Great styles isn’t just about looking good and wearing the right clothes. It’s about living a complete lifestyle. – Brett Fahlgren, GQ Magazine

When people tell others they have style or when magazine titles shout “Look Stylish For Less!”, we automatically assume style is for the fashionable. It is meant to describe the clothes we wear and the accessories we have.

Another facet of style I’d like to add is one’s persona, that is, their aura and presence of which they carry themselves. This is certainly not a new concept but could perhaps be one that is more often than not overlooked.

This is where real style is apparent, since you can’t fake who you are … for long.

You can certainly look like a million dollars but if you feel as cheap and dirty as a used-one-too-many-times penny no one bothers to pick up from the street anymore, what good is your outward looks when inside you feel like crap?

One must cultivate a healthy image of self so that however you feel on the inside is transposed to the outside.

Do you ever notice those who have a low self-image and lack self-confidence in who they are or how they look tend to dress shabbily, sloppy, and just downright dirty? They don’t smile and seemingly have a permanent frown on their face at all times.

I’m not talking about folks who are homeless and cannot afford clean, new clothes; that is a different scenario altogether.

What I mean to describe are people whose poor self-image completely dictates how they dress on the outside. If one is overweight and conscious of their body fat, they may dress in sweats, sweatpants, and anything loose, struggling to hide themselves in the blankets of clothes they are under, and in fact, hide who they truly are. Ironically, this makes them feel worse, because they don’t feel their best when dressed as such.

This is not to say that everything lies on the outward appearances, which is shallow and does not describe the whole story of someone … who they are, where they come from, what are their values, beliefs, lifestyles, dreams, hobbies, and passions.

But it is a facet of a person, in that how they feel about themselves reflects to a certain degree in how they look on the outside.

So along the theme of style, I will be coming out with a FREE ebook called The Ultimate Minimalist Style Guide on Thursday, July 1, which I hope will help you find your inner style, starting with your outer style.

This guide will be geared more towards working professionals and can certainly apply to everyday scenarios and occasions beyond the office.

Along with the theme of minimalism, the ebook will not encourage you to upchuck your wardrobe and buy brand new clothes and accessories just to look like someone you’re not. It is not for those who enjoy shopping and acquiring things. It is, however, for those who want to have style while being minimalist.