- First, a haircut and possibly a color as well is a great starting point. Find a half-decent salon - it doesn't have to be Tony & Guy but the more up market places tend to have stylists skilled in helping people find their best style. Consider a color change - if you're blond, go for highlights or lowlights depending on your preference. If you're a brunette, try red tones. This will make you feel like a new woman, and can really change the way you look.



- Make-up is the other obvious starting point. There are hundreds of sites on the Internet that will give you basic make-up advice. If you have a Live Journal or similar, do a search for 'makeup' and you'll find dozens of communities where makeup aficionadas compare styles. Go for something a little more radical than usual. Here's one of my favorites: a nice bright green across the lid, with a bright blue accent at the outer corners of your eyes and some bright blue eyeliner. Draw attention to a particular feature with something bolder than you might usually consider.

- Take inspiration from other styles. Add some punk style to jeans with a studded belt and invest in a detachable belt buckle. I'm a big fan of these as I can wear a boring one if I have to go somewhere 'normal', and then go all out with a band buckle or my favorite cat-face one.

- DIY, customize, invent. Try grabbing a handful of cheap, brightly colored beaded necklaces and wearing two or three at once. Fill up your arms with ethnic-inspired jewelers (try a local market!). If you have a couple of pairs of Converse (as I do) wear a pink one on one foot and a black one on the other - or simply buy some rainbow colored shoelaces. Do your hair differently one day: pull it into a high ponytail and tie it with a scarf. Buy some new glasses - or, if you don't need specs, buy some with no glass or plain glass in and wear them anyway. Paint your nails a random color. Buy pink eyeliner and draw a little heart on your cheek.

A great tip to start with - and something I say to absolutely everyone looking to change their style - is this: think about what direction you want to go in (so in your case a little more edgy, a touch chic, a bit different), and buy some basics, then accessories.

Got jeans and plain skinny fit t-shirts? Okay! Wear a lightweight scarf through your belt loops, wear stripy socks, get some fabric pens and draw a personal design on your shirt, and add some necklaces.

You need to be comfortable with whatever you wear.