Okay Style and Trend, I am going to share my two cents on why I feel it is so important to be confident and comfortable when creating your own individual look. To me comfort is KEY! The more comfortable you are in the clothes you wear, the more confidence people see. Take this picture of Catherine Zeta-Jones…she is one of my favorite actresses and the shots I see of her on the fly always have me craving for the nearest Macy’s.

In this casual ensemble, Catherine rocks the cutest sweater vest with what I would consider a staple in any chic woman’s winter wardrobe, the cowl neck thigh length sweater. Now before I saw this, I had never thought to put these two pieces together. It’s chic, it’s simple, comfy and something I feel Catherine pulled off with flying colors…muted as they are!! Ladies and gents, there is a reason why the fashion industry accounts for billions in revenue generated worldwide. Hell, Macy’s alone, generated $5.2 billion in revenue in 2008 and that was during the height of the recession. With the millions of designers, and billions of designs for shoes, shirts, dresses, slacks, sports jackets, coats, handbags, hats and the like, one of the greatest qualities of the fashion world is that we each have the power to create new and unique looks every time we step out the door.

Now I’m an economical girl. I don’t go out and look for exact pieces made by the designer that a celebrity wears. Not solely because I honestly can’t afford them, but because I want to add my own touch. As soon as I saw this picture I was able to find a very similar sweater vest to Catherine’s for just $15 on Tillys.com and fortunately, I already have a navy blue thigh length cowl neck sweater hanging in the closet. Lucky me!

Picking up accent pieces to spice up the wardrobe is always a good and economical move. Never be afraid to mix and match with your staples or spice it up with a chiffon scarf or to-die-for handbag. The fashion world is constantly telling us what’s in and what’s not…but always remember if it looks good on you, and you feel good in it, you are on your way to getting a following of your own!

If you find yourself mimicking everything you see from Vogue and Elle to Cosmo and Marie Clarie, down to the BCBG tights, it may be time to step out of the box and think about what really makes YOU ROCK!! Start to ask yourself some of the following questions:

• Who do you think dictates what you wear? Is it the fashion magazines? Is it your favorite actor or actress? Is it your girlfriends? Well, I challenge you to ask yourself that question and then try to pick out the adjectives that best describe that style. Go ahead…its fun!!!

• What colors make you feel vibrant and alive? Are you including them in your wardrobe or just in you art work or colors of paint on your walls?

• Does what you wear say something to people? If so, what message do you think you are sending and are there others you feel that send the same message?

What you wear tells the world how you feel about you. You don’t have to spend a fortune to portray sophistication and the smile you wear that goes with it will show the world that you love what you wear. So don’t be afraid to jump out on a limb or mix and match with colors you never tried before. Once you start making that a habit you will be on your way to loving your own style and creating your very own trend!