blonde. "What's out for 2010: those long extensions, which look tacky now. Even on the red carpet, they're wearing their hair twisted up."
Costume jewelry provides another easy avenue to evolution. It gives Tory Burch, an eclectic dresser who favors sportswear in clever prints, a sassy kick. All year, she's been paring down, she says. "I'm not dressing up as much as I did. I'm wearing more pants and flats, but still in a chic way." Yet the petite Burch goes bold when it comes to her favorite jeweled-cuff bracelets (part of her accessories line) and big necklaces. (This writer, for one, heartily endorses earring therapy. I am convinced that a great pair of earrings enlivens your face like nothing else.)
While there's no denying that a style update will bring on the compliments, there's no satisfaction like the confidence boost that you get from within. And it takes sustained effort to get that inner transformation. For example, if you're repackaging yourself before a career move, take time to evaluate your life, suggests Matthew Hiltzik, a communications consultant who specializes in helping boldface names build and manage their personal profiles. "Be realistic about identifying your strengths and weaknesses — those that are real and those that are perceived by others — and then see how they match up."
So get with it. Jump-start the new year with a new lipstick shade and a sassy spring frock, at the very least — and then go high-stepping into your fabulous future.
