The last few years have been all about “I see it.  I want it.  I get it.”  That was great… for a while.  Just as it should, it ended, because fashion (and life) always goes in cycles and seasons.  Even a waltz is danced quick, quick slow.  Although the media might be touting doom and gloom, I say ignore the naysayers.  2009 can be the most creative year in fashion for decades.  Why?  It is an inward fashion expansion.  This year is about appreciating all that we already have. Guess what?  That’s when the magic happens.      

Indeed, these are good times.  Although, on the surface, it may look like we’re contracting, the opposite is true.  Think of a rubber band.  It must be pulled back to shoot forward.  Today, we care about more than we have ever before.  What is emerging is a new sense of self-style independent of trends and that empowers us and makes us feel more self-reliant.   

This inward fashion expansion helps us become even more creative.  We will discover new fashion combinations we previously haven’t seen before.  Although we might not buy as many new pairs of shoes this year, we are in more of a fashion power position than ever before.  Using a budget that works for us, we can use our “limitations” to look in new directions and create a unique style that previously didn’t exist.  

If you are feeling extra adventurous for 2009, do what I call in my book a Sole Purge.  Have the courage to give away every pair of shoes that is not uniquely you.  No “should” shoes live in your closet.  Every pair of shoes you own express qualities about yourself that you love.  When you finally let go of shoes you don’t like but feel you “should” keep, it’s a feeling just as satisfying as buying a pair of new shoes.     

Next, take a moment and focus the shoes in your closet that you already love.  Expand your vision.  Expand the possibilities and fashion combinations with colors, textures, and lengths of your clothes coupled with your shoes.  You might just discover and inner wardrobe expansion.  Even the stars are leading the way.  Vanessa Hudgens is successfully mixes designers and price points.  She’s been seen all around Beverly Hills in a pair of $69 Chinese Laundry Sudoku boots.  It’s still true that you are what you wear.  In 2009, go for it.  Experience your own inward fashion expansion and inspire others to do the same.

By Donna Sozio Shoe-ologist and author of the hit book Never Trust a Man in Alligator Loafers:  What his Shoes Really Say About his True Love Potential. 

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